Media statement | 25 March 2020
Statement from Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary of the SDA
Business, big and small, unions, employers and industry are speaking with one voice.
The government must respond to direct and combined calls from employers and employees, not just the SDA and the Australian Retailers Association, but many others.
The AIG, COSBOA and the Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell are among those calling for direct government wage support.
The government must act – and act now – following the lead of the UK and New Zealand Governments with direct wage support for workers and small businesses
The time to step up is now.
The measures taken so far are a move in the right direction, but they are too little and too slow.
Businesses and employees need money now to stay alive and to put food on the table.
This is a health as well as an economic imperative.
Direct payments now will cut Centrelink queues, reducing the risk of community transmission of Coronavirus. They will save lives
Every day lost now will deepen the economic contraction and worsen the health of the community.
Too many businesses have already shut their doors, some forever.
Too many jobs have already been lost, many with little prospect of getting them back.
Act now and jobs and businesses will be saved, economic activity will be in better shape, health risks will be diminished, the emergency will be shorter, and the economy will be in better shape to bounce back once the crisis starts to pass.