David Vuong, travel agent: ‘It’s really hard to make a plan’
International travel agent David Vuong is working harder than ever, but he hasn’t made any money since March.
Like many business owners, he was forced to shut up shop when COVID-19 hit Australia. Since then, he’s been fielding constant calls from customers concerned about whether to cancel their bookings and if they will be refunded.
In New South Wales, Australia’s hardest-hit state, beauty salons, including waxing, tanning and facials, . On the same day, pubs, restaurants, and bars were permitted to host up to 50 people at any one time. In just under two weeks, that limit will be removed.
Indoor gyms, tattoo shops, and massage parlours are also back in business. But Mr Vuong has no idea when he’ll be able to reopen.
On 18 March a striking screenshot was posted to Twitter. From the government’s SafeTraveller website, the image showed a map of the entire world coloured red, meaning “do not travel”.
Travel agent David Vuong hasn't had any new bookings since March due to COVID-19. Source: Maani Truu/SBS News
As Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the decision to ban all international travel, Mr Vuong, who started his Sydney travel agency in 2005, said he thought the restrictions would only last for a few months.
Almost three months later, there is still no timeline for reopening Australia’s borders, , and one international tourism body has predicted it could take years for the sector to return to 2019 levels.
Nearly all of Mr Vuong’s income previously came from overseas bookings, primarily in south-east Asia.
“All the costs involved in the business we still have to pay, so we hope the situation will be settled in the next few months otherwise I don’t think we can survive after that,” he said.
Not only is no money coming in through new bookings, he is also having to pay out refunds to affected customers.
“You have no income coming, but you still work and you have nothing to gain from the work,” he said.
Mr Vuong has been able to receive JobKeeper, but with government plans to end the wage subsidy on 27 September he said he’ll have to look for additional work and run the business on a part-time basis.
Peak tourism industry bodies have called for the scheme to be extended, warning more than 400,000 jobs could be lost without financial support. But as the government prepares for the pre-scheduled review of the scheme, the future for business owners like Mr Vuong remains uncertain.
“We don’t know what the government will be doing in the next six months, so it’s really hard to make a plan. What should we do?” he said.
Vanessa*, sex worker: ‘Other comparable industries have gone back to work’
When the federal government announced its in May, sex worker advocates were quick to point out one industry that had been left off the plan.
In the public timeline, the government noted that as of Step 3, the final stage in the plan, “brothels and strip clubs should remain closed”. Fears that this was a targeted omission increased as the states released their own steps for easing restrictions, with largely no mention of sex work.
In NSW, where Vanessa has been put “effectively out of work”, brothels were on Monday given the green light to reopen on 1 July, but it's only after massage parlours and other “comparable” businesses were told they could return.
“There are a lot of similar industries that have been allowed to go back. When you think of comparable industries, you don’t see the same restrictions and I can’t read that as anything other than discrimination,” Vanessa said.
“There’s no clear evidence base for us to be left out or specifically excluded.”
Throughout the pandemic, sex workers have been permitted to continue working outside of brothels in NSW, which has decriminalised sex work, but for many, working independently isn’t an option.
In other states such as Queensland and Victoria, brothels have been closed and independent sex work has also been banned. Brothels are not legal in Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia.
“Being an independent worker involves setting up a lot of business infrastructure, and you have to have a relative amount of capital, time, money, the ability to use tech tools, being able to access them,” said Vanessa, who worked in a brothel prior to COVID-19.
“For many people, the brothel is a place where that structure is already set up for them.”
Sex workers also face barriers to accessing JobKeeper or JobSeeker, Vanessa said, particularly in states where sex work isn’t decriminalised. Many brothel workers are also classed as independent contractors, which can pose extra challenges when claiming government support.
The government should have consulted with sex worker organisations earlier on, Vanessa said.
“We are the ones who know the ins and outs of our industry and can make a plan for a safe return to work.”
Thorsten Hertog, event organiser: ‘We were the first to go and the last to go back’
As soon as the yearly Soft Centre art, sound and light festival in Sydney wraps up, the event’s three co-directors usually start preparing for the next showcase.
But with this year’s event cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions and no timeline for when they will be lifted, 2020 is looking very different.
“We’re interested in the extremes of experimental club music, sound and noise art but also the more DIY punk and metal scenes and we pair that with large scale light installations,” co-director Thorsten Hertog said.
Soft Centre co-directors Sam Whiteside (left), Thorsten Hertog (centre), and Jemma Cole (right). Source: Josh Bentley/Supplied
Typically the one-day festival, held at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in Western Sydney, would attract 1,500 attendees. Mr Hertog said the venue has estimated they won’t be hosting “events of that scale” again for at least two financial years.
The directors were also booked to present a Soft Centre showcase in Amsterdam earlier this year, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Our industry was the first to bear the brunt of the pandemic,” Mr Hertog said. “It’s been an intense time of reflection … the previous iteration of Soft Centre, the 1,500 people at Casula, is no longer possible.”
There have been for more funding for entertainment and creative businesses, which in many cases, have been unable to access federal government support.
While some rescue measures have been introduced, such as a $50 million package from the NSW government, Mr Hertog said the “general feeling” was that this support is largely going towards major performing arts institutions, while smaller organisations are being left behind.
Soft Centre festival in 2018. Source: Jordan Munns/Supplied
In April, it was announced 49 small to medium operations would lose their long-term Australian Council of the Arts funding from 2022, including the Australian Theatre for Young People and the Sydney Writers Festival.
In an attempt to fill the funding gap, the council announced a $5 million resilience fund that would provide some organisations with a smaller amount of funding in 2021 as they ride out the COVID-19 crisis.
“We were the first to go and we’ll be the last to go back, so we absolutely need more stimulus packages from the government,” he said.
“There’s so much uncertainty about what will be possible, even six months from now. I feel like everyone I speak to is just umming and ahhing and it’s really just a matter of speculation at this point.”
In a much-needed hit of good news for the industry, the NSW government on Saturday announced 1,000 coronavirus-safe gigs to take place across the state in November. The following day, Premier Gladys Berejiklian would be removed on 1 July. The "one person per four square metres" rule will remain in place.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Mr Hertog said the team are planning a smaller event that will be “adaptable and scalable to evolving social distancing restrictions” for later in the year.
What that will look like though, is still unclear.
*Not her real name.
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