Premium Content
Subscriber only New data suggests 15 per cent of Mackay businesses have completely recovered from the effect of COVID-19 restrictions. Almost three in five businesses say they have recovered between 67 and 100 per cent of pre-COVID-19 trade. The majority of recovering businesses say a full recovery is unlikely while public health orders remain in place. Mackay Region Chamber of Commerce s Building Business Confidence lunch. Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland data shows 15 per cent of Mackay s businesses say they have had a complete recovery after COVID-19. Picture: Rae Wilson But the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland received only 44 Mackay responses to its December Pulse survey so the results cannot be deemed statistically significant, rather can be used just as a guide.
Premium Content
Subscriber only A Mackay small business owner has emerged stronger than ever after COVID-19 forced the shutdown of Bonnie Hayhoe s beauty salon for seven weeks. Mrs Hayhoe has owned the Beauty Worx salon in Mount Pleasant for the past 13 years and this year expanded the team to 10 therapists and opened a second location in South Mackay. For the small business owner, being forced to shut her store during the height of Queensland s lockdown last year was a scary time. Because we weren t given much notice, it was very daunting not knowing what was going to happen and not being fully prepared for closing down, she said.
A Mackay seafood exporter of 30 years says he is most definitely worried about the ripple effects China s import ban will have on the Australian industry. Mackay Reef Fish Supplies owner David Caracciolo, who has sold seafood in the region since 1986, said China had not renewed import permits leaving Australian exporters in the lurch with nowhere to offload their product. He said the situation had reached a point where seafood usually destined for overseas - especially in the quiet times in-between Christmas, Chinese New Year and Easter - was being dumped on the domestic market deflating prices. When the local market is depressed, it s very hard to sell, Mr Caracciolo said.
Premium Content
Subscriber only People from all over Australia are travelling to Mackay to take advantage of one of our greatest assets. Fewer than three months after the Resources Centre of Excellence flung its doors open to the world, its general manager Steven Boxall said business was booming.
The facility held an open day in November, which gave participants a chance to see first-hand the industry innovation and development happening right here in Mackay. Mr Boxall said the vision for the centre was to allow business and industry to use the space to develop the technology and the jobs of the future .
Premium Content
Subscriber only In a major coup for the Mackay region, nationally significant virtual reality technology will now be on hand for businesses to trial and integrate into their sphere. The major technical leap will allow companies in the region to explore and test out how they can incorporate virtual reality into their workplaces. Mackay s Resources Centre of Excellence has partnered with the Queensland University of Technology to design the virtual reality and augmented reality technology. RCOE general manager Steven Boxall said this was something industry did not have access to previously. Everyone hears of VR and AR and how it can be used in the industry, but for a lot of businesses, they don t have the time or money to develop the software then acquire the hardware to be able to implement that sort of training in their business, Mr Boxall said.