CORONAVIRUS —
INTERSTATE BORDER RESTRICTIONS — TOURISM INDUSTRY
758. Mrs
A.K. HAYDEN to the Premier:
If the government only intends to
change its policy of lifting the interstate border after 28 days of community
spread elimination in the eastern states to some other policy, will the Premier
commit to giving the tourism industry and the broader community at least five
weeks' notice so they can prepare their businesses, advertise, take
bookings and employ staff?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
Our position is very clear. We
follow the advice of the Chief Health Officer. He has provided advice on these
matters on numerous occasions. If the Chief Health Officer's advice
changes in light of what is occurring over east, obviously, we will provide
further advice to the people of the state at that point in time.
With respect to the tourism
industry, obviously, the tourism minister announced an important package the
other day—the only one in Australia—for
our travel agents across Western Australia. We are the first state in Australia
to have done so. I hope and expect that other states will follow suit.
More broadly, in respect of the tourism industry, as I may have said, I have
been in a few regional locations in recent days. The feedback I got is that the
tourism industry is doing better across
regional WA than at any point in time in its history. That is because we have
the closed borders. Western Australians
are great travellers. They love to travel around the world. They are probably
the world's greatest travellers. Obviously, people are
restrained to our state, so they are getting out there and seeing our state in
ways they never have before. When I was in the north and the south in the last
few days—the deep south and the deep north—numerous people said
to me that they had not been there for years but they loved it. Our measures
have had some unusual impacts in getting people out there.
Clearly, if we get different health
advice, we will provide that advice to the chamber, industry and people across
the state.