❓ Ms. Davies asks about tailored support for tourism businesses in northern WA due to the impact of COVID-19. The Minister responds by highlighting existing measures and future considerations, prioritising health advice and a statewide approach.
AnsweredQoN 258Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
REGIONAL TOURISM — GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
258. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Tourism:
I have a supplementary question. I thank
the minister. The CEO of Australia's North West Tourism has said that
the situation is like something out of a nightmare for businesses in the north.
Will this government be announcing a tailored support package for the north of
our state?
REGIONAL TOURISM — GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
258. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Tourism:
I have a supplementary question. I thank
the minister. The CEO of Australia's North West Tourism has said that
the situation is like something out of a nightmare for businesses in the north.
Will this government be announcing a tailored support package for the north of
our state?
AnswerView source ↗
What we have done to date—the member will no doubt
have been watching as we announced the anticipated lifting of restrictions on
18 May—is enable travel within those four remaining regions. That is
something that the Nationals WA was calling for only a week ago, demanding that
the government enable movement between the midwest, Gascoyne and Pilbara. That
is exactly what the government has done, amongst other regions, including
removing internal borders in the Kimberley, enabling movement within those
regions. It is all being done in accordance with health advice. It would be
very dangerous for anybody to ignore the health advice. It has been world
class. Within Australia, I think Western Australia has undeniably had one of
the best responses, if not the best response, to this threat in the world. That
is a direct consequence of great leadership and seeking and taking the best
health advice in the world. There is no reason for abandoning that approach
now. That would be foolhardy.
The advice that we have taken has resulted in some of these
measures being slower than perhaps some people would like, but in terms of
liberalisation, they are far in excess of those in any other state in the
country. Victorians are not going to cafes and restaurants and arguing about
how many can go in; they just are not going. In Queensland and New South Wales,
there is a limit of 10 people and in South Australia, there is a limit of 10
for outdoor dining only. We are doing a lot for tourism businesses around the
state. We are enabling those businesses to benefit from travel within their
regions. On health advice, we will move towards giving greater opportunities in
due course. We are looking at what else we
can do to support some of those businesses that are likely to sustain
difficulties for a much longer period than those in other parts of the
state. We are looking at it and we will do what we can. Everything we have done
to date has been focused on protecting the Western Australian community in its
entirety, including tourism businesses. We
will not have a tourism business to go back to if we cannot defend against the
COVID threat.
have been watching as we announced the anticipated lifting of restrictions on
18 May—is enable travel within those four remaining regions. That is
something that the Nationals WA was calling for only a week ago, demanding that
the government enable movement between the midwest, Gascoyne and Pilbara. That
is exactly what the government has done, amongst other regions, including
removing internal borders in the Kimberley, enabling movement within those
regions. It is all being done in accordance with health advice. It would be
very dangerous for anybody to ignore the health advice. It has been world
class. Within Australia, I think Western Australia has undeniably had one of
the best responses, if not the best response, to this threat in the world. That
is a direct consequence of great leadership and seeking and taking the best
health advice in the world. There is no reason for abandoning that approach
now. That would be foolhardy.
The advice that we have taken has resulted in some of these
measures being slower than perhaps some people would like, but in terms of
liberalisation, they are far in excess of those in any other state in the
country. Victorians are not going to cafes and restaurants and arguing about
how many can go in; they just are not going. In Queensland and New South Wales,
there is a limit of 10 people and in South Australia, there is a limit of 10
for outdoor dining only. We are doing a lot for tourism businesses around the
state. We are enabling those businesses to benefit from travel within their
regions. On health advice, we will move towards giving greater opportunities in
due course. We are looking at what else we
can do to support some of those businesses that are likely to sustain
difficulties for a much longer period than those in other parts of the
state. We are looking at it and we will do what we can. Everything we have done
to date has been focused on protecting the Western Australian community in its
entirety, including tourism businesses. We
will not have a tourism business to go back to if we cannot defend against the
COVID threat.
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