Queensland employers plea for help after 'double whammy'

Queensland businesses and employers had recently sought aid for facing the “compounding impact” of the COVID-19 economic crisis and the recent flooding, saying that they need “timely access to financial and emotional support.”

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) Policy and Advocacy general manager Amanda Rohan said the announced financial disaster recovery assistance meant recovery is underway for the state’s businesses but there’s still “so much to do.”

The said announcement for the financial assistance came after CCIQ’s CEO Heidi Cooper said the flood affecting several regions in the state was on top of struggling through COVID-19’s two-year impact on the economy, noting that many employers were already “financially and emotionally exhausted.”

“Queensland businesses and the communities they support are already struggling through the impacts of COVID and are now directly affected during extreme weather events across the state. This has a compounding impact on their operations and staff," Cooper said in a CCIQ media release.

“The December quarter pulse results reported Queensland business confidence was already low as a result of COVID-19. For many businesses, the recent flooding has been a cruel double-whammy,” Cooper added.

Meanwhile, as to the news of the financial disaster recovery assistance, Rohan said there was “still work to do” to support “impacted businesses to be resilient, competitive and diversified long-term.”

“The early activation disaster assistance is encouraged however it’s important the avenues for business to apply for and access the assistance are streamlined and the timely," Rohan said.  

“While impacted businesses now have access to financial support through the timely activation of the disaster relief funding, we’re calling for a holistic business continuity support package to provide for the financial, emotional and community recovery and particularly addressing the mental health impacts,” Rohan added.