Tate Papworth
Brimbank Business Association president Daniel Dalli has urged the state government to invest in Brimbank long term.
On Tuesday Premier Daniel Andrews reimposed lockdown measures across a number of Brimbank suburbs.
While not all businesses withing Brimbank will be forced to shut, Mr Dalli said all will be impacted.
“Lots of businesses which initially shut down, invested costs into reopening, now those costs are wasted, Mr Dalli said.
“It’s the worst thing could have happened and it has happened… mainly for businesses in those postcodes but it’s damaging for the wider community as well.
“Tourists may avoid these areas because of the stigma of being called hotspots.“
He welcomed the government’s $5,000 grant announcement, but said it will only go so far.
“We need ongoing support for businesses,“ he said.
“Moving forward this is likely to hamper businesses from what was starting to become a positive environment.
“That momentum will obviously be lost and with that we expect a big problem with unemployment, which is already disproportionate to the Melbourne average, to rise.“
Master Cutterz Hair Studio owner Rachel Vella agreed the grants should be extended.
“It’s just heartbreaking, especially for small business,“ she said.
“There seems to be a lack of support though. Keilor is not in lockdown, but a large number of our clients are in lockdown… most of the neighbouring suburbs are.
“Business in Keilor is going to suffer just as much, we don’t just service people in Keilor, but we’re not eligible for that support.“
While concerned about what a second round of lockdown will bring, Ms Vella said her loyal customer base was cause for much optimism.
“We’ve been grateful we’ve been able to operate and our number one priority has been safety, but we really started to bounce back after the first round of lockdowns.
“I’m sure we’ll get back to where we were, but we’ve got to really reach out for people to shop local and support small business.“
