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Peak organisation Business NSW has highlighted the "huge impact" an extended Greater Sydney lockdown will have on the community after recent surveys showed worrying consequences for business revenue and job losses.
Business NSW has been working with members since the lockdown began, and initial analysis of survey data shows 48 per cent of those surveyed believe the revenue impact of the current two-week lockdown is already somewhat equivalent to the revenue impact of two months, following the first major lock down late last year.
"Concerningly, around 1 in 5 businesses say they only have enough cashflow to get them through the next month of operations so an extended lockdown will see businesses close down, and unlikely to reopen," Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter said.
"And this time around there's no JobKeeper to help cushion the fall."
The NSW Government has offered grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses across NSW, while a Commonwealth-designated hotspot status allows for weekly payments of between $325-500 for staff who have lost work during the lockdown and have less than $10,000 in savings.
Hunter said the lockdown would not only lead to a loss of jobs but would also have a huge impact on the mental health of those business owners and their employees who have dedicated their lives to their businesses.
"Balancing the health and economic pressures of this pandemic is a very difficult assignment for the Government, and business understands the importance of community safety above all else," he said.
"There is going to be extra pressure placed on business owners next week with employees needing to supervise children who are learning from home, so at a time when they are doing it tough, they'll have to be even more accommodating which adds even more pressure.
"While the NSW Government has always balanced the health and economic outcomes of this pandemic, there's no hiding that this will be a huge blow for business, big and small, right across the NSW economy."
Hunter said it was now more important than ever that the community does the right thing when it comes to obeying the rules, always checking in and out with QR codes, and getting vaccinated when possible,
Updated at 12:12pm AEST on 7 July.
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