Additional $40m Covid package to help our small businesses

SA small businesses affected by the ongoing Covid restrictions will be eligible for additional financial support under a new $40m package.

SA small and medium businesses affected by Covid restrictions will be eligible for additional financial support under a new jointly-funded package from the state and federal governments.

The new $40m South Australian Covid-19 additional business support grant will deliver support to about 19,000 local businesses industries such as hospitality, performing art venues, artists and performers, tourism, gyms and transport.

The package will be funded 50/50 by the federal and state government, with the state to administer the program.

The new package includes:

• $3000 cash grants for employing businesses and $1000 for non-employing businesses (sole traders) in eligible industry sectors that have experienced a decline in turnover of 30 per cent or more over a two-week period as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions that started on July 28.

• An additional CBD grant of $1000 will be available for eligible businesses in recognition of the increased impact on city businesses as a result of people working from home.

In addition, a new Major Events Support Grant of up to $25,000 for events that were cancelled or postponed and suffered a significant financial loss due to the July lockdown or restrictions will be funded by the state government.

Premier Steven Marshall said the payments would help small business navigate through the global pandemic.

“South Australians have done an incredible job of working together and now is the time to continue to pull together to support our hardworking small businesses who are the backbone of the state’s economy,” he said.

“Applications open Friday and if we have a relationship with you, payments will start going out the same day. $100m was announce a few weeks ago, with another $40m today - we know we need to work quickly to support small South Australian businesses.

“Cash is the lifeblood of small business, they need money to pay for supplies.

“If we’ve had money going out to you in the past, you’ll see that again. Sometimes if we don’t have a relationship with you, it will take a few days.”

Premier Steven Marshall outside La Moka Adelaide head of the announcement of the new package. Picture: Jason Katsaras

He said restrictions would be reviewed again on Tuesday by the Transition Committee but that they wanted to do everything to “avoid another lockdown’, indicating some restrictions - such as masks - were here to stay for a while longer.

He said the Great State Voucher number 5 was not far away to ofier tourism operators more help.

He urged South Australians to get vaccinated “as our passport out of the pandemic”.

“We have looked at late-night vaccination opportunities for shift workers, more Pfizer vaccinations are coming, Moderna is going through the final approval from TGA, we think that will occur next month.”

Mr Marshall said many tourism operators in regional SA had enjoyed a boom, but the new package was available to those that could demonstrate they have suffered a 30 per cent reduction in their business, post this lockdown.

Member for Adelaide Rachel Sanderson welcomed the payments for her electorate.

“We do need to encourage people back into the city and acknowledge that city businesses have been hit harder,” she said.

Owner of La Moka bar and cafe on Peel Street Manuel Francesconi said the announcement comes as a much needed relief for his business which has struggled with capacity restrictions.

“These grants give us peace of mind, knowing that we can get support and it means we can bring staff back sooner.”

La Moka, which is eligible for both grants, sits in the centre of one of the CBD’s entertainment precincts, which Mr Francesconi said has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic due to workers opting to work from home.

“It would be good to see more people in the office, businesses in the city are very reliant on people coming back into the office, some are even completely dependent on it.”

“Everytime there’s a lockdown interstate or rise in cases elsewhere, we feel that, it seems to have a direct impact on people going in to work,”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said $40m had already been provided to South Australian workers through the COVID-19 Disaster Payment and “now we are ramping up our business payments”.

“We need to protect jobs and support South Australian businesses to get through this difficult time so they can help drive our economic recovery as we plan our way out of this pandemic,” Mr Morrison said on Monday.

“Our support has never been set and forget and we will continue to work with the Marshall Government to ensure our funding reaches those small and medium businesses that need it.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the payments acknowledged the “significant impact” ongoing restrictions were having on SA businesses.

“Since the start of the pandemic the Morrison Government has delivered more than $9.4 billion to South Australian families and businesses to support them in their time of need.”

SA Treasurer Rob Lucas agreed saying the payments would assist struggling businesses to cover operating costs such as rent, wages and utilities and help them continue to trade

“The new jointly funded support is in addition to the $100m Business Support Package, announced during the state’s recent seven-day lockdown,” Mr Lucas said.

He said more than $26m in cash grants has been paid to 9036 businesses through the existing package.

Under the combined packages, an eligible CBD business that employs staff, including a pub, cafe or restaurant, would receive $7000 in cash grants to support their ongoing Covid recovery.

State Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said businesses needed more than “just once off payments” but a “structured plan that gives them the confidence to be able to account for the 50 per cent restrictions they have to endure and may have to for some time to come”.

Ian Horne from the Australian Hotels Association confirmed that the group had not been consulted by the government before announcing the package.

Applications will open Friday and close on October 17.