Broome tourism and business leaders’ desperate plea for Kimberley border to lift in line with rest of WA to salvage part of peak season

Business and tourism leaders in the tourist mecca of Broome have made a desperate plea to the State Government to reopen the Kimberley in line with the rest of WA should regional COVID-19 travel restrictions be lifted. The calls—fuelled by hopes to salvage part of the peak season through intrastate visitors—have been backed by a swathe of politicians, including Federal Member for Durack Melissa Price, who has penned a letter calling for urgent action from Premier Mark McGowan. The Kimberley was last month a “huge concern” for the State Government because of its high indigenous population, but not one new case of the virus has been recorded in more than four weeks. There have been zero active cases for 12 days within the region, which is one of only two in WA to have a dedicated COVID clinic. Leaders in Broome—the North’s largest winter tourism destination—were yesterday reduced to tears of frustration after reports emerged the region could remain closed even if the rest of the State’s borders were opened, to prevent the spread to vulnerable Aboriginal people, despite communities remaining shut off. The Premier’s office said Commonwealth Biosecurity Act restrictions covering all of the Kimberley and parts of the Pilbara were expected to remain in place until at least June 18 — which is still six weeks away. Australia’s North West Tourism chief executive Natasha Mahar said it was “absolutely imperative” the Kimberley reopened alongside the rest of WA. “The seasonality of tourism in the North makes us more vulnerable than other regions within WA and operators rely on those visitors for their livelihoods,” she said. “Our operators just can’t go on much longer with no income, particularly off the back of a wet season.” Broome Visitor Centre manager Mel Virgo there were businesses and operators that would never be able to operate again because of the severe impact in the area. “The bottom line is any markets will help to keep businesses afloat until things start to return,” she said. Ms Virgo said it was important precautions were put in place to continue to shut indigenous communities off to outside visitors if the Broome centre were to open. Broome Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Peter Taylor said businesses in the town, who would normally be on the verge of its money-making tourist season, were presented with “harrowing” personal accounts of financial stress and anxiety. “If we cannot regain at least part of the 2020 tourist season then these businesses will not have any cash flow until April/May 2021 to carry them through the wet,” he said. “If the Kimberley borders remain closed these families and individuals with bills and mortgages to pay and food to put on the table will have no hope of surviving until the next tourist season in 2021. “Small businesses are big employers and cannot survive for long by relying on just the limited demand of the local market.” Long-term pearling retailer Bill Reed said restrictions had led to a “disastrous” impact on Broome. “I have never before seen the retailers of Broome so quiet and despondent,” he said. Broome International Airport chief executive Paul McSweeney said the outcome of the not reopening the town and wider Kimberley would be “catastrophic.” “This will cause many operators to go out of business and the tourism offering in Broome and the Kimberley will be in tatters for years to come,” he said. “We must do everything we can to prevent this.” Shire of Broome president Harold Tracey said medical evidence and “regional preparedness” suggested the Kimberley was not at any higher risk than the rest of WA. He met with the three other local government leaders in the region yesterday to discuss a plan to move past COVID-19 restrictions. The group, known as the Kimberley Zone, said they would await State and Federal Government updates this weekend before considering the next step of lifting the Biosecurity Restrictions in the Kimberley. Mr Tracey said as shire president, he was acutely aware of the importance of giving business a clear line of site as to when they can get back to work and try to salvage even a part of the tourist season. Federal Member for Durack Melissa Price wrote to Mr McGowan on Wednesday after speaking with dozens of Broome retailers and service providers earlier the same day, pleading that he throws local businesses a lifeline. “As you will be aware, regional WA has suffered unavoidable economic loss due to these regional boundary restrictions,” the letter read. “The Kimberley has suffered the greatest. “If the boundary restrictions were lifted shortly, the business community has a chance to salvage something of the 2020 dry season, ending in October.” Broome-based Mining and Pastoral MLC Ken Baston said there were people in the Kimberley paying a very high price for COVID-19 measures, with many facing the collapse of businesses, livelihood and even family homes. “The community has worked hard to beat this virus and the government must now repay this hard work and sacrifice with a strategy that allows the Kimberley to open up while protecting vulnerable outlying communities,” he said. “I am concerned about the Premier’s comments about keeping the entire Kimberley shut off. “Keeping these restrictions in place for an extended amount of time will decimate the region’s economy and it will take some people years to recover their livelihoods.” Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said the organisation wanted to develop with the State Government what it has dubbed “contained tourism” into Far North holiday hot spots such as Broome. “We could basically provide a tourism experience that’s contained in terms of its contact with the local community,” Mr Hall said. “There would be a lot of people who would like a ‘flying hop holiday’ where they can fly in and flop down in a resort — and in a lot of ways it doesn’t look different to the 14-days quarantine arrangement already in place.” Ms Mahar said the notion would be “at the very least” a sensible approach. Mr McGowan’s office said restrictions would be lifted where and when they could. All Local Government Area boundaries in the Kimberley are currently closed off and a $50,000 fine applies for any visitor trying to enter an indigenous community.