‘Devastation’ as businesses forced to close for Victoria’s sixth lockdown

Many businesses received only a few hours notice before being forced to close their doors at 8pm last night, and an industry leader says each lockdown is harder for traders than the last.

Under current restrictions, non-essential retail can only open for contactless click and collect, while hospitality may only operate for takeaway.

CEO of the Australian Industry Group, Innes Willox, says there was “a lot of devastation” reported by businesses yesterday.

Mr Willox says lockdowns stall momentum for businesses which are still recovering from previous lockdowns.

“What lockdowns do is they just kick the legs out of any momentum that businesses have,” he told Heidi Murphy, filling in for Neil Mitchell.

“Each lockdown that occurs slows the momentum.

“There is a recovery but business takes a while to get up and running.”

Press PLAY below to hear more about why each lockdown is more difficult for businesses that the one before