Home
The West Australian exclusive

Businesses overwhelmingly prepared for State borders to reopen, CCIWA poll finds

Headshot of Adrian Lowe
Adrian LoweThe West Australian
CommentsComments
Denver chief Josh Marshall said technology companies such as his would be less affected than other sectors by the border call, but it would apply extra pressure in an already tight labour market.
Camera IconDenver chief Josh Marshall said technology companies such as his would be less affected than other sectors by the border call, but it would apply extra pressure in an already tight labour market. Credit: Daniel Wilkins/The West Australian

WA businesses were overwhelmingly prepared for a border reopening on February 5, but the disappointing decision to postpone it to an undetermined date puts them back in limbo, the State’s peak business group says.

A new poll of Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA members, released on Saturday, has outlined almost three in four were “very prepared” or “prepared enough” for the reopening and community transmission.

Most were reviewing or creating business continuity plans, sourcing personal protective equipment or rapid antigen tests, while nearly four in 10 were increasing their stock and inventory.

CCIWA chief economist Aaron Morey said the lack of a new reopening date and forward planning would hurt business.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

“Some considerable effort went into that reopening date — conversations and arragements made with potential workers and suppliers and investors and client meetings. Those sorts of plans will need to be looked at again.”

Businesses polled this week looked at adjusting ahead of the reopening: 61 per cent had started, or planned to start, restricting external face-to-face meetings, while 57 per cent added stricter social distancing, 54 per cent changed shift arrangements to reduce infection risks and 42 per cent cross-skilled existing staff.

With WA’s unemployment rate at its lowest on record, and record high jobs vacancies tipped to keep climbing, Mr Morey said there was now a real risk some workers would opt to leave the State due to the forced isolation.

“Overall the WA economy is doing quite well but there’s a high likelihood those commodity markets will turn. We’ve got to make sure we’re creating a strong business environment.”

Tech firm Denver chief executive Josh Marshall said his team was fortunate to work remotely with ease but the border call “applies a lot of pressure on attraction and retention of talent in a highly competitive market”.

“For us, the impact on the business is moreso on the ability to find people as opposed to finding work,” he said, adding the company was hoping to have grown headcount by 50 per cent by June.

“I think we’ve come to expect uncertainty within our State,” he said of the government’s decision. “There’s decisiveness but it’s also brought uncertainty too ... some industries need a plan far more than others do.”

Mr Morey said the Government needed to clarify whether WA would join the rest of the country in reclassifying close contacts and reducing the required isolation.

Deep Green Landscaping owner Rachelle Rose welcomed the delay to the border reopening, citing a lack of rapid antigen test availability and insufficient clarity on the effects for small business of isolation requirements.

Tests she had found cost $20. “If we’re testing 20 people, and that’s $400 a week, are we just copping that for the next 12 months?”

Clockwork Print director Bruce Hawley said the lack of a date affected the ability to plan or make sales forecasts, which hurt the ability to get finance. Closed borders also hurt the ability to get stock in a timely way.

Lisa Calabro, co-founder of food manufacturer Il Gelato, accepted the decision but agreed isolation requirements needed to be explained given the impact on small operations.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails