Our thoughts are with our members and staff who are contending with the impact of the current Sydney lockdown.
The situation has demonstrated the risk that COVID-19 still poses to our economic recovery.
Over the last week the federal and NSW governments have turned their focus to economic support for vulnerable businesses. The Property Council has been heavily engaged with policymakers to ensure that the lessons from last year were brought to bear in any decisions made.
Yesterday the two governments announced a substantial package of measures to help support individuals and businesses experiencing hardship in the lockdowns.
The NSW Government also announced a set of sensible and proportionate measures relating to commercial and residential leases. These include land tax offsets for any rent reductions offered by landlords to struggling tenants and a moratorium on evictions or any prescribed action during the lockdown period.
These new measures complement efforts being made by commercial building owners, who are already working to support their small business tenants affected by the lockdown and providing support on a case-by-case basis.
During 2020 and 2021 property owners have provided more than $15 billion in support to tenants around the country.
The property industry continues to make community safety our highest priority during the pandemic, ensuring shopping centres, construction sites, retirement communities, and logistics hubs and warehouses have been able to stay open while being COVIDSafe.
Sydney is a robust and resilient city that is home to an irrepressible property industry. The Property Council will continue to advocate for the settings required to enable our industry to lead the city’s economic recovery.