There is a nearly limitless amount of articles on the potential widespread impact of COVID to business here in Australia.
I'm interested in hearing the way people are continuing to support their local businesses, while still maintaining social distancing and other appropriate measures as recommend by the relevant health bodies. It would also be great to hear how businesses are adapting to meet this massive challenge.
Stay safe all.
I bought some music on Bandcamp from independent artists I like. I think people who make their income from events are hit with the double whammy of being sole traders, and typically with few resources to cushion this sort of thing.
In my tourist town there isn’t much that can be done. The vast bulk of the economy is leveraged to visitors - accommodation, dining, tours etc. It is too pervasive for locals to have much impact, as it is us who are also bearing the brunt.
I saw some examples of people selling gift vouchers for a discount to support them now and redeem later.
Community groups I am part of are considering how to support people in real trouble (old/sick/soon to be hungry) but like everyone else, it is terribly uncertain.
I saw some examples of people selling gift vouchers for a discount to support them now and redeem later.
Great way to lose your money when they go under.
Yeah, but doing nothing ensures they will go under. It’s like a bank run or other situation where confidence is key.
That said, if I buy a voucher from Phil or Ra, I know them, their kids etc. If they can fulfil it in future, they will. And they have been giving jobs to our community, so it seems a bit harsh to just let them hang.
The biggest issue in our town is really property prices.
A generation ago, small businesses could often hang on through a rough patch because they owned their premises, but now a shop is millions of dollars they are owned by investors who charge high rents.
So if you don’t make sales, you can’t pay rent, and it doesn’t take long for the business to be finished.
Hopefully, some landlords will take a long view.
Exactly the same issues my community faces - double whammy after just suffering through the bushfires too
Some restaurants are going take away and delivery. I will continue to keep them going that way. The interesting ones will be the markets, I wonder if the hours will be extended to flatten out crowds?
I thought this was a really good read…
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/c…
Why continue to support and drag it out for 12 months with no certainty? Take it short and sharp - 8 to 12 weeks - with some sort of certainty.
The Gov can surely work out something for the kids of medical workers, what else are they good for?
Gov can support small businesses like they are already doing in the meantime.
If this won't work ~ would be great if someone could explain why….
Totally agree, everyone is hurting because of the uncertainty on how long this pandemic would last.
This semi-shutdown scenario and reliance on self isolation is clearly not working. All it takes is a few bad apples to continue to spread. e.g selfish people not following instructions, tourists at Bondi, etc
We should just bite the bullet and get on with Wuhan style quarantine for 4-8 weeks. Anything else is just prolonging the inevitable and doing more damage to businesses and the economy in the process.
Morrison: We'll give you as many guidelines as you'll need, but we need you to think about what to do.
me: you idiot ~ people need clear rules. Guidance can be interpreted. WE CAN'T READ EVERYONE's MIND.
Morrison might as well say: "Hey - we don't need traffic lights. People should be good enough to work it out."
OMG!!!!!
I totally agree with everything said. If the government arent going to do what China, italy and now the UK have done. We need to do it ourselves. Dont go out if you can avoid it, take your kids out of school and do a self imposed lock down.
Our government is on the backfoot and reacting. There is no clear communication, there is confusion about social distancing and self isolation. There doesnt even seem to be a system in place to monitor compliance with self isolation.
We havent had enough test kits so have the strictest criteria for testing which means our numbers of detected cases are smoke and mirrors and only the tip of the iceberg.
That cruise ship docking in Sydney on Thursday with the virus on board is an absolute disgrace. It left Sydney 8 days prior, which means it potentially left here with the virus on board and visited every port in NZ, the repercussions of that are horrific.
Two passengers flew to Darwin and tested positive today and the NT government is closing its borders on Tuesday. SA is debating closing theirs now too. They are doing that to keep NSW residents out.
Why are we not demanding answers to why 2700 people were allowed to disperse into our community?
I dont think people are getting the gravity of the situation. I reckon its time to scare people, terrify them because we all should be very frightened.
NSW moves to 'comprehensive shutdown'
Its coming
Because if you let it run rampant over a few short weeks eg Italy then hospitals will be so overwhelmed that even if you could get admitted into ICU with their limited number of beds, you probably won't make it out alive anyway because the care and resources would be so overstretched.
The whole entire point of isolation is to flatten the curve, so the hospital system can cope and not as many people will die.
By advocating for a short and sharp blow to the system you are advocating for thousands of people to die unnecessarily when those people who died could have been saved if they hadn't gotten sick all at the same time.
read the article… that's not what im advocating..
I'd save your money until the realistic survivors filter to the top. If a business won't survive, sooner the better IMHO. Carnage is inevitable.
Only shopping at coles/woolworths/aldi from now on, thanks for the advice, had not thought of it that way before.
had been going to local butcher and fruit and veg shop, because they have slightly better stuff, but if they are going to go bust and the bank take the profits then whats the point?
Because if everyone thinks that way they’ll definitely go bust. If everyone thinks “oh, time to support the little guys” they might have a chance. Even if they do eventually go bust, you’re keeping people in jobs longer. People just like you and me, who have bills and maybe a mortgage or a family they need to feed.
I’m doing the opposite. Supporting smaller businesses and avoiding the big chains.
Will you go and have a socially distanced no-touch massage to support small business?
@[Deactivated]: With my longterm myotherapist, if she was willing, 100%. I trust her.
I will also start ordering food in from local restaurants (something I never do at home because I’d rather not spend that money) because I can justify the expense and would rather not go to the supermarkets with too much potential contact.
Presumably this is sarcasm?
“The profits” aren’t held for the banks, they pay to put food on the owners and their staff’s tables.
I hope it was sarcasm.
ask them to close. and not help spread the virus for an extra week
because they will be closed in a week anyway.
Im trying not to go out at all except for work and groceries but if necessary using Didi instead of Uber and Ola because Didi are giving their drivers 95% of the fare at the moment.
Using Doordash instead of Ubereats, Menulog and Deliveroo because Doordash are not charging restaurants commission right now.
Im going to the local fruit and veg shop instead of Woollies, although Im rethinking that because today they put prices up 70% on a lot of items and I dont want to reward that kind of behaviour.
Just checked Doordash, they are now delivering to my area now with free delivery!
Will start using it.
Get a referral code
From what I’ve read elsewhere, it’s actually the fruit and veg wholesalers who have put up prices. Worth chatting with your local shop staff to figure out what’s going on before you write them off.
If I was a fruit and veg shop owner who put up prices. I would blame it on the wholesaler too. I wouldn't just tell my customers I do it because I can. I will continue to buy from Colesworth until they stop.
They need to shut it down to curve it. Small bars and restaurants are gonna be expected to pay full rent and bills while they can still trade. Even though there's no way they'll be making enough money to cover costs.
If the govt. Orders them to close, at least they might have some precedent for rent reduction or some kind of hardship period.
The longer people ignore staying home the longer the virus spreads the more businesses close.
We have a holiday booked in country Victoria in about a months time, wondering if we should still go. It was initially to go support one of the communities that were hit with the bush fires
It's hard, but unfortunately the general advice is not to go now - put it on hold. The risk is you might unintentionally bring the virus with you, and remote areas generally will find it even harder to provide the medical support necessary for something like this.
I think this is true, but it also needs consideration of the particular circumstances.
If you were going bush walking or fishing for a few days, I think that would be a sensible break.
If you were going wine tasting, not so much.
I guess it depends on whether you can maintain sensible self isolation while you are away. Staying in an AirBNB might be fine, a Hilton hotel, probably not.
Eating in your self-catering accommodation or over a camp stove, probably fine, going down to the breakfast buffet, probably not!
True, which is why I said 'general advice'. The original question appeared to be about a holiday to support a country community, which implies spending money in that community which also implies a risk of contact. Not suggesting cancelling the holiday, just postponing it - again, just to reduce the risk of spreading the disease in a community that is likely to have restricted access to ICU services. :-)
acts of kindness.goes a long.way
I had a.joke with the woolies.cashier
sure she had a laugh and.is better than all the abuse she would be getting with the store at 60 percent.empty
these workers are not the cause of the shortages
they are doing there best and.dont even have to be here
if everyone does one act.of.kindness it will make this place a better place
We bought take away from our favourite restaurant (Annata Crows Nest) that has never done take away before. Wandered up there, ordered, had a glass of wine while we waited, went home and ate in front of TV. $84 well spent.
What are you talking about… what businesses… what sectors are you talking about
Buy what they're selling…while minimizing as much contact as possible.