‘We have lost all trust in this state government’, says Victorian restaurateur

Melbourne restaurateur Chris Lucas has declared the extended lockdown an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for his employees and the city’s hospitality industry.

Melbourne Chin Chin restaurant owner Chris Lucas. Picture: Jason Edwards

Melbourne restaurateur Chris Lucas has declared the extended lockdown an “unmitigated disaster” for his employees and the city’s hospitality industry.

The Chin Chin owner said the lockdown was likely to be followed by months of restrictions, such as those in place in regional Victoria, preventing trade at full capacity.

“We have lost all trust in this state government,” he said.

“Their conduct is erratic and dishonest. They focus on spin as opposed to good policy and management.”

He said the hit to businesses followed the introduction of almost $4 billion in new payroll and land taxes coming into effect on July 1.

Australian Hotels Association Victoria president David Canny said Wednesday’s announcement was “bitterly disappointing”, with no reason for regional businesses not to reopen at full capacity instead of a 50-people maximum.

“At that capacity, with no wage subsidy, businesses are not viable,” he said.

He said there was a real concern among publicans that their staff would leave the industry for good, especially after already working to rebuild workforces decimated from previous lockdowns.

“To shut down so quickly with nothing in place for them is quite shattering,” he said.

Mr Canny called on the federal government to bury the hatchet with the Andrews government and provide funding. “Don’t support the Victorian government, support the people,” he said. “Those businesses otherwise are not going to come out of it.”

He said it was vital that Victoria “snapped” out of the lockdown instead of crawled.

“If it’s all about the contact tracing; pubs do this better than anyone,” he said.

Mr Canny said operators were dipping into their reserves to pay for daily costs, such as refrigeration, while closed as well as paying casual staff to avoid losing them. “We’ve got no vision, no road map,” he said.

“We can’t afford to slowly increase capacity. We need to snap back.”

MoVida chef and owner Frank Camorra hadn’t ordered supplies for the end of lockdown. “Like most people, we predicted it would be extended,” he said.

He supported a return to a subsidy by the federal government: “They have just left us completely in the lurch.”

Oriental Tea House owner David Zhou said people were finding it harder to breathe during this lockdown but most people understood the need for it. “Health and then business, otherwise there will be no business,” he said.