Melbourne business support not enough as Victoria battles fifth Covid-19 outbreak

Businesses have welcomed extra support from the Victorian state government amid a fifth lockdown, but there are fears cash payments will not be enough to save them.

James Young, at his music venue Cherry Bar, has resorted to crowd funding to cover the $14,000 monthly rent bill despite the government grants. Picture: Aaron Francis

The Victorian government will inject an extra $280m into life support for businesses battling their fifth lockdown, but there are fears the money will be inadequate, with many traders at breaking point.

Industry Support Minister Martin Pakula announced current grants would be topped up to totals of $7200 for licensed venues and $4800 for other businesses, following Premier Daniel Andrews’ seven-day extension on Tuesday of what was initially announced as a five-day lockdown.

Alpine businesses will receive $3000 on top of grants of up to $15,000, and public events and event suppliers will be eligible for payments of up to $25,000 and $10,000 respectively.

Reported yesterday: 22 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
- 18,099 vaccine doses were administered
- 59,355 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/MVGEX3CF2x

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 20, 2021

The package came as Victoria recorded 22 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday – the highest daily case count since the state’s second wave – bringing the total number of community cases since two NSW incursions emerged nine days ago to 107. Of the 22, 16 had been quarantined during their infectious period.

Restaurant and catering association chief Wes Lambert said while businesses appreciated the cash boost, it was not sufficient.

“It is not enough. Many businesses, especially those in the CBD, have been hammered with five lockdowns,” he said.

“Having to stand down their staff for the fifth time may be the last straw, and (I) expect many of those workers to leave the industry because the disaster relief payment does not continue the relationship between employer and employee.

“We are calling for the federal government to reconsider JobKeeper because no one could have expected the Delta variant would put Australia into such a severe lock down.”

James Young, chairman of the City of Melbourne’s night time economic advisory committee, has turned to crowd funding to cover the $14,000 monthly rent bill at his music venue Cherry Bar.

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Posted by Cherry Bar on Saturday, July 17, 2021

“The grants the government are giving us are extremely important,” he said. “Every cent counts but at the end of the day, they are just a short-term bandaid on top of a massive wound.

“We have been locked down in Victoria for six months of the past 13 or so and it’s been brutal.”

Mr Young said after 400 annual Cherry Bar “memberships” were made available on Tuesday afternoon, at least 100 had been bought by 9am on Wednesday. The memberships entitle holders to 15 per cent off drinks, merchandise and early bird tickets for gigs.

“We are playing the long game,” Mr Young said. “Don’t close your doors, just realise it’s a roller coaster and this is a really bad point on the trip.”

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Association chief Paul Guerra said he would continue to advocate for businesses which had not qualified for support.

“The best support we can give business is to enable them to trade in a viable way, so let’s get through these next few days and get back to zero community transmission,” he said. “Then the government should allow business to shift back to pre-lockdown settings.”

Mr Pakula said the government had provided almost $7bn in pandemic support to businesses since March 2020 but the government understood “it also doesn’t cover all of their losses”.