Coronavirus Gold Coast: Tom Tate to open The Spit, wants cafes and restaurants to follow

Mayor Tom Tate has announced The Spit will reopen and asked Scott Morrison to relax rules on cafes and restaurants. Here’s how he thinks it could be done.

MAYOR Tom Tate has asked the prime minister to relax the restrictions on cafes and restaurants while announcing The Spit will be reopened from midnight tonight.

The announcement on The Spit follows the decision of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to ease some restrictions from next weekend, allowing Gold Coasters to go shopping for non-essential items, take a picnic and sunbake at the beach.

Cr Tate also announced all beachside car parks will gradually reopen over the coming days but he wants more restrictions eased.

“I think the main weapon against COVID-19 is social distancing,” Cr Tate said.

“If we can continue to do that, I think the Prime Minister should relax the rules regarding cafes and restaurants.

“If you’ve got a 100-seat cafe and you can do social distancing, I don’t see why they can’t gradually go back by opening a third of the restaurant.

“Then gradually go back to the level where you can dine and meet people with the social distancing.”

Mayor Tom Tate has announced The Spit and beachside car parks are to reopen. Picture: Adam Head

FULL GUIDE: WHAT’S ALLOWED AFTER EASING OF RESTRICTIONS

The relaxed measures that will be reviewed in two weeks by the Premier, also include that residents can go for a drive up to 50km from their home.

“I would say that the 50km rule for driving to the Gold Coast should be adhered strictly as announced by the Premier,” Cr Tate said.

“This move is primarily for locals to be able to come back to the beaches of the Gold Coast.

“The majority of everyone out there are doing the social distancing and I congratulate Gold Coast on doing that.”

The Spit will join the beaches at Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta that have been reopened after they were shut earlier this month.

The closures were followed by beachside car parks being blocked to ensure the public couldn’t access them after many people were spending the day at the beach.

Restrictions on out-of-towners coming to the Gold Coast were also put in place and Cr Tate said he needs to trust those people not to return until told otherwise.

An empty Surfers Paradise beach on the Gold Coast, Friday, April 10, 2020, when the Gold Coast council closed beaches at The Spit, Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta. Picture: AAP

MORE NEWS

Sin City ‘a shell’ as legal threats fly

Ikea swamped by huge crowd of shoppers

Currumbin family’s new multimillion-dollar farm

“I’m pleased the data shows it is appropriate to open,” he said.

“If the medical officers came out and said our data shows COVID-19 cases are increasing I wouldn’t open it up.

“I want to see locals utilise our Spit, so you’re going to take it on trust.

“You’ve just got to look at the benefit for the majority outweighing some of the few out-of- towners who flout the law.”

The relaxation of restrictions comes after just three new coronavirus cases were recorded in Queensland in the last 24 hours.

Cr Tate said Gold Coast tourism needs to be prepared for when more restrictions ease.

“What I’ll be encouraging Destination Gold Coast and others concerned with regional tourism to do is to really start planning to do a gradual invitation to come back,” he said.

“I’d like to see all regional tourism to come together.

“That means Tweed, Destination Gold Coast, the Hinterland to work out packages that get people to holiday … from northern New South Wales to the Sunshine Coast.

“The State Government and Tourism Queensland should come on-board and help co-ordinate regionally what we should do.”