The Business Support Grants for lockdown impacted businesses need fixing urgently.
Too many businesses are ineligible for support despite massive losses which threaten their viability.
Fiona Simpson MP is calling on the State Government to “get cracking” and help affected business by getting support to them faster and fixing the grant criteria which denied many legitimate business help.
“Once again, we are seeing the State Government quick to lockdown businesses and slow to respond with support for those who are hurting.
“The funding hasn’t come through yet and cruelly many are finding the criteria for eligibility is very narrow and blocks them from help depending on how their business is structured. Many face hardship or going broke.
“The pandemic has been with us about 18 months. These criteria should have been sorted by now. With my colleagues, I have been pushing for financial support for small businesses facing lockdowns for some time, but this grant program is botched – it is too late, and too narrow.”
Examples of people blocked from help despite their businesses bleeding are:
- If they don’t directly employ staff but instead pay through a labour hire company or contractors
- Not for profit businesses who aren’t registered for GST
- Business owners who pay themselves a wage and aren’t counted
People’s livelihoods, their local employment and the community need to be supported to enable us to come out the other side.
Accommodation providers on the Sunshine Coast have lost nearly all their bookings for August, as well as the lockdowns, there is more to recovery than a ‘7-day period’.
