Tourism industry warns 9000 Tasmanian jobs are at risk as JobKeeper end looms
Thousands of Tasmanian jobs and businesses are at risk as the end of JobKeeper approaches, a tourism industry group is warning.
Business
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NEW measures to help tourism businesses still struggling during COVID-19 could be announced as early as this week, ahead of JobKeeper ending in late March.
The Tourism & Transport Forum estimates up to 9000 Tasmanian jobs in tourism and related sectors, and more than 300,000 jobs nationwide, will be at risk when the wage subsidy ends unless new supports are put in place.
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the estimate looked high but the reality was many businesses would face a tough six months.
“It’s just this period now that we’re about to enter with JobKeeper ending and still so much uncertainty leading into winter that we’re going to really have some challenges for a lot of businesses,” Mr Martin said.
While the federal government has made it clear it will not extend JobKeeper beyond March 28, the sector is calling for direct support for businesses, such as temporary cash flow boosts.
Tax-free cash grants of $20,000 to $100,000 were made available to small and medium businesses hit by COVID-19 last year.
“The model we’ve suggested is direct support to businesses that can demonstrate they’re still being directly impacted by the consumer uncertainty or the international travel bans or obviously the domestic border restrictions,” Mr Martin said.
“Businesses can do that through their Pay As You Go or turnover records.
“Clearly in Tassie, the businesses we’re most worried about are the ones that have products or tours or attractions that the whole destination needs to be successful.”
Tasmanian Hospitality Association chief executive Steve Old said: “The government’s done a remarkable job to keep the economy going as well as they have, but I think if JobKeeper just finishes and nothing else replaces it [or there’s not] some sort of support for the hospitality, tourism industry, we’re going to lose a lot more businesses.
“We’ve always been worried that there’s a lot of businesses that are prolonging bills [and] kicking the can along the road ... obviously, we’re no closer to getting rid of things like one in two square metres, we’ve still got issues like Victoria last week where travel bans happen, so we’re not out of the woods.”
Mr Old said he welcomed indications from the state government that it would do more to help the sector after March if it was needed.
He acknowledged support should be targeted at businesses that would survive, not propping up those that would not.
The industry group has called for a new, targeted wage subsidy, similar to JobKeeper, to be put in place from April 1 to December 31 in a package that would cost the federal government $7.74 billion.
Tourism industry employees would get $1000 a fortnight under the scheme if their company’s turnover was down 30 to 50 per cent, or $1500 if turnover was down more than 50 per cent on 2019 levels.
“Without this targeted, industry-specific support, there may not be a tourism industry left at the end of this year,” TTF Australia chief executive Margy Osmond warned.
Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said the government was “working through the usual processes to develop our post-JobKeeper support plan for the sector”. He would not be drawn on when it would be announced.
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