By Jed Lanyon and Romy Stephens
Numerous business owners throughout the Yarra Ranges have attributed their shop’s survival during the Covid-19 pandemic to the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program.
It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently announced the program would continue beyond September, albeit at a lower rate.
Monbulk Jewellers owner Ken Hunt said JobKeeper had kept his business afloat during the pandemic and as a result, he wouldn’t need to access the program after September.
“April and May were terrible, we looked like we had to shut the door and that would be it, but with the JobKeeper there it made a huge difference for us,” he said.
“We’re not doing better than what we did before but we’re doing almost as good as we were before, which is great. We’re indebted to the Government because of that.
“Little towns like ours, every little town in the hills, without the support goodness knows what would have happened.
“Our little town is coming back stronger again which is great.”
Gina Braidner, owner of Seville’s Branded Burgers and Bar, told the Star Mail her business would go under if it weren’t for the continuation of the stimulus package.
She said she wanted to see the scheme evolve to cater to the fast changing needs of small businesses.
Since the pandemic began, Ms Braidner said her labour costs had gone up due to losing JobKeeper eligible staff, replaced by employees who did not qualify for the scheme.
“I think it’s great, but this second time around, having lost some staff who were on (JobKeeper), it’s a lot tougher.”
Ben Arnold, owner and chef of Healesville’s My Little Kitchen, described JobKeeper as a “safety net” for his business after the loss of income through tourism.
“To have that little bit of extra support there, I think it’s a great thing,” he said.
“We have been committed to our team since day one. JobKeeper is essentially a bonus for us. It means that we can spread the shifts out among the team.”
From September, JobKeeper payments will be cut to $1200 per fortnight and $750 for those working less than 20 hours a week. Eligibility tests will be applied in September, and again next year, to ensure businesses are still facing a 30 per cent or more downturn compared to pre-pandemic levels.
For the first three months of next year, JobKeeper payments will again fall to $1000 a fortnight and $650 a fortnight for those working less than 20 hours a week.
The Federal Government’s JobSeeker program will fall from $1100 to about $800 a fortnight in September.
Last week, Yarra Ranges Council pushed for the federal government’s financial support to continue past September.
Mayor Richard Higgins said Council had recently undertaken a number of studies and outreach activities to gain a better understanding of the short and long-term impacts of both Covid-19 and the associated lockdown restrictions.
“Some of the key findings of this work are startling, particularly the expected -14 per cent contraction in Yarra Ranges’ economy, and a forecast 20.5 per cent decrease in Yarra Ranges’ Gross Regional product, which equates to a loss of around $1.35 billion,” he said.
“Covid-19 is having a crippling effect on many industries especially those in tourism. While typically we would welcome around 6.6 million visitors each year to the Yarra Ranges, we are not likely to see those numbers again for some time to come.”
