Sunday, 21 June 2020
According to a the South Australian Business Chamber Quick Poll, 91 per cent of South Australian businesses surveyed want the SA Government’s one person per four square metre rule scrapped.
The independent and peak business body is now calling upon the Premier to remove the controversial rule immediately to save SA businesses from closing permanently.
The South Australian Business Chamber CEO, Martin Haese, said the survey found the density restriction was having a heavy impact on a broad range of industries, not just the hospitality sector.
“Should it continue, the one person per four square metre rule does not discriminate in the devastation it is causing South Australian businesses,” said Mr Martin Haese.
“This rule is now putting a hand break on the State’s economic recovery and it needs to go.”
In a 24-hour quick poll conducted by the South Australian Business Chamber last week, of 311 business owners surveyed, 91 per cent said their business was restricted by the one person per four square metre rule.
Of those businesses restricted, 61.7 per cent described the impact as “heavy” with 12.6 per cent reporting they were unable to operate at all under the density rule.
While the accommodation and food retail sector was the hardest hit with 77.1 per cent “heavily impacted” by the rule, tourism, retail, property services, education, health and community services as well as cultural and recreation businesses (which includes gyms and fitness classes) were among the many other business sectors that reported the rule was having a moderate to heavy impact on their business.
Of the respondents who said they were unable to open, 83.8 per cent said they would be able to operate if the density rule changed to one person per two square metres.
Of the business who were currently open, 61.4 per cent said they would be able to increase capacity by at least 50 per cent if the rule changed, while 22.8 per cent said the move would allow them to double their capacity.
Overall, an overwhelming 91.5 per cent of businesses said they supported changing the one person per four square metres to one person per two square metres.
“Businesses have told us no matter what the capacity limit is they are being held hostage by the one person per four square metre rule,” said Mr Haese.
“Every day is costing businesses, which are in a race against time to re-establish themselves before JobKeeper drops off in September. We are concerned businesses won’t survive if the one person per four square metre rule remains in place for a day longer.”
“The South Australian Business Chamber encourages the Premier to scrap the one person per four square metre rule immediately.”
