Small businesses blast Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ bid to extend ‘state of emergency’

Struggling small businesses have criticised Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ move to extend the state of emergency powers.

Concerned Victorian small business owners have lashed out at Premier Daniel Andrews’ plan to extend the state of emergency until December and said they’ve had no consultation about detrimental impacts.

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia’s chief executive officer Peter Strong said tourism and hospitality could be among the hardest hit sectors if the extension proceeds through until the end of the year.

“You don’t call for these things without deep consultation, it causes deep uncertainty and if businesses are going to invest they’re going to go to NSW,” he said.

“Businesses have to build a business plan, if there’s a lockdown they need to work out if they can avoid it but we know Victoria is prone to big closures.

“They close everything and then they think about the consequences.”

The state of emergency first began on March 16 last year and allows the chief health officer to legally introduce directions to help stop the spread of coronavirus, such as mask wearing and stay-at-home restrictions.

But it has been argued the state of emergency should be revisited each month before extending it.

Small business owner Ian Jackson, 73, who runs two travel agencies in Melbourne including in Mount Waverley, said his annual turnover plummeted from $4.3 million to just $50,000 between March and November last year.

Ian Jackson is extremely concerned about the extension to Victoria’s state of emergency. Picture: David Geraghty

He received JobKeeper payments and some business grant support from both the state and federal governments but said an extension to the state of emergency would harm businesses.

“This is about control, the premier is an absolute control freak,” Mr Jackson said.

“He’s never been in a small business, he wouldn’t have a clue how to even write a receipt.”

Mr Jackson said he’s concerned the powers allow him to lockdown the state again with virtually no notice which is catastrophic for industries such as tourism.

NSW doesn’t have a state of emergency and Shadow Minister for Finance Matthew Guy warned, “Victorian business is dying under Daniel Andrews”.

“The government is giving no confidence to business to invest or reinvest or for overseas investors to come to Victoria,” he said.

“Prolonged state of emergency tells us that we are closed for business and that has dire implications for employment levels and future job growth.”

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said it would cause “an increased period of uncertainty”.

“It would reduce confidence of not only consumers but business owners to make commitments such as hire people and keep people in their business,” he said.

“They know how quickly their whole world can change overnight by governments acting without their being any warning or clear signals.”

There are about 650,000 small businesses in Victoria.

@sophieelsworth

Originally published as Small businesses blast Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ bid to extend ‘state of emergency’