News & Announcements

This week’s announcement of the hard border closure to NSW and the ACT was another dispiriting indication that the path out of the COVID-19 crisis will be long and difficult for the community and for the tourism industry.

Apart from the immediate impact on bookings, travel and flight schedules, perhaps the worst part is that it snuffed out the hope that we were on a straight path to gradually ease restrictions.  We are now back to complete uncertainty, making business and workforce planning very difficult.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) has launched an inquiry to investigate the practices of the insurance industry that impact small businesses and consider whether small business insurance products are fit for purpose.

We’ve been hearing from an increasing number of members recently about a growing trend of insurance companies denying businesses insurance completely or pricing insurance policies out of reach.  QTIC has raised this as an urgent issue in relevant state and federal forums, including with federal members of Parliament .  The inquiry announced now will look specifically at addressing these various concerns.  While this inquiry is focused on the small business sector, we are quite aware that the problem is affecting all businesses and we will continue to pursue the issue at all levels. 

While Queensland finds itself in a very enviable situation compared to most parts of the world and the nation, we are a long way from a full recovery in our industry.

The situation in Victoria and the uncertainty about NSW’s infection trajectory is keeping both government and industry on high alert. We all have an interest in avoiding a slide back into more severe restrictions, let alone a hard border closure. It is a fine line, not least given that a lot of community sentiment appears to favour a more drastic isolation of Queensland.