'This is overkill': Business fumes as Melbourne stores stay shut

Sue Mitchell, James Eyers, Simon Evans and Angela Macdonald-Smith

Updated Oct 19, 2020 – 4.07pm, first published at 3.44pm

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Business leaders have called on the Victorian government to bring forward the reopening date for the retail and hospitality sectors, saying further delays will only do more damage to the economy and lead to more pent-up demand.

The government allowed hairdressers, golf clubs and libraries in Melbourne to reopen on Monday, but retailers, restaurants, bars and hotels will have to wait until November 2 - the day before the Melbourne Cup and only seven weeks to Christmas.

Sue Mitchell writes the fortnightly Window Shopping column for the Financial Review and has covered retailing for over 30 years.

James Eyers writes on banking, finance, payments, regulation and emerging technologies. Based in Sydney, he is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR and has been a business journalist for more than 20 years.

Simon Evans writes on business specialising in retail, manufacturing, beverages, mining and M&A. He is based in Adelaide.

Angela Macdonald-Smith writes on the resources industry with a focus on energy, including gas, oil, electricity and renewables.