CEO Column - May 2020

30th May 2020

Patricia O'Callaghan, Chief Executive OfficerOver $90 million is bleeding from North Queensland every week that domestic travel is restricted. It’s a sobering number from our tourism and hospitality sector - the industry hit first and hardest by COVID-19.

But it’s not just a statistic. It represents livelihoods and people. The impacts of this global health and economic crisis do not discriminate. They’re far reaching and many North Queensland businesses are on their last legs.

Financial relief measures to wade through the immediate devastation were warmly welcomed. But we’re workers in the north, and want to get back to our jobs.

The Queensland Government has a solid recovery framework in place for the State, but North Queensland can potentially reopen sooner.

With neighbouring tourism bodies we’ve outlined to the Premier and CHO that North Queensland can reopen responsibly and safely with only slight roadmap adjustments. We’re not asking to reinvent the wheel. Minor modifications will mean major business benefit.

The ideal option is expanding the Outback travel bubble across all regions north of Mackay and increase gathering allowances of 20 to 50 from June 5, followed by whole of State reopening and select interstate travel. Increasing patronage allowances is key - if visitors can travel here we need as many as possible in businesses.

The north and south disparity cannot be overstated. What may work in Toowong cannot be expected to work in Townsville. There’s 1,300 kilometres between the two and over 4 million people within a 250 kilometre radius in the South East compared to 400,000 within twice that distance in North Queensland, and not to mention our region’s clean bill of health for over 50 days.

We’re not the sole voice in this discussion. Several State and Federal members, councils, local media and businesses are saying the same thing. We look forward to the Premier’s review, and whether it’s a bubble or a regional management zone we all want to return to work as soon and as safely as possible to get our economy moving again.

Patricia O'Callaghan
Chief Executive Officer
Townsville Enterprise

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