Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2) 54 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Matters of Interest COVID-19 Economic Recovery COVID-19 Economic Recovery The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO Legislative Council The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (15:50): I rise today to speak about small businesses in South Australia. With 143,000 small businesses up and running across South Australia, they form the backbone of our economy and are the key drivers to ensuring the state's economic growth and employment opportunities. We have initiatives like the #BookThemOut campaign as a response to the 2020 bushfire recovery and the #WelcomeBack campaign from the South Australian Tourism Commission. More recently, the government has introduced the #GoToTown campaign to boost economic activity, particularly in the CBD where an increased percentage of people working from home has left the CBD businesses struggling. The #GoToTown campaign includes $800,000 of CBD-focused measures, including the FOMO Friday program presented by the South Australian Tourism Commission, encouraging activation of the CBD's economy by going into partnership with local building owners and traders to deliver live music, street parties and advertisement to our local bars and restaurants. We have already started seeing increased customers coming back into the CBD as a result of the new #GoToTown campaign. I thank our local community for supporting our CBD businesses, demonstrating they are always ready to stand behind our local small businesses and support them during hard times. Until recently working at Deloitte right here in the CBD, I know the return of employees to the CBD has been slow and employees have been understandably enjoying the work from home work-life balance and flexibility that the COVID era has provided. I do, however, feel sympathy for the CBD business community, who have been through a challenging time over the past 18 months. I recognise the joint efforts of the Marshall Liberal government and the Adelaide City Council on working together to encourage more activation and engagement within our CBD to ensure our residents return and support our small business community. I would like to thank our business community for everything they have done to help keep our state safe during these challenging times, including adapting to changing COVID restrictions and taking risks to run their businesses and serve the people of South Australia. With a strong plan to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marshall Liberal government has delivered on: land tax relief for residential and non-residential landlords impacted by COVID-19; payroll tax relief with a 15-month waiver on payroll between April 2020 and June 2021; a waiver on 2020 and 2021 liquor licensing fees for small venues, restaurants and catering businesses; and SME business advisory services to help small and medium-sized businesses access professional services to grow and transform. The Marshall Liberal government announced the COVID-19 Business Support Grant program to support thousands of South Australian small and medium-sized businesses that suffered a significant loss of income or were forced to close as a result of the 20 July 2021 restrictions. Eligible businesses can receive $3,000 for an employing business and $1,000 for a non-employing business which experienced a decline of more than 30 per cent over the two-week period as a result of the COVID-19 trading restrictions introduced from 28 July 2021. The government recognises that ongoing density requirements and other trading restrictions are impacting businesses, which is why it is delivering on new jointly funded packages with the commonwealth that will give small and medium businesses financial support. The South Australian COVID-19 Additional Business Support Grant will deliver an extra $40 million in support to an estimated 19,000 local businesses in eligible industries. The package includes the mentioned $3,000 cash grant, as well as an additional CBD grant of $1,000 available for eligible businesses, both employing and non-employing, with commercial premises right here in the CBD of Adelaide in recognition of the increased impact on city businesses as a result of people working from home. I would also like to acknowledge small businesses in our rural and regional areas of South Australia, which have been working twice as hard to keep their businesses alive, particularly during lockdowns. The Marshall Liberal government is focused on saving South Australian jobs, safeguarding our state's economy and, most importantly, supporting our business community. Time expired.