Covid restrictions: Mo’s Desert Clubhouse boss Kim Ferguson forms alliance for Gold Coast’s entertainment industry

Representatives of a major Gold Coast industry say it is being “gutted” by a state government rule that threatens to put them out of business.

MAJOR players in the city’s live entertainment scene have banded together to call for an end to reduced capacity limits and better financial support for Gold Coast venues.

Independent Entertainment Industry Alliance co-founder Kim Ferguson is providing a voice to booking promoters, musicians, venue operators and food vendors “gutted” by limited patronage.

Ms Ferguson’s Mo’s Desert Clubhouse at Burleigh Waters has not traded normally for seven weeks.

At least 100 people have signed up to the alliance online since its inception in July and about 50 were heavily involved in activism.

The Queensland government’s approval of State of Origin Game III at Cbus Super Stadium last month was the final straw needed to inspire the group’s uprising, desperate to breathe life back into the embattled industry, she said.

“The disparity between the two industries is a bitter pill to swallow. I’m certainly not against sport taking place but after that decision there were certainly some rising tensions within business owners,” Ms Ferguson explained.

The Origin match attracted a near capacity crowd of 27,000.

However, indoor venues have been hamstrung by strict restrictions since the pandemic began.

Since the lockdown, they must adhere to a one person per four square metres rule while smaller venues up to 200sq m are limited to one person per 2sq m.

The new alliance was born off the back of Game three of the 2021 State of Origin Series which went ahead at Cbus Super Stadium last month.

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The limitations proved the biggest topic of the discussion at the group’s inaugural meeting last month.

“What’s happening now is the flow-on effect to those unseen workers,” Ms Ferguson said. “Our business gets restricted and that means all the bands can no longer play or leave their area to come play.”

The most recent snap lockdown – enforced just hours after it was announced and leaving little time for businesses to react – meant her food vendor was left with meals he could no longer sell.

“It’s the low capacity which is a death sentence,” an emotional Ms Ferguson added. “We get no support during lockdown but then in the weeks after we are restricted in capacity which continues to hurt us.

“While we need funding right now, definitely, the venues and the industry is in complete crisis. We need to open up to full capacity again.

“People are not going to come out of this – I mean that in a mental sense and a physical sense.”

The group is planning to meet with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and council members to discuss better support for the industry.

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Originally published as Covid restrictions: Mo’s Desert Clubhouse boss Kim Ferguson forms alliance for Gold Coast’s entertainment industry