Local businesses, cultural organisations and community groups have been given a lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic, with cash grants from the City of Sydney totalling $6.75 million.
The city has awarded 455 grants to help businesses survive the economic impacts of the global pandemic and provide support to the most vulnerable in the community.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore says the city created the new grants program with great urgency, to help support the City’s creatives, community sector and small businesses.
“Sadly, the physical distancing measures required to save lives is continuing to hurt the livelihoods of many in our community,” she says.
“Many workers have lost their income from the closure of cafes, restaurants, venues and gyms, and artists and arts organisations were seriously affected―with many shockingly locked out of federal support.
“In response to the economic challenges of the global pandemic, which has created great insecurity and uncertainty for many local businesses, organisations and artists across our city, we created a number of new grants programs to help businesses pay wages, adapt or reinvent themselves, and create new work.
“While restrictions are now easing, many businesses and artists remain in survival mode and these grants are helping many of them to get back on their feet and move into the recovery stage.
Owner of Potts Point’s Honkas Bar+Eats, Hamilton Kings, felt the impact of the coronavirus immediately.
“A few weeks before the lockdowns, people started to panic and we started to lose our functions and events bookings left right and centre,” he says.
“Then all of sudden we were in full lockdown and the show was over.
“I knew it was going to be tough, but as long as I kept one foot in front of the other, no matter how big the step, I was determined to get to the other side.”
With a City Covid-19 grant, the Honkas Potts Point bar owner is developing an app for Love Local, a new food and drink delivery service that takes a 12 per cent commission for orders, as opposed to the 30 per cent restaurants are charged by some major food delivery services.
Love Local has several Potts Point eateries on board and is delivering around the inner city.
The city is set to announce a further 199 grants totalling $2.1 million later this month.
Fresh data shows cafes expect prolonged road to recovery
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, says new figures show many café owners are tipping a long road to recovery, highlighting the need for additional support and in some cases, compensation.
According to the Harris Café Report, 80 per cent of small business owners in hospitality―the majority of which are café owners―have said they won’t be able to recover from recent hardships without third party assistance.
Carnell says it’s clear from the report released today, that cafes have been among the hardest hit by Covid restrictions.
“It’s incredibly tough to be in small business right now and particularly if you happen to own a café,” she says.
“More than 40 per cent of respondents to this survey said they don’t expect to be able to stay open for longer than six months without additional support and over half say they’ve lost 50 per cent or more of their revenue over the past few months.
“What it tells us is there will be a prolonged period before these small business owners are back on their feet.
“JobKeeper has certainly been effective in keeping many of these businesses afloat, but some additional targeted support will likely be required to help these once-viable cafes get to the other side of this difficult time.
“We know that outbreaks will happen during this pandemic and that will mean localised lockdowns. We’ve now seen that happen in parts of Victoria, with small businesses impacted.
“In cases like this, where cafes have been forced to throw out stock due to a sudden lockdown, compensation should be made available to them.
“Although we know that outbreaks will happen and that will impact small businesses in those areas, it is actually impossible for a café owner to plan for that. They will lose stock, and for small businesses that are already seriously cash-strapped, there’s a real risk an event like this could break them.
“Australia has a vibrant café culture and for that to continue, it’s critical these small businesses have they support they need to grow and thrive.”
Now is the time to look for a job
We still don’t know what exactly is going to happen with JobKeeper, but we do know that it can’t continue in its current form for everyone who is currently receiving it. Unemployment is going to be a huge problem, and come September, there are going to be thousands of people looking for a job at the same time.
That’s why we urge people to start looking for jobs now, if they haven’t already.
COSBOA is hearing from some of its industry association members that small businesses in certain industries are actually struggling to fill some casual and part-time roles at the moment.
This could be because people are content with the JobKeeper or JobSeeker payments that they’re receiving and don’t feel motivated to look for more work. Many people may not be aware that as long as they maintain employment with their JobKeeper-eligible employer, they can look for work elsewhere and earn more income.
It could also be because many of the people who are unemployed right now have never been unemployed before and don’t know that they can look for a certain amount of part-time or casual work and still continue receiving JobSeeker payments.
Or maybe people are simply feeling grim about their chances of getting a job.
“The message we want to get out is the earlier you start looking for a job, the better off you’ll be at the end of September,” says Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA.
“There are still some jobs available right now but there will be a lot of competition once everyone starts applying for them at the same time, maybe even all on the same day. If you start looking now you can avoid being part of that competition.
“There are small businesses out there that need staff, including service stations, cafes, restaurants, shops and hotels. Not every business out there is losing money―some are doing well but many can’t find the staff they need.”
