Support for Darwin businesses with more rounds of myDarwin voucher scheme announced

Darwin businesses and shoppers alike are thrilled at the return of the myDarwin voucher scheme. Are you?

• That’s a wrap!: Final round of myDarwin voucher scheme spending exhausted after four and a half days

DARWIN Council has brought back its popular myDarwin voucher scheme for a seventh time a week, after the city’s hospitality industry was forced to close for a three-day snap Covid-19 lockdown.

Council chief executive Scott Waters announced on Monday the $100,000 worth of vouchers would be allocated in two $50,000 lots.

Investment from City of Darwin to date has cost ratepayers about $1m.

However, Mr Waters said on ­Monday businesses “were on their knees” 18 months ago during the first lockdown and the scheme was “the difference between keeping the doors open or not”.

The scheme has ensured that for every dollar spent on the online scheme an additional $7 has been cashed in for businesses in the ­Darwin region.

“This lockdown also had a particular impact on the hospitality industry is what we’ve found,” Mr Waters said.

“What we wanted to be able to do is get this moving at a time when we know the hospitality industry will be booming again.

Three Mums Owner Minh Vu putting up the MY Darwin sticker with Scott Waters Picture Julianne Osborne

“When masks are off, things will turn around very quickly.

“But the businesses tell us meanwhile this is absolutely fantastic and it increases the sales through the till and delivers real return through their business but also the economy overall.”

The popular scheme to encourage Darwin shoppers to buy local and dine out at restaurants begins this Thursday.

“We think that’s a bit of a celebration. Everybody that registers has the ability to go to those businesses that were already there, but also some new businesses will be able to come aboard,” Mr Waters said.

The “redeployment” of myDarwin is worth $100,000 across two rounds.

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The next round will be released at noon on August 26 and then again on August 31 for thrifty spenders.

“What we want to achieve is economic stimulus coming out from this round of lockdown,” Mr Waters said.

“We can turn it on and off as we need to help out. That’s just through stimulating additional sales.

“So a point of sale discount or a voucher is provided, depending on the amount of products that we are ­offering to spend.

“It helps out with those extra little bit of things. Not just getting that coffee, but getting that Danish or something extra that helps out businesses.”

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Originally published as Support for Darwin businesses with more rounds of myDarwin voucher scheme announced