Second Macca’s restaurant closes after employee tests positive, Grand Final public holiday could be changed

Business groups want to move or scrap the Grand Final eve public holiday as they struggle with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, with the Council of Small Business of Australia calling the holiday “illogical”.

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Business groups are pushing to move or scrap the Grand Final eve public holiday, warning it is “bad for business” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Treasurer Tim Pallas caused a stir on Friday by announcing the controversial public holiday would go ahead on September 25 as planned, despite no game the following day, before backflipping.

Mr Pallas said during a press conference that “it will remain at the date that has already been set” but within the hour tweeted: “Sorry folks — my bad”.

“I said the wrong thing. No decisions made on the Grand Final Friday public holiday as yet.

“There’ll definitely be one. The date will be announced in due course.”

Small Business Minister Adem Somyurek replied to the tweet, citing lyrics from Michael Jackson’s song Bad.

But the blunder was no laughing matter for business groups, including the Council of Small Business of Australia, which labelled any move to keep the public holiday on September 25 as “illogical”.

“Businesses are really struggling and if they are forced to open they will end up making a loss,” chief executive Peter Strong said.

“A public holiday is for a reason and if there is no reason it just costs businesses.”

Under current legislation, the date of the public holiday can be moved but it is not yet clear whether the State Government would be able to cancel it without a parliamentary vote.

The Herald Sun understands the government is leaning towards moving the public holiday to the day before a rescheduled Grand Final.

Scott Pendlebury and Jeremy Howe of the Magpies with Michael Hibberd and Jake Melksham of the Demons at Elsternwick Park. Picture: AAP

Victorian head of the Australian Industry Group Tim Piper said the day had previously been a $1.2 billion hit to businesses and should not go ahead this year.

“The intention of footy Friday was for a public holiday where people could attend an AFL celebration which currently is just unnecessary,” Mr Piper said.

“This year that simply can’t happen.”

Mr Pallas’ confusion was the latest in a string of mixed messages from the State Government and officials during the coronavirus.

Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien slammed Mr Pallas for not being better prepared.

“The Treasurer’s confusion about the Grand Final holiday tells Victorians that this government is making it up as they go along,” Mr O’Brien said.

“With jobs lost and many businesses closed, the last thing small business needs right now is more uncertainty.”

An AFL spokesman said the organisation would support the State Government’s decision.

The league also won’t have a fixture for the season’s return until at least next week as AFL chief Gillon McLachlan conceded Marvel Stadium could be a potential Grand Final location — whenever it may be.

McLachlan also admitted having a crowd at this year’s Grand Final — which he said looms in mid to late October if the season goes smoothly — was “more unlikely than likely”.

“It’s less likely than likely, but I’ll leave that with the people making the decisions,” he said.

“Yeah, clearly (the MCG is the preference). The challenge will be the exact date. If you said late in October, there’s a T20 World Cup. There’s just a lot of moving pieces.

“Clearly Marvel is there if we needed it.”

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A Fawkner McDonald’s is linked to a coronavirus cluster. Picture: AAP

FAWKNER CLUSTER SPREADS TO CRAIGIEBURN MACCA’S

A worker at McDonald’s Craigieburn store has tested positive for coronavirus.

The restaurant was immediately closed following the positive test “out of an abundance of caution”, the fast food chain said in a statement.

All other employees at the Craigieburn restaurant have been instructed not to return to work for 14 days and have been advised to be tested.

“We have engaged an external contractor to conduct a deep clean of the restaurant using the highest-grade chemicals recommended by the Department of Health,” McDonald’s said.

“The Craigieburn employee has been identified as an extended relative of one of the previously announced COVID-19 positive cases at Fawkner.”

The Craigieburn employee last worked at the restaurant on Tuesday.

The news comes as the cluster at Fawkner’s McDonald’s jumped to 10 cases today.

Ninety-three workers have tested negative.

It comes as Victoria has recorded another day of double digit rises in its coronavirus tally, with 20 new cases confirmed in the past 24 hours.

The latest cases include three related to McDonalds Fawkner, one in the Cedar Meats cluster and one other linked to a Myer department store with contact tracing ongoing.

Despite the rise in cases only seven people are in ICU departments.

Victoria’s coronavirus total now sits at 1543 while six of the newest cases are returned travellers in quarantine.

FULL COST OF CORONAVIRUS REVEALED

Victoria is facing a budget deficit of $773 million with Treasurer Tim Pallas saying “the worst is yet to come”.

The March Quarterly results revealed on Friday show Victoria has had its $618 million surplus forecast for 2019/20 wiped out as a result of the pandemic.

Mr Pallas however said the blow was “not as bad” as previously expected but said the numbers were likely to get worse.

Going forward he has ruled out a surplus in the near future saying “these are unprecedented times and our focus is on families”.

“We are not chasing surplus and we will not be posting a surplus in this year’s budget,” he said.

Behind the budget blow is the rapid decline of GST revenue as a result of household spending grinding to a halt during COVID-19.

Mr Pallas flagged a massive decline in stamp duty moving forward but said the current figures do not show the true impact.

Total expenditure was also down for the state to 3.1 per cent almost half of the average 6.7 per cent.

Mr Pallas also said the summer bushfires had a big impact prior to the pandemic.

Net debt is expected to rise to $38.9 billion, but Mr Pallas said the debt profile and expenditure would be evaluated in the lead up to when the budget is released in October.

The return to normal is not likely to occur anytime soon, with Mr Pallas comparing the pandemic to World War II saying recovery, especially in terms of employment numbers, “takes years”.

“It will take sometime, hopefully we will get there at some point but we are not doing it at breakneck speed,” he said.

Population growth grinding to a halt will also have long-term impacts on the state economy as it was a key driver of productivity in the past.

Moving forward Mr Pallas said the government will be watching the housing industry closely, along with what skills will be necessary for new industries.

Meanwhile, state taxes will be reviewed, but this would not be to “garner more revenue” and instead be looked at to improve benefits to the community.

– Alex White

Shopping centres across the state have been heavily impacted by lockdown. Picture: David Caird

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES GIVEN NEW CASH INJECTION

The State Government has announced a new commitment of $19.5 million in mental health funding in light of the pandemic.

The funds will address critical workforce shortages and support the continued roll out of suicide prevention programs.

Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley announced cash injection ahead of a national cabinet meeting on mental health on Friday afternoon.

“Reforming our mental health system in Victoria and nationally is now more important than ever, as more people reach out for help following the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

“This is the best chance that all levels of Government will have to not only flatten the next curve of mental ill health – but to build a better system for the long-term that will ultimately save lives.”

MYER EMPLOYEE TESTS POSITIVE, STAFF IN QUARATINE

A Myer employee has tested positive to COVID-19 in the closed Highpoint store doing online fulfilment.

A Myer spokesman has confirmed the employee tested positive on May 11 and associated team members are now self isolating.

“The health and wellbeing of our customers and team members is our absolute priority, so as soon as we were made aware of this case we enacted our COVID-19 protocols and suspended our fulfilment activities at the closed store, notified health officials immediately, and have advised associated team members to isolate and follow heath advice,” the spokesman says.

“Despite having enhanced hygiene and safety measures in place, we are taking extra precautions and will be undertaking a deep clean and full sanitisation of the store before commencing fulfilment activities again.

As our packing is being undertaken with increased hygiene and safety measures, customers can feel confident with any orders that have been, or will be, fulfilled from this store.”

Despite most major retailers now reopened, Myer’s Victorian stores remain closed to customers. There are seven stores open in NSW and Queensland, two in WA and one in South Australia.

It comes as Just Jeans, Portmans, Peter Alexander and Smiggle open today after shutting six weeks ago, closing more than 900 stores and standing down its 9000 employees.

– Kim Wilson

TOUGH RESTRICTIONS TO STAY DESPITE MASS JOB LOSSES

Premier Daniel Andrews is vowing to maintain tight restrictions on Victorian businesses until June even after a record 594,000 jobs were lost across the country last month.

About 2.7 million Australians — a fifth of the entire workforce — left their jobs or had their hours cut between March and April as the coronavirus crisis delivered an unprecedented shock to the nation’s economy.

The unemployment rate is now 6.2 per cent and the underemployment rate, covering workers who want more hours, soared to a record 13.7 per cent. Another 489,800 Australians dropped out of the labour force completely.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was a “terribly shocking” set of numbers.

“Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost, every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families, for their communities,” he said.

The city was deserted after tough lockdown restrictions were introduced. Picture: Getty

The national cabinet will receive an economic briefing today as the Federal Government continues to push the states to implement a three-stage plan to ease lockdown measures, which is expected to get 850,000 people back to work and lift the economy by $9.4 billion a month.

But while other states are moving to reopen cafes, restaurants and pubs with a limited number of patrons, Victoria insists they can only serve takeaway meals until May 31.

The State Government last night confirmed it had no plans to adjust its restrictions before June.

Young Australians bore the brunt of the economic crash sparked by the pandemic, with 37.3 per cent of workers aged 15 to 24 — a total of 767,900 people — now unemployed or underemployed.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg revealed six million workers across 860,000 businesses were now receiving $1500 fortnightly wage subsidies from the $130 billion JobKeeper program.

Another 1.6 million Australians are on JobSeeker and Youth Allowance welfare benefits.

Mr Morrison said the government wanted to reopen the economy to get people back to work.

“We don’t want an Australian economy that’s propped up by subsidies. We want an Australian economy that’s propped up by strong businesses with strong markets and with great products and services that are competitive in a global marketplace,” he said.

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STANCE ON CAFES, RESTAURANTS CRITICISED

Restaurant and Catering Australia chief Wes Lambert told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry he did not accept Mr Andrews’s reasoning for keeping cafes and restaurants closed.

“There are lots of businesses that would have financially welcomed 10 people,” he said.

“I would argue that 20 patrons is also not financially viable for many of the premium, casual, fine dining and large businesses in Victoria.”

“If that is the reason given again then ultimately you might be waiting until July before dining resumes.”

Chapel Street Precinct Association president Justin O’Donnell said the next three weeks “may not seem a long time, however for many businesses this may make all the difference to them surviving or not”.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the “devastating” unemployment data highlighted the need for the government to expand its JobKeeper program to casual workers who missed out if they had not been in the same job for at least a year.

Business Council chief Jennifer Westacott said Australia was “better placed than most” after the nation’s success suppressing the virus, but added: “We will need a growing economy to avoid a long tail of unemployment.”

“Improving the living standards and opportunities Australians have built over the past 30 years will require more than simply returning to our pre-COVID-19 levels of investment and growth,” she said.

FAMILIES STRUGGLE TO ACCESS FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIES

Families left struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic will have access to fresh fruit and vegetables thanks to a funding boost from the Victorian government.

Homegrown business The Community Grocer will today receive a $150,000 VicHealth grant to bring high-quality and affordable fruit and vegetables to communities across Melbourne.

The group, which sells discounted produce at market stalls in public housing estates and community centres, will now be able to reach more people facing disadvantage due to COVID-19.

VicHealth chief executive Sandro Demaio said it was important everyone had access to low-cost produce, especially in times of need.

“This is all about getting more fresh, Victorian produce into the hands of more Victorians,” Dr Demaio said. “We’re excited to be supporting The Community Grocer to expand its fantastic work in providing local communities, in particular people on low incomes, with convenient access to fresh, affordable produce.”

Arvo 5, and Edie, 8, with some fresh fruit and veggies. Picture: Mark Stewart

Mum Ingrid Koomen has been a regular at the group’s Fitzroy market for the past three years.

She said it was the community spirit and variety of fresh produce that she loved the most.

“My kids love going with me every week and helping me choose what to buy,” she said. “I love that I can get a decent amount of fruit and veg for a decent price.”

The Community Grocer founder Russell Shields said the organisation was experiencing greater demand as a result of the pandemic.

“We’ve spoken with customers who have lost jobs and have serious concerns about being able to afford bills or feed themselves and their families,” Mr Shields said.

“We are seeing many new customers at our markets because coronavirus has put more households at risk of food insecurity. This much-needed funding boost from VicHealth will allow us to not only meet the immediate increase in need, but also set up systems to reach more people with more produce across new community groups.”

The grant will be rolled out over the next 14 months to ensure communities continue to have access to fresh produce.