The old Birchalls building can then be accessed from Brisbane Street.

The Patterson Street car park is always busy, compared to the Brisbane Street Mall.

Busses operate successfully in the Rosny Mall on the Eastern Shore in the south.

I WOULD like answers as to how the crisis payments to staff are helpful?

I can see it's helpful if my staff get COVID and are eligible for payments, but what about those losing work due to punters not attending venues, those who are losing work waiting for unavailable tests and those losing multiple shifts from multiple employers?

The fine print in the crisis payment conditions excludes so many staff adversely affected by the outbreak, it's affecting all staff, exposed, safe and testing positive.

What are venues supposed to do when punter numbers have been next to nothing since borders opened? Tasmania doesn't have the population to be able to replace customers that are staying home or too scared to come out with the risk associated with trying to do the right thing and be tested.

How are businesses supposed to pay their bills with no locals and declining tourist numbers coming in?

There are so many more issues facing small businesses than just directly risking exposure.

It's had a huge snowball effect and the government is doing little to address it.

What do I say to my staff that now can't pay their rent, because my business is empty, through no fault of my own?

We have done everything asked of us over the past two years, no capacity limits or COVID plans could have prepared us for this decline in local customer numbers. Please actually help the hospitality industry.

ERROR of judgement? No, straight out lie.

Typical of superstar status blaming someone else, remember an Australian sportsman blaming his mother? Anyone else would have been sent home immediately. It would have just shown how the privileged can get away with anything if he was allowed to stay.

WITH Peter Gutwein placing business mates and Scott Morrison's instructions as his modus operandi above his responsibility to the people of Tasmania, he has taken us from one of the COVID-safest places in the world to one that is running rampant with infections, businesses closing and locals choosing home over going out.

Equally disturbing is the deafening silence from Labor Leader Rebecca White.

This is a golden opportunity for Ms White to show us what she's made of if she wants to win the next election.

The majority of Tasmanians want to be safe as we were before December 15, so if Ms White wants to represent the people of this awesome state, she needs to be in Mr Gutwein's face every day questioning his motivation for opening the borders and challenging his failure to prepare for the rampant increase in infected people. Now is the time for Labor to stand up and be noticed, not when Mr Gutwein announces the next election.

WHY the hell aren't we on lockdown to stop making this feral thing worse? Our whole system is in breakdown: medical, social, hospitality and schools are set to go back and make the whole thing even worse.

The primary role of a government is to keep its citizens safe and yet our government has utterly abandoned this role. This is the most important time for our leaders to step up and lead and keep us safe.

I AM surprised that Lyons Labor MHR Brian Mitchell, with such a large electorate, is spending more time worrying about what his opponent is doing than he is actually doing his job (The Examiner, January 13).

Last week the Gutwein and Morrison governments celebrated the continued investment in aerial firefighting capabilities - $26 million each year to save lives and property. Rightly, Liberal Lyons candidate Susie Bower was there to welcome such good news.

Mr Mitchell would do well to focus on standing up for key industries in his electorate and delivering better outcomes for Lyons, rather than worrying about what Ms Bower is up to.