Chief Minister reveals 18 months of pain awaiting Territory businesses
TERRITORY businesses will be in a world of pain for at least 18 months over the coronavirus crisis, according to Chief Minister Michael Gunner. WATCH the VIDEO of Mr Gunner’s full discussion here
Northern Territory
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TERRITORY businesses will be in a world of pain for at least 18 months over the coronavirus crisis, according to Chief Minister Michael Gunner.
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This afternoon Mr Gunner announced the NT and the Federal Government’s $1 billion boost to the Territory over the next six months, but admitted Territorians were in for hard times with the upcoming dry and wet seasons.
“It’s going to be an 18 month whack for a lot of Territory businesses,” he said.
“So you think about it, you’ve got the downtime of about six months, the you’ve got the high season for six months, then you’ve got another downtime.
“So for a lot of Territory businesses this is going to be an 18 month whack so we’re actively thinking about the rebound and how we manage that, that’s from a tourism point of view, from a business point of view.
“We’ve already allocated money towards the drive market and the Territory market when it comes to tourism, so get Territorians holidaying in the Territory, get people visiting the Territory by car.
“I can’t spend that money yet, I think it’s fair to say, but we’ve got that allocated and ready to go and we’ve got other things we can do to make sure we get the money flowing quickly and get tourists here quickly.
“I think it’s one of the first things we need to do to come out of the other side of this.”
The $1 billion spend consists of $870 million from the Federal Government’s JobKeeper Payment, and from the Territory Government the $50 million Small Business Survival Fund and $65 million Jobs Rescue and Recovery Package.
“The coronavirus crisis is a once in a century event that poses a bigger risk to us and our economy than any natural disaster in our history,” Mr Gunner said.
“I can confirm today that the Small Business Survival Fund will start delivering its first payments to local businesses by the end of this week.
“We’ve already had more than 260 applications for this fund. The JobKeeper Payment from the Federal Government is a game changer for the Territory. It’s exactly what we needed, it’s what I asked of the Prime Minister and he has listened and delivered.
“We’re expecting nearly 7000 local businesses to benefit supporting the jobs and wages of 45,000 Territory workers. It means fewer people at Centrelink, it means more people on the job.”
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