The head of the Launceston Chamber of Commerce is concerned about the end of JobKeeper and the damage it will inflict on local businesses - but he acknowledges that "it can't go on forever".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
David Peach said the federal government's JobKeeper payment - introduced to prop up ailing businesses at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and set to be wound back on March 28 - had done "an admirable job of keeping the country's economy functional".
"We surveyed our members last week about the impending end of JobKeeper and the responses seem to indicate that many have already transitioned away from JobKeeper in the second round," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"We hope that other businesses will have been planning in advance for the end of JobKeeper."
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Tasmanian postcode with the highest JobKeeper application count (as at February 21, 2021) was Launceston, with 593.
Mr Peach said that figure wasn't necessarily reflected in the chamber's membership.
He said industry-specific support packages would be crucial post-JobKeeper and welcomed the inclusion of Launceston in the federal government's subsidised flights scheme to support the tourism sector.
According to Mr Peach, further assistance had to be provided to hospitality operators, who he said were "the immediate area of concern" in Launceston.
"Really, any business that has space constraints and therefore limitations on patron counts because of social distancing is affected - think restaurants, cinemas, live theatre and performances, galleries, etcetera," he said. "They simply cannot process more people without breaking social distancing guidelines unless we support them in other manners where it's offered "
With the COVID vaccine rollout under way, Mr Peach said he hoped the loosening of such restrictions would be accelerated.
But Public Health director Mark Veitch said he couldn't envisage restrictions being relaxed within the next two-to-three months.
"I would caution people not to expect a very immediate relationship between the vaccine rollout and the relaxation of restrictions," he said on Friday.
Business Northwest president Ian Jones said the local economy appeared to have "bounced back really well" in his region, but said he had heard from some businesses that they would have to cut staff once JobKeeper ended.
"There would be some businesses that were probably marginal before COVID and JobKeeper has kept them going," he said." And when they go back to the real world, they may fold. That's to be expected, I think."
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
Rob Inglis
Rob Inglis is a reporter with The Examiner, covering state and federal politics. He is based in Hobart.
Rob Inglis is a reporter with The Examiner, covering state and federal politics. He is based in Hobart.
