REGULATORY REPORT
Lobbying and Advocacy Report
Christine Pope | ATMS Treasurer
ATMS members have continued to be affected by COVID lockdowns as various states have experienced further clusters . The most significant of these outbreaks was the so-called Northern Beaches cluster , which saw the peninsula locked down for 2-3 weeks over the Christmas period . ATMS has been able to work closely with the NSW Small Business Commissioner , Chris Lamont , to provide feedback on a range of issues for practitioners , including implementation of QR Codes and mask wearing .
The recent snap lockdown by the Western Australian government saw ATMS members locked down for 6 days , with very short notice and confusing messaging . Initially there was a list of businesses that were not permitted , and then , 36 hours later , a much longer list which included most types of Allied Health was uploaded to government websites . ATMS provided three updates to members through this period .
ATMS works collaboratively with COSBOA on lobbying with regard to issues which affect small business .
COSBOA is working on a report looking at the lessons from COVID-19 and how government can learn from this in the future . ATMS were clear that communications need to be improved , as government by press release is very stressful for practitioners , particularly when , as just happened again in WA , the documentation released 36 hours later is more restrictive than indicated in earlier statements .
Recent announcements from the NSW Government included the early rollout of the dining vouchers program to the Northern Beaches , and a grant of up to
$ 5,000 for businesses affected by the lockdowns which experienced a 50 % reduction in turnover , and up to $ 3,000 for those which had experienced a 30 % reduction in turnover . We are following up with the Small Business Commission to get further details .
ATMS is also represented by Christine Pope on monthly briefings with NSW Treasury . Of note this month were the updated unemployment numbers showing a reduction in the rate to 6.6 %, a considerable improvement on the forecast 8.5 %. Concerns were still expressed about trade with China and the looming fiscal slope involved with the end of Jobkeeper in March ( it was considered more of a slope than a cliff at this point in time !). Overall , fewer than 40 % of businesses who qualified for JobKeeper requalified in January .
38 | vol27 | no1 | JATMS