The impacts of the coronavirus outbreak continue to be fast moving and profound across the Australian economy and community.
Around the country we see previously unimaginable changes in our economic and social behaviour as more people stay at home or limit their movement as part of the public health response to control the spread of the virus.
The economic and business impacts of this reshaping of Australian life over the past few weeks have been huge, and governments and business are grappling with the immediate and longer term consequences.
The Commonwealth Government has committed the equivalent of around 16 per cent of GDP to support individuals, households and businesses during this period. The financial system is responding to the dramatically changed circumstances for many of their customers, as is the property industry.
Our commercial landlords are engaged closely with their tenants on ways to support them through this crisis. While there is no one size fits all approach, there is a shared commitment to helping our tenants and business partners find a way through this extraordinary period.
Similarly, on our building and project sites we are seeing a great commitment from employers, unions and workers to work practices which support health and safety on site so that construction – one of our economic pillars – can continue.
Our team at the Property Council has been working tirelessly over recent weeks to shape the economic and policy response to the coronavirus outbreak. We are talking every day to decision-makers across all levels of government to ensure the needs of our industry and the 1.4 million jobs it supports are front of mind.
Keeping our industry connected is also a priority for us. I hope you can join us for our special online event this Friday where we’ll hear from industry leaders on their insights into managing through these unprecedented business conditions.