Border Closure Impacts Revealed

The snap removal of Victoria Police from the Victorian border closure last week was a welcome sign. 

There was little fanfare or coverage from the mainstream media – quite the contrast to the grandstanding announcing the closure.

The removal of officers came after the Victorian Police Union reminded government that up to six police stations in Melbourne were forced to close due to insufficient staff, and other critical police services like homicide and robbery investigations were limited.

More than 400 operators in our regions recently took part in a survey on the impacts of the border closures on their business.

 The survey findings quantified the impact of the 2020 New Year’s Eve and early January closure of the Victorian–New South Wales border. 

 Key findings:

• A decline in visitor numbers is being felt widely with over one third (37%) of tourism businesses believing visitor numbers have reduced by a massive 61-99% since the border closure when compared to the same time last year
• Greatest impact of the border closure on businesses included: 
  • Reduction in turnover (72%), 
  • Cancellations (70%), 
  • Reduction in bookings (60%),  
  • Last minutes postponements (52%); and 
  • Reduced hours of staff (51%) 
• The financial impacts vary in its representation from respondents. Losses range from 15-20% decline in revenue and 100% cancelled bookings through to a $1million fall in accommodation turnover
• When compared to this time last year, forward bookings for the next three months have fallen across the board, with 39% of respondents having seen a staggering fall between 61% and 99%  
• 78% of tourism businesses see a fall in future revenue for the same time period
• 74% of tourism businesses previously qualified for Job Keeper. Of those respondents, 66% are no longer eligible. This is largely due to businesses having a strong December and no longer meeting the 30% downturn
• Approximately a quarter of tourism businesses are likely to make staff redundant as a direct result of the border closure
• Other items of note include difficulty to gain interstate technical support, logistical issues, travel time of crossing the border, confusion and misinformation, and mental health of staff.
• Stock wasted (perishable and non-perishable items) as a result of the border closure ranges from $100 through to $50,000.