Justin Hemmes: We’ve flattened the curve, now it’s time to open Sydney back up again
When more than 800 Australians died from influenza last year, and more than 1100 people died on our roads, we did not respond to those tragic losses of life with lockdowns, writes Justin Hemmes.
Opinion
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The economic horror story splashed across the front pages this week has shocked many Australians. But if you work in hospitality, or any of the sectors hit hardest by COVID-19 restrictions, it’s old news really.
Because the story told by the numbers is the reality we have been living for most of 2020.
What the data doesn’t capture is that, unlike Victoria, where the harshest restrictions anywhere in Australia are still in place, in NSW we have managed to start opening up again.
It hasn’t been business as usual.
In my own group of venues, we have been stringently complying with the COVID-safe regulations, only allowing one person per four square metres, meticulously recording the details of every patron, and continuously cleaning, sterilising and sanitising.
My mantra has been employment, employment, employment, so we have done whatever is necessary to be able to operate safely and stay open and keep more than 2000 people in jobs.
However, the reality is that operating under the current restrictions is not sustainable, particularly when JobKeeper runs out.
At best, it’s a solid base from which we can further reopen, but only if we have a plan to ease restrictions as much as possible while still keeping the community safe.
The Summer Summit announced the NSW Treasurer is a positive sign that that’s where NSW is headed, and I look forward to being part of that conversation.
So far the NSW approach has been a success. The curve has been flat for months.
Apart from a few exceptions (where rules were broken), outbreaks have been contained because venues have recorded the information the government needs to trace and contain the virus.
Given that total eradication of the virus simply isn’t going to happen without a vaccine with 100 per cent uptake, NSW shows what success looks like.
The health impact of the virus has been tragic. At the time of writing, the virus has taken 661 lives in Australia. We all want to keep that number as low as possible.
In doing so, we need to maintain perspective, and it is worth reflecting that when more than 800 Australians died from influenza last year, and more than 1100 people died on our roads, we did not respond to those equally tragic losses of life with lockdowns or equivalent measures.
It’s a reminder that our response to COVID-19 has to be sensible and well-informed, balancing the health risk with the cost of shutting down people’s livelihoods.
Just imagine if the media broadcast a daily report not just of the COVID case numbers, but of every person who lost their job in the past 24 hours, every business owner forced to close their doors, and every family forced to hand back the keys.
I think we’d all feel the need to keep reopening much more urgently.
Balance means our response can’t be just about medical issues, or just about the economy.
Both aspects affect our lives in profound ways, and both should be taken into account when making decisions about how to proceed.
This is not about being reckless. It’s about making sure that any restrictions are no harsher than necessary, so that as many people as possible have a fighting chance of getting through COVID-19 with their health and economic security intact.
Our world-class response in NSW so far should give us confidence that we can keep improving our tracing capabilities, and keep easing restrictions as much as possible — and if we can, we must.
In my industry, there would be an exponential impact from even small changes, like removing the capacity cap on venues, and increasing the density cap to one person per two square metres.
Given that many retail and service businesses are already operating with far less onerous restrictions, including no requirement for contact tracing, these are changes I believe hospitality venues could operate with safely, while still recording every customer to enable rapid tracing.
The job-creating impact of easing these restrictions would be immediate. Venues that can’t viably operate now could open.
Those that are open could immediately hire more staff. And our suppliers, growers and manufacturers would all get a boost, too.
Hospitality is my livelihood, but I love it for the same reason everyone else does: it’s an essential part of what binds our communities together.
As the spring sun beams its rays down on our spectacular city, we all feel the magnetic pull to get out and socialise, because that’s such a big part of what makes us human.
Our cities are not meant to be ghost towns, they are meant to buzz. Big employers have an important role to play, making their workplaces safe, and bringing their people back to work in the city.
We can’t live in fear indefinitely, and I hope the Summer Summit leads to concrete outcomes that give the people of Sydney the positive boost they need.
It’s time to open Sydney up again, not recklessly, but in a smart and controlled way that gives our city the confidence to get back into life while staying COVID-safe.
Last summer was a summer to forget. Let’s make this one a summer to remember.
Justin Hemmes is CEO of Merivale