Popular winery Bird in Hand, based in the Adelaide Hills wine region of South Australia, has signalled its intent to become one of the first businesses in South Australia’s hospitality industry to deny customers entry if they haven’t received a double dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Founder Andrew Nugent made a statement on Thursday afternoon, published on the business’ Facebook page, informing customers and the wider community that in the interest of protecting public health, all customers would require a double dose of the vaccine to gain entry to the premise from November 15th, 2021.
Nugent wrote:
“Let’s help ourselves, our friends in lockdown in the eastern states, our wine, food, hospitality, and tourism partners by getting this done.”
The Facebook post ignited a social media storm, with many users strongly condemning the policy and threatening to boycott the winery. Some claimed the policy is discriminatory and can invoke health segregation within the South Australian community.
The founder's statement also mentioned that all staff employed by the winery will require double dose vaccinations.
Similar measures recently created conjecture across the country in past weeks such as when Shepparton-based food processor SPC became the first company in Australia to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all staff members.
FlowNews24 reported earlier this week that the federal government had declared on Saturday it would indemnify employers against any lawsuits or leave costs if staff were vaccinated and subsequently suffered adverse reactions.
Bird in Hand's policy on mandatory vaccinations would make it Australia's first winery to declare that a COVID-19 vaccination for staff members will be mandatory.
The winery will join airline carriers Qantas, Virgin Australia and Alliance Airlines as Australian companies publicly stating that staff members will require vaccinations.
Australia’s official policy on vaccinations is that they be voluntary and free to all citizens, which was emphasised by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a personal address to Flownews24 back in August, when Morrison promised that COVID-19 vaccines will remain voluntary, writing:
“While we want to achieve the highest rate of vaccination possible, it will not be compulsory to have the vaccine. The Government is clear that vaccination is a personal choice.”
On the Flow Morning Show, Wayne and Rikki discussed how 'voluntary' vaccination choices are in Australia: