Business support package: $400m for those hit by lockdown but some say it’s not enough

Small business groups complain a lockdown support package is too little, too late and there’s no hope crippling restrictions will end.

Cash payments will automatically be made to almost 100,000 businesses hit hard by yet another lockdown in Victoria.

Workers who lose more than 20 hours over the next week are also eligible for a $600 Covid-19 disaster payment, to be delivered through Services Australia, while those missing out on less than 20 hours can receive $375.

The state and federal governments unveiled a $400m business support package on Friday, doubling the $400m fund promised last week to support businesses ravaged by the state’s last lockdown.

Max Di Ciccio, manages his family’s cafe in Heidelberg. Picture: Tony Gough

It means 90,000 businesses will automatically receive another $2800 grant, and 8900 hospitality venues will receive another round of support worth between $5000 and $20,000.

Alpine businesses will be paid further grants worth $5000 for off-mountain employers and $20,000 for on-mountain companies.

And an extra $54m will be added to the small business Covid hardship fund, which provides grants of up to $8000 for small businesses not eligible in other schemes which have experienced a 70 per cent reduction in turnover.

Josh Frydenberg said the Commonwealth had provided more than $45bn in support to Victorian families and businesses during the pandemic.

“We are now delivering a further $200 million in business support for Victorian business,” the federal Treasurer said.

“This will help cushion the blow of the recent lockdown and provide hope for the future.”

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the new grants were “immediate and targeted support right now, when it is needed most”.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Paul Guerra said he was “grateful” that both levels of government had come together to roll out a support package so quickly.

But he said the new funding package, while welcomed, wouldn’t replace the losses.

“The truth is, it’ll never be enough to cover the money that’s been lost by business through it. We hope it’s enough to get businesses through the next seven days … We just want to get back to business,” Mr Guerra said.

“We need to be trading more days than not.”

Mr Guerra said it was imperative that businesses were included in conversations about any future lockdowns.

“We know there are ways that businesses can help,” he said.

Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said the tourism, hospitality and events sector needed to be given a “package of sustained support”.

“Our industry is going to remain in the same state of hibernation that it was in March 2020 and we need the same level of safety nets in place to support the industry to the other side of these disruptions,” Ms Mariani said.

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said the latest business support package had come “too little, too late and for too few”.

“The Victorian government loves to use smoke and mirrors as it throws around large numbers and talks of providing a cushion and hope to small businesses – when the reality is that they are treating small business families as chooks, throwing them a handful of chicken feed, delivered with zero hope that the policy of opening and closing with crippling restrictions in-between will ever end,” Mr Lang said.

‘PERFECT EXAMPLE OF ALL THAT’S WRONG IN VICTORIA’

Business and industry groups have slammed Victoria’s unprecedented sixth lockdown, warning of devastating consequences for the state’s recovery.

Ahead of the new round of business support unveiled on Friday, industry leaders said it wouldn’t be enough to save struggling businesses already on their knees after 17 months of restrictions.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Paul Guerra said the sudden lockdown would deal a huge blow to businesses and workers.

“This latest lockdown will commence exactly three weeks after Lockdown Five started and that came hot on the heels of Lockdown Four,” he said.

“The 8pm start, with three hours’ notice, doesn’t give any business enough time to plan nor does it recognise the huge impost this will be on operators and workers.

“We can’t keep shutting and disrupting business and expect them to all survive.”

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said the continuing disruption to small business families was unsustainable.

Florist Karina Wightman will lose business at her Port Melbourne store. Picture: Tony Gough

“Daniel Andrews talks of keeping Victoria open when the reality is that the rules of the Victorian government have seen Victoria closed for business far longer than any other state in Australia,” he said.

“If that is a successful response to the virus as the Premier claims – then Victorian business owners may as well shut up shop until the vaccination program is completed – rather than endure this on again and off again response of lockdown by the government.”

Mr Lang said he was contacted weekly by business owners on their knees.

“Many are considering walking away from businesses they have spent a lifetime building,” he said.

“Wednesday was a perfect example of all that is wrong in the state of Victoria, despite people unable to visit relatives and tight restrictions on the ability for businesses to trade, we saw the chief health officer of Victoria wasting his time on Twitter celebrating a ‘zero’ day that wasn’t, and the message from small business owners across this state to Mr. Sutton and other senior members of government who seem overly addicted to posting images of doughnuts on social media is that there is nothing to celebrate in your handling of the pandemic.

“You have overseen multiple failures of containment, over 800 deaths in Australia’s number one lockdown state and have asked small business owners to bear the financial cost of the pandemic, whilst bearing none yourself.

“So, on behalf of small business families that we represent across Victoria, we ask you to save any celebrations until Victoria is free from lockdowns and restrictions and our small business families can get back to rebuilding the wealth that your decisions and lack of adequate support has stolen from them.”

Brett Sutton posted this picture to Twitter.

Daniel Andrews celebrating a day of zero new cases.

Florist Karina Wightman said the lockdown would cost her thousands of dollars because of cancelled weddings and parties.

“The events industry turned Victoria from the garden state into the place to be and now it’s being left behind and it’s heartbreaking,” she said.

“The government support has helped, but in reality it doesn’t even pay one wage for a month let alone rent, and all the other costs.

“You work your butt off and have a good week catching up and then you end up right back where you started.”

Ms Wightman said the short notice of the lockdown was the hardest part.

Tim Piper, the Victorian head of the employer association Ai Group, called on the government to adopt a more nuanced approach to lockdown.

“We need a better approach,” he said.

“What we’ve got is the entire state being locked down for the sixth time, because of some cases in the north of Melbourne.

“We need to be more nuanced, realise where the problem is, and try and isolate that.”

Mr Piper said it made no sense that regions in the far reaches of the state were locked down because of a handful of cases in Melbourne.

“We understand the government is acting quickly. What we would ask is that the government act with a less simplistic approach,” he said.

Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani said businesses that supported the state’s visitor economy had reached the end of their ability to bounce back from “rolling lockdowns and residual restrictions”.

“There is simply little or nothing left in the tank for tourism businesses to continue under the weight of these recurring setbacks,” she said.

““The current levels of existing business support from the Victoria State Govt, while welcomed, are simply no longer adequate to sustain businesses through to the point in time when we might reach the threshold of 70 per cent national vaccination rates.

“We need to see the Victorian government use its position to leverage the Federal Government to reinstate business support measures like JobKeeper to sustain businesses and allow them to maintain connection of employees to their employers.”

Ms Mariani also called on the reintroduction of tax relief to support business survival.

“As a nation, we are back to where we were in March 2020 and we need to see all levels of government responding in kind with the measures they introduced at the start of this pandemic,” Ms Mariani said.