Business leaders say Victoria's snap coronavirus lockdown is a "bitter disappointment" and have called for a national framework to try to end stop-start restrictions that are hurting the business community.They say business is paying dearly for hotel quarantine shortcomingsBusiness Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott saidthis afternoon would have "monumental social and economic costs".
"Small businesses will now be making decisions about whether to lay-off staff or destroy inventory. Airlines will be cancelling thousands of flights and shifts."
What about those of us going 5 days with no pay now because our place of work is forced to close? Where is the financial aid? While I am glad we went into a fast, snap lockdown, to halt this spread, I'm also concerned that those of us whose income has stopped are forgotten.
Just shut the international borders already, my sympathy has totally run out for anyone entering the country, most who left after the first wave! Businesses and families are being decimated! Where the advocacy for them !! closeinternationalborder
Brutal, unpopular. Quarantine = lock international border total, no excuse for anyone! Unless each person fully isolated in negative pressure, HEPA filtered contained room, the virus WILL ESCAPE! Cost and logistics compromise has failed. Vaccine not enough! Now or never. Warned!
A few cases become few more, then extra, then much more, then many more and then even greater. CovidSARS2 B117 is not like the 2020 virus. Can many weeks of potential seeding be recovered in 5 days - NO - so lockdown will last longer DanielAndrewsMP theheraldsun theage 3AW693
Labor is unfit to lead, unfit to rule, unable to handle quarantine & responsible for 800 deaths on Andrews watch. They must be held accountable
We were just too late to order vaccines. Hotel workers should have Emergency approval use but there ARE no vaccines
Maybe they wouldn't be angry and dismayed if they listened to the pressers or read the reasoning. This is the new normal. Its a pandemic. Hello? McFly?
Look at WA SA they lockdown areas and no cases. Victoria can't organise a root in a brothel... Dan needs to leave and so many others
Victoria Brown turd standard. Lock down of state shows no confidence in systems in place..
I might add: judging by the comments (and, I suppose, the polls), there are a lot of Andrews supporters. Remember his idea of letting 'Covid officers' detain ppl merely on suspicion of breaching his overbearing health laws? Andrews is unfit to lead a liberal democracy.
People like Ms Capp are only enabling Andrews's actions. There needs to be a unified voice telling Andrews that what he's doing is unacceptable.
'Business leaders' is the phrase most likely to make me roll my eyes and say 'people before money, arseholes!'
ANDREWSOUT
...this is Victoria’s future, get use to it.
Don’t much care what business leaders think. Care what our front line workers think. I’m sure they don’t want to go back to packed hospitals full of people on respirators. And no, I’m not a left wing nut bag, middle of the road actually
Would they prefer themselves and loved ones to be in ICU with COVID?
Blame the nobs who brought it and spread it, then.
Fuk you ABC you are complicit in hyping up this fairly mild virus. I look forward to justice one day.
Such is this Covid crap till we get a vaccine! Some, sorry many of us on Welfare ATM are looking for freaking work, but dang it keeps on interrupting & doesn't stop Fed Gov from putting the pressure on! We gotta deal with shyte so can many of you!
We're all dismayed. But the problem is the virus, the lockdown is the solution.
There are only 2 groups of politicians capable of making such a destructive, boneheaded decision... entirely cruel & mentally challenged sociopaths.. & globalist Bolsheviks who long for the destruction of Western culture & the birth of a NWO global state out of the ashes.
Not really a snap lockdown everyone’s had 24hrs warning really!! you could see it was going to happen with the uncontrolled community spread. Looks like Melbourne folk are super spreaders or just socially active without following standard social distancing. Vaccine no answer
Better 5 days than 5 months. wheresthevaccine
Wanted to comment about the implications that business puts profit before people but right now small businesses are suffering with no real financial support from government, shame on all levels of government
This can not go on. Firstly, there is no test that can diagnose SARS COV2 virus. Secondly, COVID 19 is not a virus but an umbrella of symptoms. This is acknowledged by WHO. When there is no fixed diagnosis, why are we shutting down?
Well, they'd hardly be happy. But it is what it is right?
Five days as a circuit breaker So impt & lives must always take precedent over business if we r civilised democracy we claim to be
Definitely time for a national plan considering quarantine is a federal responsibility.
now just lifting their headlines from Newscorpse. Not worried about Rupe suing for copyright?
Can we please get the vaccines out? Our good result in avoiding covid means that we have to go slow?
It's almost as if there is a global pandemic or something!
ABC doing their best to find business people that are upset with a 5-day lockdown. but never carry on about N.S.W. when they never even found the spreader.
This is bad news all round but not a bad decision Bad for everyone not just business. Bad for those unemployed or on JobKeeper in the second wave who have since found jobs or are back at work and are now feeling anxious again. We need a universal basic income system.
Maybe these businesses should be complaining to the PM about the delay in getting our HQ workers vaccinated.
Ah but the woke ABC loathes business and business leaders. They’re not part of ‘our’ ABC.
I mean if 2020 showed us anything it's that businesses closing up shop for a while doesn't mean the world ends. Physical and Mental health need to take priority over profits.
It will be a 'monumental' sh!t show if the UK strain would be allowed to run rampant in the community.
DHHS please reference the evidence based medicine/science that supports locking down regional communities 100s of kms from the outbreak. Yep no evidence just lazy decision making.
There will be no small business left. Hope that they can sleep at night.
They would be a lot more dismayed if the virus was let to run loose, and we ended up like the UK or Europe or US Especially as we have no vaccines, and all of those places do
Disappointing that talked up problems 4 businesses w/out offering the alt scenario. What if didn't act til Monday & t result may hv been ooos of people now inf'd, carrying t virus.... what then people? You need to get some facts and outcomes before making click-bait.
It’s tough, but the right call. If the last 12 months is anything to go by you have to get it early. We can do it.
Of course they're anxious and dismayed. They'd rather stay open and make money than actually do their part in helping save lives. It's all about the dollar. Pure greed.