The National Retail Association (NRA) welcomes the announcement made by the Queensland government that it will provide further relief to businesses crippled by Covid.
Measures taken will include initiatives such as extending the $5000 one-off payments state-wide, deferred payroll tax payments for eligible businesses and deferment of fees.
“Queensland is a tourism state, the fate of many businesses hinges on the money spent by visitors to the Sunshine State each year,” says NRA CEO Dominique Lamb.
“A drop in holidayers to places like Cairns or the Gold Coast will affect retail shops in the area as much as it does tourist operators.
“Many businesses across Queensland are simply in survival mode. Retailers appreciate any bit of help they receive to keep the doors open and Queenslanders in jobs.”
Ms Lamb continues, “The Delta strain has reinjected the high level of uncertainty we saw right at the start of the pandemic. Even when lockdowns aren’t in place, many businesses are looking over their shoulder worried that another snap round of restrictions will occur.”
She notes what everyday Queenslanders can do to get life back as normal.
“The fact is we’re not getting out of the woods until we hit the 70% vaccination target identified by the Prime Minister and National Cabinet.
“Most of the Eastern seaboard being in lockdown recently has injected a sense of urgency on the need to get vaccinated. Retailers ask all Queenslanders to keep rolling up their sleeves until they’ve received both jabs so we can get back to normal.”