Under the state’s roadmap to recovery, indoor entertainment and cultural venues such as the National Holden Museum and Great Aussie Beer Shed are unable to open.
Co-owners of the National Holden Museum Tony Galea and Mark Galea said they had an endless stream of people wanting to visit, including a man from Bairnsdale who couldn’t understand why they were closed.
“He was upset, he said, ‘why aren’t you open, I’ve travelled hundreds of kilometres’,” he said.
“Sometimes people say, ‘we were planning to come to Echuca but now we won’t, there’s no point coming’, so it’s not just us that’s affected,” Tony said.
At the start of the year, business was strong for the museum, boosted by the announcement of Holden closing in Australia.
Then the pandemic saw at least 30 bookings cancelled since March, including some of up to 80 people.
“After the tours they go the coffee shops, hotels, they’re buying stuff around town; it affects everybody,” Mark said.
The Victorian Government has made financial support available for businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’d be finished if it wasn’t for the support, it’s the only thing that’s keeping us going,” Mark said.
Neil Thomas, who owns the Great Aussie Beer Shed, is facing a similar struggle with only 10 days of trade since March.
“We’re just desperate for people to come,” he said.
“We’ve done renovations and put a lot of new displays in; it’s the best it’s ever looked.”
On top of the lack of tourist traffic, the shed has also had to cancel four weddings, among other functions booked in during the COVID-19 period.
“I understand the whole COVID-19 thing and we’re lucky up here, but I just think it’s unfair that the rest of town is pretty well open,” Neil said.
State Member for Northern Victoria Tim Quilty met with the owners on Friday, October 2 and said they showed resilience through some incredibly tough times.
“While I applaud their courage, I am bitterly disappointed that they have had to fight for survival thanks to government decisions,” he said.
“It’s way past time these ridiculous restrictions were lifted in regional Victoria and on the border completely so that we can all start returning to a normal life.”
While Mr Quilty acknowledged the value of containing the virus, he said the methods employed by all governments had been excessive and suffocating.
“Governments on both sides of the border should have trodden far more carefully, considered the fallout of their decisions, and listened to a much broader range of experts than the ones under their control,” he said.
“We are hundreds of kilometres from any COVID-19 hotspots and yet here we are wearing masks and still enduring restrictions on our daily lives.”
Under the current roadmap, indoor venues would be able to open in the last step, which the state could move to on November 9 if the case numbers are met.
But Tony said it would be a “hard slog” getting back to normal.
“Once we open up again we’re going to struggle to buy stock because we don’t have that money, we’ve already had to cancel orders,” Tony said.
More local news
Mark Thompson battled breast cancer and is now giving back
Pregnant Echuca woman walking 60km for mental health month
Police warn residents to watch out for tax scammers
20°C