Gold Coast’s declining hotel sector demands Premier reveal COVID-19 criteria as redundancies loom

Secret decision making and a lack of transparency by health officials is “decimating business confidence”, Gold Coast business leaders claim.

A LACK of transparency from the Queensland Government is “decimating business confidence” across the Gold Coast, with calls for health officials to stop being secretive.

The head of the Accommodation Association, the industry’s peak body, told the Bulletin frustration levels across the sector are through the roof.

“It’s like we wake up one morning and the rules have changed,” said the association’s chief executive, Dean Long.

“Bring us with you, don’t just stand up and say things are bad.

“We want health authorities to tell us exactly what criteria they are using to make decisions in regards to COVID and border restrictions.

“Daily announcements and changes in strategy are decimating business confidence in Queensland, which considering our sector is the second largest employer of people, is a worrying trend.

REVEALED: GLOBAL GIANT’S SECRET WORKPLACE KILLER

Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long is calling for health officials to be transparency in regards to COVID figures and how they make decisions on restrictions.

“Tell us what we need to be looking for in the numbers, tell us how you are making your decisions, not just some throwaway lines at a press conference.

“What are the key indicators that businesses need to be watching out for so they have the confidence to bring back employees?”

Occupancy rates across the Gold Coast are at record lows and the Bulletin understands redundancies are looming in Australia’s accommodation sector.

Before COVID there were 130,000 people employed across the country and while that figure is currently down to about 58,000, it is believed a further 11,600 people will lose their jobs in the months ahead as border restrictions continue to cripple the industry.

Mr Long said a higher level of transparency, not just with the private sector but with the public, would undoubtedly bring an increased level of responsibility back.

“People are more likely to do the right if they know what to look for in regards to numbers and cases because they certainly don’t want things to get worse,” he said.

“We don’t want to go back to business as normal. We just want the Premier and Health Minister to be clear on why they are doing what they are doing and involve us in the process.

“This isn’t a country-to-country war, this is a virus. Be upfront with us.”

MORE NEWS:

QLD relents on tough border restrictions

Moment police raid home of Coast conman

“High profile local’ to fight for Coast seat

Pacific Restaurant Group director Wes Lambert.

Restaurant and Catering chief executive Wes Lambert called for transparency and said until the borders reopened and a vaccine was found, hospitality businesses would continue to fold.

He said JobKeeper was keeping most operators afloat so it was hard to get accurate figures on how many restaurants, bars and cafes on the Gold Coast had closed.

“The stimulus is masking the fact that businesses’ revenues are way down,” he said.

“But ultimately we do expect 10-20 per cent of the accommodation and food services industry will be closed permanently post-COVID.”

Mr Lambert said across Queensland he expected tens of thousands of jobs to disappear.

“We support and back the health response but the more days that go by where there are zero cases of community transmission, we implore Queensland Health to continue easing of restrictions to ensure it doesn’t become a perfect storm of the expiration of stimulus while restrictions remain in place.”

Mr Lambert said it was always cheaper to help a business survive than to deal with the fallout of a massive number of failed businesses.