Thursday, 10 March 2022

Northern Victoria Region

Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (12:34): (1678) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health. My office has been approached by a small business bakery owner who has once again had to close the business due to limited staff. The baker has had to isolate due to his son testing positive for COVID-19. His daughter works weekends for the bakery and is also isolating. However, the baker’s wife works at the local hospital with vulnerable and sick people. Apparently she can still go to work and work with those most at risk from COVID. I am not going to make a judgement about whether or not she should be able to work, but there is a very obvious double standard here. Small businesses and hospitality have been hit again and again over the last two years. For this bakery this is the last straw. They are not holding on any longer; the doors are closing and the ‘For sale’ sign is going up. Minister, when will you stop this double standard and allow those who have not tested positive to work? We need to support small business to rebuild from the devastation of the past two years of COVID and crippling mandates.