Canberra businesses are reeling in the face of what they say is now a lockdown in all but name.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Last year's formal lockdown hit them hard, but there was government support so they kept their heads above water, just about.
But this year's informal lockdown doesn't offer the same safety net. There has been no government order to close but businesses say the advice to people to stay home has hit revenues hard.
"Businesses can't sustain having no customers so we might as well be closed," Tom Adam who owns Canberra Martial Arts in Phillip said.
What he called the "let it rip" policy of the ACT government might mean no lockdowns but he said the effect was the same.
READ MORE:
- Pressures mount on grocery supply chain to supermarkets
- Explainer: What you need to know about boosters
- Thinking of travelling overseas? Here are some of the things you may need to do
- Getting kids vaccinated is life or death for this Canberra family
- Why some Canberra hairdressers want to ban the 'C' word
The Transit Bar on London Circuit was due to reopen this week after two months closure but has had to postpone the opening indefinitely.
"At this stage, we don't know when we can open," owner Joel Tyrrell said.
"It's been a tumultuous two years. We're almost at breaking point. We are in an unspoken lockdown."
Potential customers were frightened to go out but also staff were testing positive. On top of that, ACT government regulations changed overnight last week so venues like his suddenly had to be all seating.
The Transit Bar did have 11 gigs planned for January.
"A lot of people in Canberra were craving live music and we were hoping to provide it," he said.
Pre-COVID, the music venue had a capacity of 396. with COVID spacing rules, the venue was cut to 180. He reckons the new no-standing capacity might be half that, about 90 - and that makes the finances impossible, apart from changing the nature of the music experience.
"There's a danger of places going out of business," he said. Canberra prided itself, he said, on being an ambitious place with a lively music scene but he thought the current dire situation threatened that.
"There's no support to keep these night-time venues alive so I don't know what the future is," he said.
His tale of woe and fear for the future was echoed across the city and across different types of venue.
"The problem we've got is that we might as well be in lockdown. They might as well close the hospitality industry down," Mr Adam who is president of Phillip Business Community said.
"None of us have the capacity to tread water for six to eight weeks. All my cash reserves have gone but we aren't getting any support."
His views were echoed by Sean McConnell at the Rebel Rebel restaurant: "It's a very tricky time with no government support," he said.
He had to close on December 30 because a member of staff tested positive. That meant he lost the revenue of what would have been the biggest night of the year: New Year's Eve.
"We've been left in a pretty brutal situation," he said.
Part of the frustration of business owners is that they can't plan. They don't know how the pandemic is going to play out and what government policy is likely to be.
"We don't know what the end game looks like. We can't just keep stopping and starting," Mr McConnell said.
Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram