Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Docklands small businesses

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (19:42): (1789) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Small Business. Small businesses in hospitality and retail are doing it very tough in Docklands. There are many shopfronts for lease, many businesses are still struggling after the COVID lockdowns and the fences around the unsightly attraction of the government’s Central Pier closure are just unacceptable. Recently I invited Docklands locals to complete my community survey about making Docklands an even better place to live, and I thank those residents who returned the survey and responded because they care so much about their community.

The residents have reported to me their concerns for the local economy, the need for more green spaces and the effect of the Central Pier closure on the local hospitality industry in Docklands. They are worried about their jobs, Minister. According to SGS Economics and Planning, the closure of Docklands Central Pier will cost central Melbourne’s economy up to $865 million and 1500 jobs by 2024. The Docklands Chamber of Commerce president, Daniel Hibberd, was reported in the Age in 2021 as saying that the loss of the pier, which he described as Melbourne’s ‘events showpiece’, had an immediate impact on local business conditions.

Minister, the government must in the upcoming budget not just talk about small business but actually help the retail and hospitality small businesses in Docklands. The action I seek is that the government urgently offer financial support to small businesses in Docklands—urgently, not just in the state budget.