Page 772 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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around physical distancing, one person per four square metres, and all the additional health protection measures that have been advised.
The Reserve Bank and the OECD have indicated that the type of disruption to economic activity, based on the level of restrictions, means that economic output is reduced by between a quarter and a third, depending on the nature of restrictions.
The Prime Minister has been very clear in his language around lockdowns, and I tend to agree with that. The term “lockdown” is bandied about. We should be cautious in using that. Lockdown in a Chinese context meant people were physically welded into their homes and not allowed to leave. Their doors were welded shut. I cannot envisage a circumstance in Australia where that would happen.
MR HANSON: Chief Minister, what contingencies does the ACT government have in place to maintain essential services in the event of any mass staff illnesses?
MR BARR: We have seen as many redundancies as we possibly can in terms of business continuity plans but the whole purpose of the social and physical distancing measures that are in place now is to reduce the spread of the virus. We will be like any other part of the world, in that, if this epidemic gets away, it will have significant impact potentially upon services.
The measures we have put in place in terms of working from home arrangements and reducing the density of the number of people in government buildings where essential services are being delivered are good risk reduction measures. But there is no risk elimination in this environment. There is no way that we can reduce risk completely, but we can put in place sensible measures, and we have at the local level, just as other governments have.
Tourism—COVID-19
MR WALL: My question is to the Chief Minister and Treasurer. Canberra’s tourism sector was badly affected by January’s bushfire events, and the COVID-19 crisis is another significant blow. Many businesses are threatened, including much-loved institutions and attractions such as the Dinosaur Museum, Cockington Green and the National Zoo and Aquarium, to name just a few. What support has the tourism sector requested from the ACT government thus far?
MR BARR: The government has been meeting with the sector as represented by its overarching industry associations, of which there are a number in the broader tourism sector, as well as undertaking individual case management, and the businesses that Mr Wall has mentioned have been a part of that individual case management.
Because those businesses are clearly in category 3, where they have just been entirely shut down, there will be requirements for the ACT government to provide full waivers on every ACT government charge. They will be eligible for all of those. We are potentially in a situation where we may need to take an equity stake in some businesses in order to preserve, for example, the welfare of animals, but we will work very hard to ensure that the measures that we undertake, combined with those
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