Wednesday, 21 July 2021
With only one new case, and a mammoth testing effort on the commencement of SA’s third lockdown, South Australian businesses awoke wondering what support was on the way.
Following the Premier and Treasurer’s media conference this morning, the South Australian Business Chamber welcomes the $100-million-dollar support package that is expected to assist 50 thousand eligible small and medium sized businesses.
This comes in the form of a $3,000 emergency cash grant, or $1,000 for non-employing businesses, combined with income support for staff announced by the Commonwealth Government which is likely to extend to micro businesses with under $75k annual turnover.
The South Australian Business Chamber Chief Executive Martin Haese says: “It’s early days, but these immediate relief measures will help many business owners cover some of the initial direct costs associated with the current lockdown.”
“We also welcome the $1,000 cash grant for non-employing businesses such as sole traders, a sector of the economy often overlooked in scenarios like these.”
“We are pleased to see micro businesses being looked after too, particularly for sectors such as personal services.”
“Ultimately any support measure will be welcomed, but we note that nothing will entirely offset the losses incurred by a seven-day lockdown, other than to be open for trade.
“Although the $3,000 relief packages for small to medium size businesses will do justice to the Government’s intent, the financial impact to many businesses is likely to be orders of magnitude larger than that, including in the events sector.” said Mr Haese.
“The ultimate form of support for businesses is for the lockdown to be lifted as soon as it is safe to do so and we acknowledge the Premier’s clear recognition of this need.”
The South Australian Business Chamber is in discussions with State Treasury this week to ensure that all grant applications are straightforward and processed as quickly as possible.
During this morning’s press conference, the Treasurer alluded to further assistance should this seven-day lockdown be extended. The South Australian Business Chamber encourages any further assistance but remains hopeful that a lockdown extension will not be necessary.
