Page 2618 - Week 09 - Thursday, 16 September 2021
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form, we will be able to open or not just as further unnecessary pressure, that could easily be negated by some form of a plan.
I understand that at today’s media conference when asked about details of a plan the Chief Minister stated—and he did so again at question time—that at the two-week check-in time into this four-week lockdown extension he will try and provide a little bit more information. Whilst this is welcome, because I think it is the first time perhaps that he has acknowledged that people do need more detail, it must be followed through. Many Canberrans assumed and expected that Tuesday, 14 September was going to be the day they got that plan and those details. They did not.
Let’s not forget that for a lot of businesses the next two weeks are going to be extremely tough. There are businesses that have been fortunate enough to receive the much-needed government support and there are businesses that have been able to pivot and trade in some form. But there are also thousands of businesses that have and continue to be locked down from day 1, and each and every day they are losing income whilst their business expenses continue to roll in and stack up.
As the health minister so eloquently reminded us before lunch and during question time, this is a global pandemic. Businesses were closed down overnight and lost all of their income just as quickly. The ACT government cannot treat this like any other government grant scheme. Businesses needed support from day 1, and they need this support right now because they are bleeding.
Canberrans are eating into life savings. They are worried about not being able to put food on the table. They are stressed about how they are going to pay their rent. Many have stopped paying themselves a wage and many have heartbreakingly needed to let staff go. Some of these staff members are like family to them. They have been with these businesses from day 1 and were a critical part of these businesses as they grew.
Businesses need our support. For five weeks now, many businesses have gone without any income, and behind each one is a family that has also gone without an income. These businesses and these families need support, they need respect and, most of all, they need hope.
The business support needs to go beyond financial assistance. We need to make sure we are giving businesses a direct voice to government to develop a recovery plan, to inform post-COVID business measures and to allow the government to hear from businesses direct about how we can move forward.
The Chief Minister has said he is talking to industry groups daily, but the feedback we are getting is that the current way of doing things is not working. Any consultation being undertaken from the business community about the plan forward is not being included in the decisions that are being announced. What we are hearing is that the decisions being made that impact significantly on businesses are being made by people who do not know business.
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