Pilbara tourism business closes down and publicans voice job loss concerns as WA prepares to reopen borders

A Pilbara business owner has lamented ongoing COVID uncertainty as he calls time on his tourism operation just weeks before WA finally reopens to the world. The closure of Pilbara 4WD Charters comes as two prominent Karratha publicans voice their concerns tough restrictions mooted should the Pilbara fail to reach the State’s COVID jab goal by February 5 will cost jobs in the hospitality industry. Pilbara 4WD Charters owner Neil Corker said he could no longer afford to wait until borders opened next year. “There’s still issues with COVID-19 causing problems and Mark McGowan didn’t rule out lockdowns, which is a concern,” he said. “To me, as a small operator, I just felt there was too much uncertainty going forward so unfortunately I made the decision that I wasn’t going to wait another year to see what would happen.” The Pilbara’s double vaccination rate is currently the lowest of any region at 46.1 per cent, followed by the Kimberley (60.8 per cent) and the Goldfields (65 per cent). Should the region fail to reach the 80 per cent double-vax target when WA’s hard border comes down on February 5, public health measures such as mask mandates in supermarkets and proof of vaccination to access pubs, bottle shops, gyms and cafes will be introduced. Unvaccinated travellers will also be barred from flying into the region. North West Brewing Company owner Dan Scott said they would be forced to cut jobs if patronage declined. “If we can’t get people travelling in and out of the Pilbara because they choose not to be vaccinated or they’re waiting for whatever reason, then it could have a drastic impact on us,” he said. “We’ll lose our boost of tourism dollars that we normally rely on because the Pilbara is the most expensive place in Western Australia to do business. “We can’t keep our employment base up if we’re not getting the patronage to bring in the revenue.” Stardeck Group owner Bart Parsons said the possible downturn brought on by tough restrictions would force businesses to close. “February and March are really tough months so if we’re going to have, let’s say, 30 to 40 per cent of the population who can’t come in because it’s illegal for them to do so, then that’s a huge amount of turnover,” he said. “If you have that sort of downturn over an extended period of time, you’ll see people close their doors ... people can’t weather that sort of storm.” Both owners were also concerned about policing vaccination certificates, despite WA Premier Mark McGowan on Monday saying they would not be required to do so. “We’d literally have to employ an extra person at the gate just to do that job and why should the business take that cost on,” Mr Scott said. “(The Government) needs to provide some funding for us to employ that person ... I’m happy to do things for the greater good of society, but not at a cost to our business.” Mr Parsons said it would be too much burden on the business.