Fed-up business owners have vowed to defy vaccine passports by allowing un-vaccinated customers through their doors amid fears they will never reopen if patrons have to be turned away.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian today revealed the freedoms that will be restored to NSW residents as she finally announced the state’s roadmap out of lockdown.
Double-dosed Sydneysiders will be allowed to enter pubs, cafes, shops, gyms and hairdressers with a four-square-metre distancing rule by proving they are fully vaccinated using the ServiceNSW app.
While the roadmap has come as welcome news to the majority of the state, concerned business owners remain wary of the mandate on vaccinations, with some labelling it ‘discrimination’.
Fed-up business owners have vowed to defy vaccine passports by allowing un-vaccinated customers through their doors (pictured, patrons at a Sydney pub when the first lockdown ended in June 2020)
Sydney hairdresser Lisa Avertty said her decision to get a Covid vaccine ‘wasn’t personal’ but was made for the benefit of her family and business.
‘I would welcome everyone with open arms but I have to do what’s right for the business and to be able to open after this long I’ll do what I have to do,’ she said.
‘It’s a horrible position to be put in as a business owner.’
A since-deleted Facebook page titled ‘Businesses ALL Welcome Jabbed or NOT Jabbed Australia-Wide’ boasted nearly 100,000 members before it disappeared.
Business owners promoted their brand on the page to assure potential customers they would be welcome regardless of their vaccination status.
The businesses ranged from gyms, beauty salons, hairdressers, restaurants and takeaways, pubs and even car dealerships.
Angry business owners posted videos to the page declaring they would rebel against vaccine passports as well as public health orders.
Lisa McKay, the owner of the Grand Hotel Healesville in Victoria, sent tongues wagging when she posted a now-viral video on Tuesday, in which she promised to welcome both vaccinated and unvaccinated patrons back to her pub.
Lisa McKay, (pictured) the owner of the Grand Hotel Healesville in Victoria, sent tongues wagging when she posted a now-viral video on Tuesday, in which she promised to welcome both vaccinated and unvaccinated patrons back to her pub
While the roadmap has come as welcome news to the majority of the state, concerned business owners remain wary of the mandate on vaccinations (pictured, patrons in Bondi)
The publican defended her original message and said she wasn’t in a financial position to turn patrons away, especially after the latest round of lockdowns.
‘Everybody should be allowed to live their life no matter of their decision whether to get the jab or not get the jab,’ she told A Current Affair.
‘Businesses are not in a position to be able to turn people away either, after being closed for so long, they’re struggling.
‘I think it’s discrimination.’
It’s a concern shared by Sydney restaurant owner John Chammas who said he’s already bracing himself for frustrating arguments with his clientele.
Mr Chammas is the managing director of Mammas and Papas, an Italian and Mediterranean restaurant in Baulkham Hills and Parramatta.
‘The arguments we’re going to have at that front door, it’s going to be difficult. We’ve never had to encounter anything like this before,’ he said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) today revealed the freedoms that will be restored to NSW residents as she finally announced the state’s roadmap out of lockdown
The director predicted his restaurants would yo-yo between open and closed every time there was a Covid scare or a positive case of the virus.
Pub magnate and former federal MP Craig Laundy is an executive with the Laundy Hotels pub group that operates more than two dozen venues across the state.
He revealed the group had laid off 2300 staff members during the latest lockdown and said he was ‘desperate’ to reopen and get them back to work.
Mr Laundy explained a system to check customer’s vaccination status would be set-up at the entrance of each of his venues.
Gladys Berejiklian shrugged off the concerns of small businesses on Thursday as the state recorded 1,405 new Covid cases and five more deaths (pictured, patrons in Sydney)
Patrons will use a QR code to check-in to the pub while being overseen by an employee who will check if they’ve received both jabs.
The publican said his staff were already used to copping abuse from intoxicated patrons so would be well-versed in denying entry to un-vaccinated punters.
He said there were several ‘logistical questions’ that needed resolving by the NSW government in time for Freedom Day, which as of now has no fixed date.
Mr Laundy said the next six weeks would be crucial for ironing out the details that would ensure businesses across the state could open safely and confidently.
Australian chef and restaurateur Luke Magnan said while the roadmap had provided some much-needed hope for business, the four-square-metre social distancing rule would cause smaller business to suffer.
‘They’re such small places, they can only have three or four tables in their spaces, so that’s going to be a problem for them,’ he told A Current Affair’s Tracy Grimshaw.
Gladys Berejiklian shrugged off the concerns of small businesses on Thursday as the state recorded 1,405 new Covid cases and five more deaths.
Sydney hairdresser Lisa Avertty said her decision to get a Covid vaccine ‘wasn’t personal’ but was made for the benefit of her family and business (pictured, hair salon in Melbourne)
‘It is easier to police venues because all retail outlets and other places of hospitality require QR codes,’ the premier said.
‘That is why we have been speaking about the vaccine passport and the QR code system.
‘If you want to go and buy something which is regarded as a non-essential shop, you will put up the QR code and if it is not a green light saying you have been vaccinated, you won’t be welcome inside.’
It comes as the NSW Government has warned businesses which allow unvaccinated customers through their doors or hire staff who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will face ‘significant fines’.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro said if businesses fail to keep an eye on who is coming in they will cop severe penalties.
‘There will be a poster on the front window to say the business is vaccinated… and we will make sure it is very visible for the public,’ he said.
‘There will be significant fines for breaches.’