Sunshine Coast businesses that rely on Brisbane visitors say they're facing their toughest weeks since the first lockdowns of 2020, with attractions and food ventures closed and events cancelled.
Key points:
Sunshine Coast tourism operators say they’ve lost $45 million collectively from one week of lockdown
Many farm-gate food operators won’t qualify for help because their revenue is too low or they are too new
Strawberry farmers say the closure of farm gate ventures has come at the worst possible time
Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said tourism operators were reporting an 80 per cent loss of revenue that was getting worse each day the South-East Queensland lockdown continued.
He said Sunshine Coast businesses would lose $45 million in one week.
Fifty casual workers at the Ginger Factory in Yandina have been stood aside until the business can reopen.
"We had a massive immediate impact when we had to cancel a lunch for 350 people last Sunday because of the short notice," Buderim Ginger CEO Andrew Bond said.
"We were able to donate the food to OzHarvest, but it remained a huge cost to the business."
Farm gate food operators out of pocket
Smaller operators have also been left with huge amounts of food from cancelled bookings, but fear they won’t be eligible for any government assistance.
Chef Alan Dawes said the lockdown had taken an emotional toll on him and his business partner, who were due to open their fireside-dining business on August 7.
"It's been there two months in the making, and we were ready to go this weekend, and we can't," Mr Dawes said.
They were now trying to rebook two months' worth of tickets to their food experience at Kenilworth.
Mr Dawes said more than $2,000 worth of food also had to be sold and given to charities after cancelled events.
"We had whole pigs and animals and stuff, so we actually managed to like freeze some of it and give it away," he said.
The British-born chef worried he wouldn't qualify for Queensland Government assistance as he hadn't officially opened yet and businesses needed $75,000 in annual turnover to get the $5,000 payment.
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Takeaway not an option at the farm gate
Chef Alan Dawes and other regional food business owners could not pivot to take-away options due to the 10-kilometre restriction on movement.
"It's not like you can go drive around and go buy something from the farm gate store," LuvaBerry Director Mandy Schultz said.
She and her husband Adrian Schultz diversified their Wamuran strawberry farm recently to include tourism operations and freeze-dried products, after being hit by the 2018 strawberry glut and needle contamination saga.
The new farm venture had been open just two weeks when the lockdown was announced.
Accommodation, wineries left empty
Clouds Retreats CEO Kaye Smyth admitted her mood had been "up and down" after having to stand down 30 casual cleaners, wait staff and receptionists at her winery and accommodation venues an hour north of Brisbane.
"And so it's totally … nobody's there, and we're talking accommodation, they've just all cancelled. So it's a big loss for us," Ms Smyth said.
Ms Smyth said she could not afford to pay staff while venues were empty.
"But I suppose just keeping in touch and saying well, that, you know, the job is still there when they come out of it, or when we come out of it," she said.
Concerns bookings won't recover
Ms Smyth said she would get a $5,000 grant from the Queensland government, but the losses would be significantly more, and potentially ongoing.
"I think people start to hesitate again about travelling," she said.
"People are tending not to book, try and do anything until they're certain. So it can slow our bookings down, coming out of it as well."
She said her Maleny food and wine business, The Barrel at Clouds, had pivoted to providing meals for elderly hinterland residents, with the chef turning food destined for weddings and baby showers into home-style curries.
Operators favour lockdown despite losses
Ms Smyth said despite the challenges she supported the Queensland government's snap lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Strawberry entrepreneur Mandy Schultz said the lockdown had come at a terrible time in the middle of the strawberry picking "window" and forcing the cancellation of the Moreton Bay Food and Wine festival.
However, she was determined not to be a "whinger".
Queensland's Deputy Premier Stephen Miles said it was still too early to know whether the lockdown would end as planned on Sunday.
The federal government is not currently offering business support in Queensland, but any worker who has lost 20 or more hours per week can apply through MyGov and Centrelink for payments of $750 per week and payments of $450 per week if they have lost between eight and 20 hours of work.