AS “non-essential” businesses across the ACT take steps to shut down, the Canberra Business Chamber is calling on the federal and ACT government to do more for businesses to survive in the long term.

At the moment, these “non-essential” services listed by the federal and ACT government includes pubs and registered clubs, gyms and indoor sporting venues, cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos and night clubs, and restaurants and cafes, who will be restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery

“New restrictions that shut down ‘non-essential services’ businesses such as clubs, hotels and restaurants will decimate an industry that has been dealing with a severe downturn for months,” says the chamber’s CEO Graham Catt.

“There’s no way to sugar coat this, the business support measures that have been announced, while welcome, won’t go far enough for the tourism and hospitality industry, and the many small businesses that supply them.

“Businesses can’t pay staff when there are no customers and no money coming through the door. We welcome government assistance to help businesses keep their people, but now we have to face the difficult reality that we cannot save every business or every job.” 

“Nearly two thirds of Canberrans in jobs are employed by the private sector. Businesses and their people need information, options and flexibility to make the best decisions during this period. And the support measures announced by both the federal and ACT governments must flow urgently to help keep as many businesses as possible afloat.”

The Canberra Business Chamber says for many businesses, government support for “mothballing” may be the best way to help survival. 

“A local retailer might need to close their doors temporarily and be given support so that they can be reinvigorated when the health crisis is over,” Mr Catt says.

“To recover from this crisis, we’ll need businesses to still exist in some form and scale up quickly to provide the jobs, and goods and services we need.”