Victoria’s COVID outbreak and seven-day lockdown is a stark reminder that we are not yet out of the woods.
The pandemic continues to be a virulent and evolving threat to public health and our economic recovery. Even a modest outbreak can disrupt momentum and create a significant cost for our economy.
We know the way through this pandemic: a successful rollout of the vaccine program, adequate contract tracing and expanded quarantine capacity will give Australia the resilience to withstand outbreaks with minimal interruption.
While Australia has outperformed all major economies across nearly every public health and economic recovery measure, it is clear that we have not yet achieved flawlessness on all these fronts.
The Property Council has been advocating for a ramping up of our quarantine arrangements to enable net overseas migration to be restarted in a COVIDSafe way.
We are encouraged to see that the federal government is actively considering support for the Victorian Government’s proposed purpose-built quarantine hub, which is now out for tender. While construction is not expected to begin until September, it is hoped that the final capacity of the facility could be 3,000 beds.
Innovative solutions to our quarantine challenges are welcome. However, short-sighted tax grabs threaten to put Victoria’s economy in its own confinement.
The Victorian lockdown highlights the recklessness of the Victorian Government’s new property tax increases. These tax hikes will slug local businesses at a time when they are most vulnerable. This will be a retrograde step for economic recovery and cost Victorian jobs.
Our thoughts are with all our Victorian members who are continuing to demonstrate the industry’s resilience as they endure their fourth lockdown.