NSW decision to open

I have always believed that the current global and national pandemic impact has always been a combination of health and economic.

While saving lives will always be paramount, I think we have forgotten the impact that lockdowns are having on current and future economic and psychological consequences to business and people.

I have done some work within the hospitality industry, and this sector and tourism have been the ones that have born the brunt of some of the severe lockdown actions by state government. The rolling lockdowns have impacted on these sectors in a way that has resulted in each bounce-back after each government decree being slower and lower. I have read that this can be caused by an erosion in confidence by the general public as a result of the scare campaign by health and government officials to reduce the potential of virus transmission.

As a result, businesses in these sectors and those that are part of the supply chain have been severely impacted. Having worked for a short time in a field where dealing with financial stress was part of my job, I have real concern for business owners in these sectors coming out of the lockdowns. We have been so focused on controlling the virus, that we have forgotten about people and their livelihood, as well as who is going to pay off the future debt.

There are current articles about how we will bounce out of the economic trough once restrictions are lifted, but my concern is that the past 18 month of disastrous cashflows will restrict businesses investing in capability to take advantage of this bounce. In addition, we have not seen the economic impacts that will flow from the restraint financial institutions and regulatory bodies as these restraints are lifted.

Not only will it be economic, but as we know, a significant number of small businesses finance their business through mortgaging their home and personal assets, and if these are exposed to risk, the impact will shift from the business world to peoples lives. My experience that financial crises at the personal level will disrupt relationships and families, and can lead to depression and suicides.

So far, I have not seen any support at any significant level to address this issue, and I believe that government should be setting up support structures now, not next year, as the potential crisis evolves.

At another level, all three government sectors have brough forward infrastructure spending, as well as homeowner grant assistance. This has and will hide the economic impact resulting from lockdown induced reduction in trading on those sectors not funded through government largess. In addition, this increase in infrastructure expenditure will cause a significant drop in expenditure once these projects have been completed, this will be exasperated by the level of government debt.

So, my article heading, I have a real interest in the outcomes from NSW and what will be the response in economic terms as they open up their businesses to relatively normal trading.

I hope that I am proven wrong in my comments and the next 3 to 5 years do not see a significant increase in Australian businesses and business owners go to the wall