OFF the back of an announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, outlining a three-stage plan which prioritises the easing of restrictions on cafes and restaurants as part of its first stage, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he’s not in a race to get them open. 

Gatherings – indoor or out – will be eased from midnight tonight (May 8) in the ACT to up to 10 people, but not in cafes, not yet anyway, said Mr Barr.

“I’m not going to expect businesses to be ready and respond to that,” he said in a press conference this afternoon. 

“[It] will be a step in our stage one response but we need to talk to people first and that’s what we’ll be doing over this weekend and the first half of next week.

“We’ve had preliminary industry discussions but obviously the situation in relation to cafes and restaurants varies widely across Canberra and indeed across Australia. 

“So what I am foreshadowing is that as part of our stage one response, to take place over the coming weeks, is that ‘yes’ all of those items in the national framework will be ones that we will consider and move on at our pace, with two important things in mind.

“One, giving sufficient notice to businesses and the broader community around when changes will come, and two, just not to bombard people with information. It’s not a race. We’ll step through it cautiously and slowly but all the areas that are covered in stage one are areas that we will be focusing on in the coming weeks.” 

No parties, but from midnight things get a bit easier