Support business that are open as well as those who are closed: mayor
Brisbane's lord mayor got his hair cut – and avoided a pink Mohawk – then asked the people of Brisbane to support the businesses that are open, so that people could keep their jobs.
To make his point, he asked hairdressing legend Stefan Ackerie – who is recovering from serious back surgery to repair compressed discs in his lower back – to trim his hair.
Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner has his hair cut by Stefan Ackerie, of hairdressing chain Stefan.Credit:Fairfax Media
"There is a lot of focus on what has closed down," Mayor Schrinner said this morning, before the scissors and trimmer began.
"But I think it is important that we acknowledge those businesses that are allowed by the government to continue operating," he said.
"One of those is hairdressing salons and barber shops."
He said most businesses that remained open were finding it difficult to trade as they had fewer customers.
"But every bushiness that is staying open is a business that is employing people and creating local jobs. And at this time, that is important.
"So come and get your hair cut and support these businesses which remain open."
Did he get a radical haircut for the first meeting of the Brisbane City Council, at a date still to be chosen because the Electoral Commission of Queensland has not yet finished counting?
"Well, Stefan's favourite colour is pink," the mayor quipped.
"So maybe pink hair?"
No such luck. It stayed a sensible, business trim of conventional colour.
Stefan Ackerie has been cutting hair for 55 years and knows his way around a pair of scissors. As a younger man, he was Australia's highest-profile hair stylist with 50 salons around Australia.
He was born in Lebanon, but his family migrated to Adelaide when he was 15. He learned to speak English at night school and his father encouraged him to learn to cut hair.
Long before he moved into the White House, Donald Trump and Queensland hairdresser Stefan Ackerie struck up a friendship. The pair is at the 1985 National Offshore Powerboat Championship, which Trump sponsored.
His business empire resulted in his being a finalist in the Australian of the Year nominations and named a Queensland Great in 2013.
His passion for speedboat racing – with its constant buffeting – is behind the recent compressed disc injury and surgery, but he appeared well and in good humour.
Now 79, his one remaining professional hairdressing client is mining magnate Terry Peabody.
"Nearly always it's a haircut and lunch," he says with a laugh.
Stefan has been forced to close half of his remaining 39 hair salons as the impact of the coronavirus hits, but is considering slowly re-opening more of his salons.
He told reporters the important thing was to not let the economy stall, an analogy he absorbed from his early pilot's training.
'One of the first things they taught us in flying was, Don't stall, don't stall," Stefan told reporters.
"And at the time, I didn't understand what the word 'stall' meant.
"But after a week of training , before going solo and being told 'don't stall, don't stall', I realised what the word 'stall' meant.
"Now I think it is very important, at this time in the world, that we don't stall.
"If a country stalls there will be unpleasant things. So it is very important that we don't stall and that we all do our bit."
Mr Ackerie was confident the economy would recover.
"We will not stall," he said.