‘Inconsistent, ineffective, impossible’: CQ businesswoman who employs 800+ staff says scrap vaccinations mandate

A woman who operates 10 businesses at the Capricorn Coast has called for the current restrictions to end because “the mandate is ridiculous and can’t be enforced”.

A Yeppoon businesswoman who employs more than 800 staff has called for the Queensland Government’s vaccinations mandate to be scrapped, labelling it “inconsistent, ineffective, and impossible to maintain”.

Karla McPhail’s comments came during a deputation made by the Capricorn Coast Business Owners Pro Choice Group at Tuesday’s Livingstone Shire Council meeting.

Mrs McPhail was one of three members of the group to address councillors on how restrictions for unvaccinated people, introduced by the Queensland Government on December 17, had impacted local businesses, the tourism sector and the community.

Mrs McPhail, owner of The Rocks Yeppoon Bar and Restaurant which complements Yeppoon Lagoon, told councillors that she operated 10 businesses in the seaside town which employed more than 800 people.

As well as cafes and restaurants, Mrs McPhail also has a number of tourism and fishing businesses at the Capricorn Coast.

“So for me, managing the vaccination and vaccination mandates has been quite difficult,” Mrs McPhail said.

Karla McPhail has gone above and beyond to create an amazing experience at The Rocks at Yeppoon Lagoon. File photo.

The prominent business owner explained in some depth to councillors what her operations had been forced to do to stay sustainable and remain compliant, and called for it to end.

“What I want, is really that double vaccination mandate be removed from businesses,” Mrs McPhail said.

“My position is that local council, Cap Enterprise, Chamber of Commerce, business leadership, be positioning themselves not around the risk of Covid and the Covid movement and those things, but around the vaccination mandate.

“The vaccination mandate is too inconsistent to maintain - it is impossible.

“And it is, in my opinion, ineffective.

“I can have two people that sit on a bus for 45 minutes to come to The Rocks restaurant, they can sit next to each other. One can be vaccinated, one can be not vaccinated. They can walk up the stairs and I can serve one of them, but I can’t serve the other one of them.

Karla McPhail has found the loss of dedicated staff members difficult.

“The inconsistency is ridiculous.

“I can have people in outdoor areas at the lagoon, but I can’t have them in outdoor areas on a boat.

“I can have people served at the cafe downstairs, but they can’t sit in the outdoor area downstairs, but they have to sit in the grassed area if they’re not double vaccinated.

“I believe that the inconsistency is ineffective.

“I don’t believe that we’re effectively controlling, if there is, if Covid is spreading.

“And I’m aware that there are different strains and what the movements look like.

“But I do think that the mandate is ridiculous and can’t be enforced.

“My position is that we, as a community and as members of the public, need to be saying to our government: ‘open up the borders, open up our businesses, give the business owners the opportunity to operate effectively and efficiently. Remove the double vaccination expectation on our employees and on our ability to serve the customer’.”

DIVING IN: The super drawcard that is the Yeppoon Lagoon.

Mrs McPhail said despite individual management of staff members around Covid protocols, some unvaccinated workers had been relocated within her organisations and some had lost their jobs.

“So one of them (to lose their job) is a single mother of five children - they won’t be employed in the business because we actually, at this time, can’t cater for them.”

Mrs McPhail said two of her fishing and charter businesses had closed.

“We can’t operate simply because of the vaccination and the mandate laws, which is really difficult for us when we have solid bookings from now until the end of the March, every day.

“So that’s really, really disappointing to our tourism market.”

Pumpkin Island operator Laureth Rumble.

Pumpkin Island operator Laureth Rumble told councillors business owners had been “placed in an impossible situation” with the Queensland Government’s vaccine mandates.

“We started our businesses with ideas to bring services and products to our town and state that would ultimately enhance the lifestyle or experiences that can be found here,” Mrs Rumble said.

“All of us have a great passion for what we do.

“A passion for service, for people, making profits, and this passion has now been drained from our beings.

“So many business owners I spoke to over the last few days have told us that they just want to sell their businesses and get out.

“It almost feels like the State Government is trying to close down small businesses.”

Mrs Rumble went on to explain that a week ago, the Capricorn Coast Business Owners Pro Choice Group created a survey to try and track the economic impacts of the vaccine mandates.

“This is usually our busiest time of the year - the festive season,” she said.

“We surveyed 244 business owners and employees from our region.

“Most of our respondents were from industries of education, health services, hospitality, tourism, retail and social community services.”

Mrs Rumble said 43 per cent of survey respondents were business owners.

“Sixty-four percent, or 2919 staff, do not wish to be vaccinated,” she said of the survey findings.

Mrs Rumble said 37 per cent of respondents said they would lose 80-100 per cent of their annual income or revenue as a result of vaccine mandates, while 59 per cent said they would lose more than half.

She said it was anticipated the survey respondents would lose $45 million in annual income and revenue.

When the third speaker during the deputation, Robyn Booth, owner of Ten Commandments Yeppoon, addressed councillors on the impacts of the vaccine mandates, she broke down in tears and was comforted by Mrs McPhail.

Councillors voted to receive the deputation and they did not enter into any discussion or debate on this issue.

Previously Livingstone Shire Council wrote to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, asking her to reconsider planned restrictions on unvaccinated Queenslanders.

FOOTNOTE: At Tuesday’s council meeting, Karla McPhail also explained her personal views on Covid vaccination. This is some of what she said: “Our HR team have had to manage an organisational restructure in the business. Some of our people that are unvaccinated are in the final term of their pregnancy, other people have got medical conditions but they don’t want to take the risk that won’t be supported medically by a doctor, which is fine. But they simply will not get vaccinated and I personally do support their decision. For me, I personally support vaccination and I am vaccinated, and I agree with vaccinations. So my position is quite different to some of the other people on the business group. So from my personal point of view, I do support vaccination... Where I’m extraordinarily challenged is, I don’t support my responsibility to manage other people to be vaccinated. And I don’t think that that’s my job. It has put enormous risk and challenge, enormous challenges to our business operation and to our ability to sustain our operations in the region.”

Originally published as ‘Inconsistent, ineffective, impossible’: CQ businesswoman who employs 800+ staff says scrap vaccinations mandate