As many small businesses are facing a dire situation with the continued lockdowns, industry groups the National Retail Association (NRA), the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) and the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) have welcomed the latest round of assistance measures from the government.
The measures include emergency cash payments to businesses in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia; and tenancy relief in both New South Wales and Victoria.
NRA CEO Dominique Lamb says the assistance measures come at a make or break moment for many retailers in lockdown affected regions.
“The Greater Sydney and Melbourne regions are Australia’s two largest economic centres and both have spent a prolonged period in lockdown,” she says.
“Retail contains the second largest workforce in Australia and mass job losses in this sector would have a domino effect across the rest of the economy. More support was needed for businesses in Sydney and Melbourne, but there remain real concerns for the general ecosystem moving forward with lockdowns still not a thing of the past.
“Retailers welcome tenancy measures but we also recognise that while there has been some relief for landlords, the property industry remains one of the few to subsidise businesses without large-scale support.”
The NRA has also been urging Aussies to get vaccinated to help small businesses, declaring it the only way to end sudden lockdowns.
“Australians have shown they are more than willing to help out local small businesses right throughout the worst parts of the Covid-19 response, prioritising local small business and spending money to help retailers stay afloat,” says Lamb.
“We appreciate the efforts of so many who have supported small business throughout the pandemic. But we just can’t keep living like this forever and the Prime Minister says a 70 per cent vaccination rate is the trigger to end the lockdowns.
“So the message of retailers today is very clear―please roll up your sleeves for your local small business.”
