CITY of Mandurah Mayor Rhys Williams has expressed his “devastation” at the cancellation of the iconic Channel 7 Mandurah Crab Fest, just one day before it was set to start.
However, the mayor said the decision had to be made for the “health and wellbeing” of the community.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly and given how important Crab Fest is to our local businesses, community and economy, we are devastated that we have had to cancel,” he said.
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“We’re heading into what is going to be a very difficult time for businesses. One of the reasons we were hoping so much that we would be able to host the Crab Fest this week was as a real injection into businesses of cash, prior to what was going to be a really tricky time.
“We shouldn’t suger-coat that. It’s going to difficult for businesses in Mandurah, across Australia and I dare say the world.”
The event was expected to take place over March 14 and 15 and has attracted more than 100,000 people in recent years. It typically injects millions into the Mandurah and WA economies.
This year was set to be the 22nd Crab Fest and is the first to be cancelled.
Mr Williams couldn’t confirm if business operators who had invested thousands into the event would be compensated, but said the City would work with them to do what they could. The mayor also encouraged the community to continue shopping locally and to go about their normal business when it was safe to do so.
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He said the City was working through the cancellation process before it could asses the cost of cancelling the event.
City staff are expected to meet next week to look at their events portfolio and consider more potential cancellations.
Mandurah MLA David Templeman, Dawesville MLA and Shadow Health Minister Zak Kirkup and Canning MP Andrew Hastie all spoke in support of the City’s decision to cancel the event.
In a joint statement, they said COVID-19 was a serious health risk and disruption to the community. “We need to remain calm, follow the safety advice issued by the Department of Health, look out for our neighbours, and support local businesses. Now is the time to pull together, Mandurah is at its best in times of hardship,” the statement read.
Mr Hastie said the Federal Government’s $17.6 billion stimulus package was designed to help provide relief in the event of cancellation’s such as that of Crab Fest.
Mr Kirkup said local fishers had about 8 tonnes of crabs stranded with nowhere to put them.
He said arrangements were been made to ensure crabs wouldn’t be wasted and could be enjoyed at restaurants in Mandurah or Perth.
There have been 14 confirmed cases and 1 death in WA, according to the Department of Health,
The cancellation is one of a raft or major events canned to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and a possible delay to the AFL season.
Other WA events cancelled or postponed:
Inglewood Night Markets
Sunday’s Shipwreck Cove launch event at Golden Bay
2020 Fairbridge Festival (April 17-19)
St Patrick’s Day Leederville festival
Jimmy Eat World concert, Metropolis Perth (March 16)
Dîner en Blanc (April 4)