Take Advantage of Governmment Support

HON DAVID PISONI MP MINISTER FOR INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Congratulations to all the winners from the Australian Hotels Association SA Awards for Excellence announced last week.

It was fantastic to see the best in the business recognised for their resilience and hard work after an extremely difficult past 12 months.

The fact is the whole hotel industry has done a wonderful job during COVID-19 and whilst we understand that certain decisions around restrictions created difficulties, the Marshall Government has taken decisive action to protect South Australian businesses.

Our decision to waive liquor licence fees for this financial year is helping thousands of businesses and saving business owner’s millions of dollars.

On a broader scale South Australia’s massive $4 billion economic stimulus package has delivering cash grants and payroll tax relief to local businesses to help support hundreds of thousands of jobs of people who eat and drink in your establishments.

As a consequence, South Australia’s economy has weathered the COVID-19 storm remarkably well.

Latest national labour force data shows there are now more South Australians in full time jobs than before COVID-19 hit – the only mainland state to achieve such a feat. With South Australia’s unemployment rate the equal second lowest of all the states at 6.4 per cent- the state’s highest ranking in a decade – in CommSec’s State of the States economic report.

However, there is still much work to be done and it’s critical we continue to heed the advice from SA Health, ensure customers are using the COVID-Safe check in and maintaining a clean environment.

The state and federal governments have contributed $2.6 million to a COVID-19 Clean training toolkit (https://business.sa.gov.au/COVID-19-business-information-and-support/Getting-back-to-business/COVID-Clean-Training) for staff, which minimises the risk of spreading COVID-19 and instills confidence in the community.

The training covers a range of basic skills, including hand hygiene practices, effective surface cleaning, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and disposal of contaminated waste.

The Marshall Liberal Government is driving a skills-based recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a number of financial supports available now to train and maintain a skilled workforce

For example, businesses who take on an apprentice or trainee may be eligible for the Equipped for Growth incentive, which provides up to $5,000 to assist with recruitment, onboarding and supervision costs.

There are also Australian Government Wage Subsidies (https://www.employment.gov.au/wage-subsidies) available.

In addition, SA businesses now have access to on-the-spot financial support and services from the State Government thanks to a new mobile phone app launched last month.

The free to download SA Business Hub (https://business.sa.gov.au/SA-Business-Hub-App) app provides a simple and easy way for businesses to find out what’s on offer from the South Australian Government as well as the Australian Government.

The Marshall Liberal Government is determined to do everything in our power to help keep their doors open and people in jobs.