Andrews’ state of paralysis losing 1200 jobs a day

Melbourne’s lengthy coronavirus lockdown is costing Australian taxpayers $200m a day in direct economic support

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews leaves a COVID-19 update in Melbourne on Sunday. Picture: David Geraghty

Melbourne’s lengthy coronavirus lockdown is costing Australian taxpayers $200m a day in direct economic support, with new analysis showing 1200 jobs are being lost daily.

The dire economic figures come a day after Daniel Andrews put a “cautious pause” on plans to ease restrictions, despite repeatedly suggesting a decision on reopening shops and restaurants would be announced on Sunday.

That led Scott Morrison to ­accuse the Victorian Premier of lacking confidence in his state’s public health system and said the decision not to proceed was a “profound dis­appointment”, while the Business Council said Melburnians were “at a financial and mental breaking point”.

Business groups also criticised the pause, having anticipated Mr Andrews would announce that the reopening of retail and hospitality would be brought forward, saying the continued lockdown was ­“inexplicable” and a “betrayal”.

Treasury data obtained by The Australian shows total commonwealth direct fiscal support for Victoria was on track to reach $75bn — a third of the national total — with daily economic support through JobKeeper, JobSeeker and household payments now reaching $200m. Victoria’s lost economic output for the September quarter had also reached more than $100m a day, it showed.

Separate Australian Bureau of Statistics analysis also shows the average number of daily jobs lost over August and September in Victoria was 1200, representing 52 per cent of total national job losses since March.

Josh Frydenberg said the dire economic situation meant it was “time businesses be allowed to re-open in a COVID-safe way and people (be) allowed to get back to work”. “The hardship and cost caused by this extended lockdown is immense,” the Treasurer told The Australian.

Mr Andrews had flagged as late as Friday that the government was “very well placed to make significant announcements on Sunday”, which he suggested would include allowing shops and restaurants to reopen this week — earlier than the November 1 date previously expected.

“We are not in a position to do that today because we have at least 1000 test results from that northern metropolitan outbreak that are in the labs,” he said on Sunday.

“This is not anything other than a cautious pause, to wait to get that important information.”

Former Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos criticised the pause as “unnecessary”, accusing the government of ­“paralysis in decision-making”.

COVID-19 testing at a pop-up clinic in Heidelberg West, Melbourne, on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

There were seven new COVID-19 cases in Victoria on Sunday, six linked to an outbreak in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Health authorities later on Sunday said 1135 tests linked to that outbreak had returned negative. Another 1400 swabs taken on Sunday were still being processed.

In a statement with Health Minister Greg Hunt, the Prime Minister and Mr Frydenberg said Mr Andrews’s decision to keep businesses closed “suggests there is still not sufficient confidence within the government that their systems can support reopening”.

“At some point, you have to move forward and put your public health systems to work in a bid to reclaim the jobs that have been lost, and rescue the livelihoods and peace of mind of so many Victorians who have been affected by the inability to contain the outbreak,” they said. “Victoria’s public health systems are either up to the task of dealing with future outbreaks or they are not.”

Under Victoria’s original lockdown roadmap, Melbourne would reopen once there were fewer than five daily cases as an average across a fortnight — that figure is now 4.6.

However, there were nine cases not linked to other outbreaks, higher than the threshold of five mystery infections in a fortnight under the original roadmap.

The uncertainty over Melbourne’s lockdown led Victoria Racing Club to announce there would be no spectators at Flemington for the Melbourne Cup and other major races that week, including Derby Day.

Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said it was “just inexplicable that a state with comparable or lower case numbers than NSW cannot … implement that state’s tools and technologies to contain local outbreaks and effectively manage contact tracing and tracking”.

“A pattern of delays, maybes and apologies doesn’t excuse Victoria’s failure to manage local outbreaks. “It is taking too long and too much is being lost,” Ms Westacott said.

“Victorians cannot hang on week-to-week.

“People are at a ­financial and mental breaking point.”

Restaurant and Catering Australia chief Wes Lambert was also critical, labelling the pause a “betrayal” that showed the government “do not trust their own contract tracers and they do not trust the Victorian people”.

There will be some restrictions eased in regional Victoria, including in Shepparton, which had been held back from the same rules as other areas because of an earlier outbreak.

Mr Andrews said Melbourne was still on track to be able to ease restrictions on hospitality and ­retail by November 1.

However, he had spent last week repeatedly suggesting a reopening would come sooner, on Tuesday telling reporters he was hopeful he could confirm on Sunday that retail, pubs, restaurants and cafes could have a “dark opening” in “the first one or two days of next week”.

A COVID-19 cluster of 36 cases across six households has delayed any announcement for at least one day.

Jeroen Weimar, the Victorian official heading testing and community engagement, said 2500 swabs processed on Sunday had confirmed three cases at the East Preston Islamic School, with two other linked to the college.

Mr Weimar said more than 13,000 people had been tested in the northern suburban local government areas of Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Nillumbik since October 20.

“This testing enables us to get a very clear picture of how many cases there are and ensure there is a plan in place for everyone who tests positive along with the close contacts,” Mr Weimar said.

Paul Zahra, chief executive of the Australian Retailers Association, said staff should be immediately allowed access to their “dark” stores to begin Christmas preparations while Victoria waited on the test results.

“We can no longer say there is no alternative (to lockdowns),” he said. “We must start taking care of both lives and livelihoods or the broader health and business consequences will be catastrophic.”

Deakin University epidemi­ologist Catherine Bennett said she was “disappointed” a decision about restrictions was yet to be made, saying it indicated authorities believed “we aren’t quite in a position yet to battle local outbreaks”.

“In-home gatherings may have to wait for a bit longer if there are concerns of wider ‘invisible’ spread, but hopefully the test results will come in and we can proceed with this safe, steady opening,” Professor Bennett said.