Dear Acting Premier and Treasurer,
I understand the need for this current snap lockdown. Keeping Victorians safe should always be our number one priority.
This morning I heard Minister Pakula stating that you are developing an economic package to aid those businesses and individuals who have been effected by the lockdown.
I would encourage you, for the sake of business confidence, to be as broad as you can in the help you offer to business and ensure you can expedite that assistance as quickly as possible. The businesses I have spoken in my electorate of Northern Metropolitan have told me of varied experiences when attempting to access assistance in previous lockdown periods. The most common complaint was the ability to gain funds in a timely manner to plug the immediate holes that many small businesses have sprung on their balance sheet overnight.
Could I also implore you to prioritise assistance to those in the causal work force who will feel the immediate impact of the decision to enter a lockdown. Many of them will be low income earners and renters who are but one pay slip away from slipping into a crisis situation. They deserve out help more than anyone else.
Finally, as Chair of the Legal and Social Issues Committee that has closely examined the issue of homelessness across Victoria, I can tell you that this lockdown will have a profound effect on those who are experiencing, or who are at risk of, being homeless. Please make sure you extended the full resources of the government to all those services that can help these group of our citizens immediately.
Thank you.
Sincerely
Fiona
