Hospitality industry willing to do what it takes to avoid “Armageddon”
Josh Landis, CEO of Clubs NSW has stated “there is going to be Armageddon in the hospitality industry” if the lockdown in Greater Sydney continues for another three months.
With over 600 cases recorded in NSW today, the state is unlikely to come out of lockdown any time soon, unless the double vaccination rate hits 80 per cent.
NSW has now been in lockdown for nine weeks, with no end in sight – a fact that has left many in the hospitality industry fearing for their businesses.
Landis spoke to Sky News this week to address the issue.
“We’re seeing clubs that are losing a million dollars a week,” Landis said.
“That’s the cost of closure. That’s the cost of things like staff being on annual leave because they have to make ends meet.”
Landis said the government’s financial support “just isn’t enough” and has called for the return of JobKeeper saying that when it was available last year, it was easily accessible and people trusted it.
He said it was such a great program because it “supported profitability at a time when business was not profitable at all”.
Landis also said the current support mechanism won’t be sustainable for the amount of time it will take to reach the 80 per cent double vaccination rate.
“We cannot survive three months of closure, where government assistance just doesn’t touch the sides.”
Landis said clubs will do anything it takes to re-open and that increased government support should be approved so they can open in a safe and limited way, in order to start earning money again.
Irit Jackson, 18th August 2021
