Many local business leaders are feeling deflated by Tuesday’s announcement that the lockdown would be extended for another month. Many of the capital’s small businesses are already on the ropes, and business leaders fear this could be a knockout blow for them.
“There’s no genuine pathway out,” said Kel Watt, a spokesman for Braddon United Retailers and Traders.
“We don’t know what it’s going to look like after 15 October – and it’s killing people. The biggest business killer and job killer is not going to be COVID. It’s going to be the lack of certainty.
“People still don’t know about payments between now and October 15; they don’t know what the pathway is out; and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. You are going to see a huge number of businesses close between now and Christmas.”
Tom Adam, president of the Phillip Business Community, says the ACT Government was not prepared for the lockdown.
“You have a huge lockdown happening 300km away affecting the most populous state and the biggest city in the country – and there was no planning done within the public service here to prepare for that.”
He and other business leaders say they counted on the ACT Government to reveal a roadmap out of the lockdown on Tuesday – something he says they had promised for four working days beforehand – and were dismayed when the government did not deliver.
Many expected that once 70 and 80 per cent of Canberrans were vaccinated, normal economic activity would be resumed in stages. (On Wednesday, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said more detail on easing restrictions might be provided in a fortnight.)
Already, some Canberra businesses have shut their doors, possibly forever. Some cafes have closed because there is no incentive for them to continue making losses like they did last year, Mr Adam said.
The owners of Braddon’s hospitality venues have lost hope; from anger and frustration, many now despair, Mr Watt said.
Formerly prosperous law firms that once brought $10 or $20 million to the ACT economy might be gone in a month, said John-Paul Romano, chair of the Inner-South Business Council.
One construction business that made $10 million a year has moved to Queensland because “they’re sick of what’s going on here and there was no support from the government again,” he said.
Businesses’ cash reserves have been wiped out, Mr Adam said; he managed to save his martial arts and fitness centre by putting every penny he had into it.
Businesses cannot pay the rents, said Sukhjeet Singh, president of the Mitchell Traders, and many cannot afford to keep their staff on, even part-time.
Once lockdown ends, business leaders fear there will be skills shortage in the ACT; already, for instance, many personal trainers have left the industry and found full-time jobs elsewhere.
Manny Notaras has owned Caph’s in Manuka for 35 years; the restaurant is an ACT institution.
“Our funds are drying up,” he said. “We’re getting no support. The Commonwealth is giving $750 a week to everybody, so I don’t know why we can’t get $20,000 out to our own people.”
And business leaders feel the ACT Government is not listening to them. Mr Barr said he has a daily hook-up with business – but Messrs Adam, Romano, Singh, and Watt say the Chief Minister has not spoken to any of the local business groups directly since the lockdown was called.
Mr Adam said he wrote email after email in the last six weeks to different ministers’ offices, and has not received a direct response from any of them.
“None of [the business owners] feel they’ve been able to speak directly to government; frustration is boiling over in communities,” Mr Adam said. “[Mr Barr] may be listening, but I don’t think he’s actually hearing the concerns.”
Tara Cheyne, Minister for Business, attended an online meeting with the business trader groups as an observer on Tuesday afternoon.
She believes there would be real value in having a direct government-traders chat, and has invited the traders to a meeting on Friday with government officials from Economic Development who are managing the Business Grant program.
