`It just breaks your heart'
The Ballarat-based Minister for Small Business, Jaala Pulford, is failing not only her home town, but every business across Victoria.
In the Victorian Parliament this week, she went so far as to blame local businesses for not understanding COVID-19 rule changes.
Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic the Victorian Government has invoked belligerent and non-evidenced based rules that have forced the closure of many businesses.
The goal posts have constantly moved.
The Member for Western Victoria and Shadow Assistant Minister for Scrutiny of Government, Bev McArthur, said they changed again last week, with the earlier implementation of forced double vaccination on employees.
On 1 October, businesses were told that first doses were required for staff by 22 October and second doses by 26 November. Almost overnight, the double-jab deadline became 22 October, four weeks earlier.
It has forced some businesses to remain shut and employees unable to work.
Mrs McArthur has told the Victorian Parliament that it is causing enormous distress.
“This is no one’s fault other than the Premier’s and the Minister for Small Business. How can business plan and operate in this environment? How can staff?” Mrs McArthur asked.
“Many simply heeded the Premier’s call, `The best vaccine is the one you can get right now.’
“Off the back of that, employees planned. They can’t change the dose dates, and re-scheduling is in many cases an impossibility.
“They followed the rules – and the rules changed. That’s not just unfair, that’s wrong,” she said.
She directly challenged Minister Pulford in the Parliament this week to explain.
“How is it fair to bring forward the deadline by four weeks and give business just one week to fix it?” Mrs McArthur asked.
In line with her arrogant blame-others Government, Minister Pulford answered by saying the business concerns “…have at their root some misunderstanding of the way in which the road map has been rolled out.”
Mrs McArthur said the Minister’s response treats people like fools and further torments the Ballarat business community which understands the road map very well.
The Minister also made an extraordinary admission that the problem was statewide and “…was not in any way an issue that is Ballarat exclusive…”.
The CEO of Commerce Ballarat, Jodie Gillett, said the vaccine date changes are damaging.
“It just breaks your heart,” Ms Gillett said.
“It makes me so angry that someone sitting in an office in Melbourne, at the stroke of a pen, is causing this much grief for people who have already been through so much.”
Mrs McArthur provided the House with the following words from Bec Reeves, the owner of Ballarat hairdressing salon, Formation Hairstylists, who expressed the sentiment of the dumped Phase A timeframes this way:
“ (It is) absolute garbage, demoralising and completely devastating. Small business across Ballarat and myself are crying out for help here. Allow us to operate under the Phase A restrictions. Allow us to provide for our families. Allow us the decency and respect for complying with ever-changing goalposts we have been chasing around for the past 18 months.”
Mrs McArthur said Minister Pulford needs to act.
“What action will you take to prove you are listening?” Mrs McArthur asked Ms Pulford.
Mrs McArthur has called on the Minister to allow business to remain open at reduced capacity as increasing vaccination rates continue and as originally promised by the Government to allow staff time to obtain their second vaccination.
“It makes no sense at all to go backwards and it may be the final straw for businesses which have suffered so much, kept staff on the payroll in anticipation of an end to locked doors, and now find themselves having to retrench staff or keep the doors closed through lack of fully vaccinated staff,” Mrs McArthur said.
28 October 2021