With the ACT currently closed off from much of the rest of Australia, local hospitality businesses have been struggling, with many experiencing more than a 30% drop in trade since early June.
This prompted the Canberra Liberals earlier this week to call on the ACT Government to provide direct financial aid to the sector in the form of emergency cash grants to help keep businesses afloat.
โThe reality is that some of Canberraโs hospitality venues have closed, others are contemplating closure and most have suffered a severe hit on takings,โ said Shadow Minister for Business, Leanne Castley.
โThe hospitality sector needs a survival plan before more businesses go broke and more jobs are lost.โ
Minister for Business, Tara Cheyne, said the government has already done โthe bulk of what Ms Castley has called forโ.
โExamples of this include allowing on-licence venues to sell takeaway alcohol; waiving food business registration fees; and waiving fees for outdoor dining permits,โ she said.
Ms Cheyne said the extended lockdowns across Australia that have impacted the local economy are โout of our controlโ and put it on the Commonwealth Government to come to the table.
โIt has always been the Federal Governmentโs role to provide the bulk of financial support โ across Australia โ for employers and employees suffering hardship due to the pandemic,โ she said.
Ms Cheyne called on the Commonwealth to develop a โnationally consistent approachโ where the COVID-19 Disaster Payment is extended to those eligible affected by lockdowns in other jurisdictions.
Canberrans โscared to go outโ at present
Owner of Belconnen bar, The Pot Belly, Govinder Toor has had to lay off five staff due to the โmassive downturnโ theyโve experienced since early June.
โOur bar used to be packed most nights; these days itโs basically empty,โ he told Canberra Daily.
According to Mr Toor, The Pot Bellyโs โmain baseload patronageโ is public servants, who have been impacted by the closure of three of the six buildings that government departments occupy in Belconnen.
โThe current Sydney lockdown has really impacted us again,โ he said. โPeople are scared to go out at the moment.โ
As a music venue, Mr Toor said he missed out on the ACT Governmentโs Amp It Up! live gig fund money due to his busy schedule.
โI work full time, study law and work at the bar; I donโt have time for grant applications,โ he said.
โWeโre in a situation now where money has been dispersed unequally.โ
Mr Toor suggested anything that could reduce operational costs would go a long way.
โThe best thing anyone could do for us right now is reduce utility bills not as a one-off, weโd be very grateful,โ he said.
Canberra Business Chamber CEO Graham Catt said local hospitality businesses have taken a โmassive hitโ since the last week of June, when mass cancellations for the July school holidays took place.
โMany restaurants and clubs have said they have been 30%, and in many cases even more, down on takings,โ he said.
Currently Canberra is closed to over 90% of Australiaโs domestic tourism market, with lockdowns in Sydney and surrounds, Melbourne and Southeast Queensland, and border closures.
โOur focus right now has been on getting targeted support in the form of cash payments and wage subsidies for Canberra businesses from the Commonwealth,โ Mr Catt said.
He said itโs โinequitable and incredibly frustratingโ that the ACT isnโt recognised by the Commonwealth as an affected area in need of emergency support.
โOur businesses are doing as badly as others in NSW but because Canberra is not a declared hotspot, there is currently no money for wages or businesses support,โ he said.
โWith so many small businesses in dire circumstances, and with no Commonwealth assistance, the ACT Government needs to be using every means available to help them.โ
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