By Lucy Bain
THE Victorian Government has put up $143 million in support for businesses hit by last week’s circuit-breaker lockdown – but for many Sunraysia businesses the aid will hardly make a dent in the losses they incurred during the five-day closure.
Mildura Golf Resort general manager Nick Cavallo said the recovery grants were a drop in the ocean for his business, which was hit on all fronts by the snap lockdown over the busy Valentine’s Day weekend.
“It won’t cover what we would have lost,” he said.
“It’s good they’re putting something together as some sort of support, but it won’t cover it.
“It hit pretty hard because it happened so quickly. We virtually had to cancel all golf Saturday and anything that had been planned, including some events for Saturday night and then obviously over Sunday and into the week. It had a pretty big impact across the board.”
Mr Cavallo estimated the golf resort lost thousands of dollars on accommodation alone due to the five-day lockdown, in addition to losses in its bistro, gaming area and golf course.
“Everything was shut, which included pretty much all the motel except for a few people that were already here,” he said.
“There were probably about 25 cancellations … and we’d normally have people booking in on top of that.”
The Circuit Breaker Support Package includes a payment of between $2250 and $4500 for accommodation providers who had cancellations, depending on how many guests pulled the pin.
It is one of four initiatives targeted at helping more than 50,000 businesses.
Hospitality, tourism, events, food wholesaling and selected retail businesses with an annual payroll of up to $3 million are eligible for $2000 grants.
Additionally, a $24.9 million injection to the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund will give previous recipients of the grant an automatic $3000 per premises payment.
Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula also announced there would be a third round of travel vouchers, with 50,000 $200 vouchers set to be available for travel in Victoria.
But Mr Cavallo said the possibility of future lockdowns was a worry for his management team as they tried to recoup losses amid continuing restrictions.
“Every time we have a hiccup it just makes it harder,” he said.
“We’ve got it hanging over our head – we’re planning weddings and things, some of which have been forwarded on from last year.
“We’ve just got to hope everything keeps moving forward.”
For more information about the Circuit Breaker Support Package, visit business.vic.gov.au.
