Victoria’s hospitality and entertainment industries to receive $200m stimulus package

A mammoth stimulus package is set to provide Victoria’s hospitality industry with $100m in food and entertainment vouchers.

Victoria’s embattled hospitality industry is set to be given a $200m cash injection through a state government stimulus package.

The package will be hallmarked by a $100m voucher scheme that will give diners rebates for visiting venues across the city in another round of the Melbourne Money scheme.

The rebate can be used in the CBD from Monday to Thursday and will rebate 25 per cent of the dining bill if more than $40 is spent.

However, the maximum discount available is $125 on a $500 bill.

A similar $30m program will be expanded across the state’s regions and suburbs, with cashback available for food and winery visits.

Victorians will be able to get rebates on money spent in the CBD and across the state. Picture: Ian Currie

Another $30m will be used to prop up the Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme in a bid to get locals to holiday within the state.

A total of 150,000 $200 vouchers are set to be issued for a $400 minimum spend on tourism and travel-related services.

Those looking to take in Melbourne’s entertainment sector can receive rebates to the collective tune of $30m.

This portion of the program will apply to tickets for the theatre, live music, cinemas, museums, exhibitions and galleries.

All of the vouchers are set to be available from mid to late March.

Industry Support and Recovery Minister Martin Pakula said the program was aimed at revitalising the state’s once booming hospitality and entertainment sectors.

“We’re encouraging Victorians to experience the best the state has to offer by going to see a show, having lunch with friends or visiting somewhere new,” he said.

Melbourne’s CBD has been heavily impacted by lockdowns over the past two years. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Mr Pakula also detailed that a section of the Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme offer would be reserved for older Victorians who might have missed out in previous rounds.

“Importantly, this time, 10,000 of those vouchers will be set aside and effectively pre-released under a separate process for seniors,” he said.

“They’ll be able to register online and go into a ballot rather than necessarily going into that process where they all get snapped up in a few minutes.”

Another $60m has been set aside for the Ventilation Voucher Program, which aims to help small businesses purchase equipment to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

More than $34.2m is aimed to place and pay workers in more than 1500 jobs across the hospitality and tourism industries.

The stimulus package will aim to breathe life back into the struggling city.

But the scheme has been criticised by some who claimed the stimulus package would not breathe life back to the city if strict Covid-19 measures remained.

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party David Southwick on Monday criticised the state government over its continuing mask mandates and work from home orders, claiming the measures were deterring people from visiting Melbourne’s central business district.

“The government support package announced today is an absolutely necessary response to the damage caused by never-ending lockdowns and restrictions,” Mr Southwick said.

“However, we can’t make Victoria Number One and Melbourne the world’s most liveable city again while the mask mandate remains, and employees are still told to work from home.”

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party David Southwick. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

An announcement on the scrapping of masks and work from home recommendations is expected this week.

The government previously hinted at a change in the rules if hospitalisations continued to trend downwards.

The state has seen a steady decline in hospitalisations, recording 361 on Monday.

Health Minister Martin Foley said he was awaiting advice from the chief health officer before a decision was made.

“Clearly the data continues to trend in the right direction,” he said.

“I don’t want to pre-empt the advice of the chief health officer.”