18 February 2022
The Australian Hotels Association (WA) has strongly urged the WA Government to avoid onerous COVID-19 restrictions such as 1 in 4sqm capacity limits that will damage the viability of hospitality venues and cost jobs.
AHA(WA) CEO Bradley Woods said calls by some to implement South Australia’s hospitality-destroying density limits of 1 in 4sqm would be devastating and unnecessary given WA’s preparedness.
“WA’s hospitality venues are rightly concerned that they will again bear the brunt of excessive and deeply damaging COVID-19 restrictions,” Mr Woods said.
“If any capacity limits are imposed by Government, they should only apply for a very limited period of time and be complemented by financial compensation that recognises the inevitable loss in earnings.”
“Those advocating for unnecessarily harsh density limits ignore the fact that WA has the broadest mandatory vaccination policy in the country and the majority of eligible Western Australians are already triple vaccinated.”
“Recent calls to implement harsh restrictions, such as South Australia’s 1 in 4sqm limit, ignore WA’s comprehensive vaccination policies and our strong booster vaccination rate.”
“Unlike WA, SA has a very limited COVID-19 vaccination policy, which doesn’t include hospitality workers or patrons visiting hospitality venues.”
“Evidence shows Western Australians are already self-regulating their behaviour by not congregating in what are perceived to be high-risk settings, further reducing the need for harsh restrictions.”
“Omicron is here, but Western Australians and industry are well prepared. Hospitality businesses and the tens of thousands of jobs they support cannot afford to endure the impact of harsh restrictions that were in place prior to us having such high rates of vaccination.”
Further information: David De Garis 0412 577 567
