East Kimberley tourism companies fear that the loss of JobKeeper will wreak havoc if Western Australia closes its border with the eastern states.

Important points:

  • East Kimberley tourism companies relied heavily on JobKeeper during the pandemic
  • Tourism leaders urge WA to adopt a “hotspot” approach to border closings
  • Tour operators say it will take years to recover from the 2020 downturn

The federal government’s wage subsidy ends today and was vital for tourism businesses in the region to keep their employees busy during the downturn.

Charlie Sharpe, owner of the Lake Argyle Resort, said JobKeeper cushioned the blow when he had to quickly cut his workforce from about 50 to a handful.

He hired about a dozen people at JobKeeper, which meant he could keep his resort open in 2020, which brought in about 10 percent of his usual business.

Now he and others are nervous about the prospect of Western Australia closing its border again during the dry season, when tourists traditionally flock to Kimberley to take advantage of the sunny weather, pristine national parks and breathtaking scenery.

“Eighty percent [of our business] comes from the southeast corner and if you lock out a couple of those states we’ll just pack up and go home, ”he said.

“And they’ll pull JobKeeper out again and we won’t be able to pay taxes because we have no money.”

Hopefully those empty trailer pitches at a Kununurra holiday park will soon be filled when the tourist season kicks off in April. (

ABC: Ted O’Connor

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He’s joined a chorus of tourism companies who want WA to ban travelers from certain areas when an outbreak occurs, rather than entire states.

“I really hope the Washington government now sit back and see how the Northern Territory and South Australia have done such a good job of keeping or excluding people from hotspots.”

“On a knife edge”

Maria Bolten Magnay owns a holiday park on the edge of Lake Kununurra and said her bookings fell 80 percent over the past year.

At the height of the pandemic, she had up to 12 employees at JobKeeper, who described the wage subsidy as a “lifesaver”.

“It meant we didn’t have to lose all of our human capital … familiarity with the business and customers,” she said.

“All was not lost in a great success, it was a really important thing for the business.”

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But she feared the prospect of another downturn without JobKeeper.

“If the borders close, we will get into a real fight because we still had a massive blow on our balance sheet,” said Ms. Bolten Magnay.

“Things are still up to date.

“We’d look at some real lean exit plans for the company.”

A bird's eye view of a stunning outback lake. Lake Argyle in the east of Kimberley is a popular tourist spot due to its breathtaking scenery and warm water. (

ABC News: Ted O’Connor

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It takes years for aviation tourism to recover

A large part of the East Kimberley tourist experience includes air tours to waterfalls, Argyle Lake, and the Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park.

East Kimberley Marketing Group Chairman Michael McConachy is the managing director of two aviation companies and lost “into the millions” in 2020 due to the high cost of running his aircraft.

“I think it would be fair to say that it would take our company three to five years to get back to where we were in February and March last year,” he said.

He, too, wants the Washington administration to reflect on the implications for East Kimberley when making decisions regarding border closings.

“The potential for borders closing in 2021 without a backup system like JobKeeper could be really devastating,” he said.

“I think it has to be handled carefully to make sure we don’t overreact so we can survive in the future.”

A river with a forest and mountains in the background. The Cockburn Ranges and the Pentecost River are some of the most popular spots in the east of the Kimberley for fishermen and tourists. (

Delivered: Marc De St Pern

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A spokesman for Prime Minister Mark McGowan said in a statement to the ABC that WA’s tough border regulations have always been based on health advice.

“This approach has protected the health of Western Australians and allowed the state’s economic boom to run the nation,” he said.

“Our management of COVID-19 has worked and we will continue to rely on health advice regarding boundaries.”

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“Go insane”

Despite the nerves, many tourism companies in East Kimberley are happy about a sharp increase in their bookings compared to previous years, as Australians are vacationing locally due to a ban on international travel.

“Aside from the mess over Christmas when things went bad, the bookings were really insane,” said Sharpe.

“I speak, the advance bookings have increased by 600 percent compared to 2019.”

The situation is similar at Maria Bolten Magnay’s holiday park.

“The bookings for 2021 are looking really, really strong. We’re four or five times higher than what we were,” she said.