Business NSW has declared the four-week extension to New South Wales’ lockdown as another crushing blow to SMEs, but has welcomed new support measures that will help keep businesses afloat.
Business NSW Chief Executive Daniel Hunter spoke of the dismay that many in the industry felt that there would be another month of restrictions, but added that compliance and vaccination were vital in the long term.
“In some good news for business, both the Federal and State Governments have answered our call to extend the JobSaver program to make it more scalable and to assist larger businesses,” he said.
“The program has now been extended with a maximum weekly payment of $100,000, up from $10,000 to businesses with a turnover of up to $250 million.”
“That’s going to provide significant support for businesses with a large workforce that have suffered a 30% reduction in turnover.”
Hunter welcomed the return of limited construction work.
“Construction can resume on Saturday in areas not impacted by the Delta strain, which will provide some boost to the economy. However, construction workers in the 8 identified LGA’s won’t be able to participate and work sites in those LGA’s won’t be able to restart.
“It will mean some businesses can get going again under strict conditions, giving some certainty to business owners and their employees.
“In simple terms, construction work can proceed outdoors under strict COVID safe conditions, while indoor work can proceed so long as the home owner is not in the premises at the time.”
“Unfortunately, there’s no re-opening when it comes to industries with a high concentration of employees like retail and hospitality, meaning many business owners and their employees will continue to suffer.
“The only way out of this is to continue to comply with government restrictions and get vaccinated as soon as possible”
