Melbourne businesses struggling to cope with regular protests

Melbourne business owners say they’re struggling to cope with the regular protests shutting down the city.

City traders say they have been brought to their knees by ongoing protests that are shutting down CBD streets every weekend.

Business owners, who are still attempting to bounce back from the impacts of Covid lockdowns, have warned they are losing revenue from having bookings regularly cancelled due to the frequent disruptions.

After tens of thousands of people brought the city to a standstill on Friday to protest against Australia Day, the state’s peak business body has called for an urgent solution to alleviate the impact on industry.

The Invasion Day protest shut down the CBD for several hours Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

“The ongoing protests in the CBD are taking their toll on city businesses,” Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said.

“The protests impact the city’s accessibility further and people will continue to avoid congested and problematic locations.

“We respect the right to protest but the business community should not continue to pay the cost.”

The Free Palestine Melbourne group has descended on the city every Sunday for the last 15 weeks in a bid to highlight the war in Gaza.

The group cancelled its protest on Sunday because most supporters had attended Friday’s Invasion Day rally.

Protesters have filled the streets of Melbourne on a regular basis. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

Tens of thousands of people sit down in front of Flinders St station during the Invasion Day protest Picture: Tamati Smith/Getty Images

One restaurateur, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of being targeted by protesters, said they lost a number of bookings from guests on Friday.

“A day that should be celebrated with the Australian Open turned into a disaster,’’ they said.

“We sent our staff home and lost the entire days takings thanks to these people who only seem to want to destroy our city.

“Their irresponsible actions just ruined one of the most important days of trade in Melbourne not to mention the damage done to our reputation as a great city.”

Mallory Wall, who owns and manages the Di Stasio restaurants, said the impact of ongoing protests in the CBD was significant.

“While we are generally supportive of many of the protest themes – there is undoubtedly a huge downside for small business in the city,” she said.

“When we find out a big protest is happening in the city we halve our staff and wait for the booking cancellations to come in. The reduction (in revenue) is about 50 per cent and it hits particularly significantly on a weekend because we have a lot of walk in trade.

“The (Melbourne City) council has effectively removed half the traffic capacity so the CBD just can’t cope with protests like it was able to years ago.”

Thai restaurant owner Angelo Yap said weekly protests had hurt sales and were driving away customers.

Thong Thai owner Angelo Mikhail Yap said his business has suffered as a result of the regular protests. Picture: Tony Gough

Due to the scale of Friday’s protest, Mr Yap was forced to close early and missed out on more than $600 in potential sales as a result.

“We didn’t know about the protest and so we had to close the doors because no one could come in because it was packed outside,” he said.

Nick Angelopoulos, who owns Cafe Excello on Spring St, said weekly protests had both negative and positive impacts on his business.

“There’s been a lot more protests now and they can help with more foot traffic, but also can cause blockages in the city,” Mr Angelopoulos said.

Owner of menswear brand Masons, Marco Siracusa, said the protests hurt retailers because they often served as a deterrent for shoppers heading into the city.

“It’s definitely having an impact on business,” he said.

“The protests are peaceful, I’m not against them, but it’s more the interruption they have so they need to be better planned.”

Nicholas Angelopoulos said the protests had varying impacts on his business Cafe Excello . Picture: Tony Gough

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said: “We do understand these are happening more regularly than normal and are of great concern to the retail community.”

Opposition leader John Pesutto said protesting “should always be done in a peaceful and civil manner that does not impact people’s livelihoods”.

“CBD retailers and hospitality businesses in particular have through a very challenging past few years with lockdowns and are still trying to return to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

“The Allan government needs to be doing everything it can to support these businesses which are the lifeblood of the CBD.”

A government spokeswoman said Victorians can support our “wonderful and diverse small businesses by shopping and visiting local this long weekend”.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the Victorian Government is focused on ensuring businesses have the support and services they need to start, grow, thrive and contribute to the growth of our economy,” she said.

Former Premier Jeff Kennett said attendees of the Invasion Day rally had acted selfishly.