Queensland business leaders have warned the state’s growing debt is unsustainable as they criticized Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk for persisting with draconian border policies as a cynical candidacy for win the October 31 elections
While senior business executives said the Palaszczuk Labor government had done a good job in controlling the coronavirus, they said the prolonged border closure with NSW was causing irreparable damage to the economy of the state, particularly to Queensland’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry
Melbourne businessman Chris Morris, who has been stuck in Queensland for four months, says border closure is about election Josh Robenstone
Billionaire businessman Chris Morris – who has major tourist attractions in Queensland, including Orpheus Island, 80 kilometers north of Townsville, the Mount Mulligan breeding station near Cairns, the Daintree Eco Lodge and Townsville Casino – said the 28-day no-new mystery case criteria used by the Palaszczuk government to keep borders closed was clearly political
« Many people in Queensland think it protects them But it will never be opened by the rules they have right now I don’t think some of its decisions made much sense »
The Melbourne businessman has been based on the Gold Coast for four months as his Victorian pubs and restaurants have been closed He said his Queensland resorts have benefited from local travel but it cannot replace loss of interstate visitors, especially those from NSW
The founder of Computershare, whose wealth was valued at $ 1.13 billion last year, had to wipe out half of his North Queensland helicopter company’s 53-man fleet due to lack of tourists
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Flight Center chief executive Graham Turner says the Palaszczuk government will lose the election if it delays the opening of the border with NSWPaul Harris
« If the borders opened, personally we would be better off. I would obviously be disappointed [if the border opening on November 1 is delayed] I will be very happy when the elections are over and decisions are made » , did he declare
Flight Center chief executive Graham Turner said opening the state borders for a few weeks in July and then closing them was « not good for anyone »
M Turner, whose global travel business has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, said the decision was made by Labor strategists who sided that the border closures were popular enough with voters to help deliver the government Palaszczuk a third term
He predicted Ms Palaszczuk would lose the election if she tried to push back the opening of the border
« People are not stupid You can have about three cases not found in a state [NSW] with 7 or 8 million people It’s pretty ridiculous If they had a few hundred cases every day, you’d be worried, but they don’t
« I will be very surprised if they don’t open on November 1st. I will be very surprised if there are more border closures after that, regardless of the number of infections »
The Flight Center activity of M Turner has downsized since the pandemic forced a global shutdown in March and said thousands of people working in the state’s tourism sector have lost their livelihoods due to prolonged border closures
« Our company will survive and I will survive, but it is the thousands of employees who have been fired or fired that I am sorry, » he said
Regarding the economic performance of the Palaszczuk government over the past five years, Mr. Turner expressed concern about the level of debt accumulated by the state’s Labor government, which is expected to reach $ 102 billion by July
Richard Cottee, executive chairman of ASX-listed explorer State Gas and one of the grandfathers of Queensland’s coal gas industry, said the main election result for any party should be the creation of a state in which « we have learned to live with the COVID crisis »
« We must allow the private sector to continue to thrive We cannot continue to live on borrowed money, » he said
M Cottee said payroll tax reform would encourage small and medium-sized businesses to ‘try’
« We really need to rebuild our economy, » he said, including boosting employment for people who lost their jobs in the pandemic
But he said of national border restrictions: « I don’t think it was ever properly, medically or otherwise, justified »
Queensland’s resource sector has been largely unscathed from the coronavirus as the industry is able to implement COVID security plans that have allowed companies to continue exporting coal and gas to record levels
M Cottee said the Palaszczuk government has been successful in opening more gas concessions for exploration, compared to other states
But he argued that an increase in gas royalties, lifted last year in the Queensland budget, « could lead to killing the goose that laid the golden egg »
Hutchinson Builders chairman Scott Hutchinson said business had been ‘patchy’ since COVID-19 began, but there had been heavy activity on the Gold Coast, including residential development $ 100 million recently announced at Chevron Island
« We still have a lot to finish, but we are a little short of work for the current jobs for next year, » he said.
“Having said that, we have 23 high rise buildings on the Gold Coast The world has been turned upside down Normally the Gold Coast is the first place to contract in tough times, but it’s going strong »
M Hutchinson said companies are working to get around border closures, but he admitted moving staff between states and for people living in border communities is difficult.
A spokesperson for The Star Entertainment, which owns casinos in Queensland, said the tourism and hospitality sectors had suffered widespread pain since the pandemic outbreak
« Any further easing of restrictions after the election would be welcomed by the industry and The Star, » he said « This would allow us to fire even more of our team members to their jobs after initially having to resign 95% of our workforce in March »
The Palaszczuk government announced on Sunday that Labor would hire a record 9,475 frontline health workers in Queensland – including 5,800 nurses, 1,500 doctors, 475 paramedics and 1,700 medical professionals – if it wins the elections
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington, campaigning with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said a National Liberal Party government would partner with Rheinmetall Defense Australia to build a new tech district in Redbank that would create 850 new jobs
Caught with notes in the witness stand, former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou was forced to issue an embarrassing apology during the NSW casino investigation
Retailers to be barred from reopening in Victoria next week as customer movements are likely to spread further
The Commonwealth Bank’s latest update on mortgage deferrals confirms industry opinion that between 55% and 60% of borrowers are now convinced to resume mortgage payments
Scientific opinion increasingly turns to hard lockdowns to fight COVID-19 Victoria’s 14-day average increases Virus can survive 28 days on banknotes, glass; restrictions for Italy; new alert levels in Great Britain Follow live updates
Annastacia Palaszczuk
World News – AU – Business attacks « politics » on Qld border
