Greenlife Industry Australia is working with other industry associations, retailers and government to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the industry.
Specifically, Peter Vaughan has raised the importance and necessity of the greenlife industry operating ‘essential businesses’ directly with the Department of Agriculture and we are in continued liaison. "I have also had direct contact with the office for the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon David Littleproud, to reiterate this message and the importance of the health and well-being benefits of greenlife and gardening."
The GIA Board are considering association funded approaches to support an additional short, targeted campaign to bolster the mental health and physical activity message and encourage positivity within the community and support retail sales of greenlife.
They have developed some resources to support industry businesses at this time. A Factsheet and Workplace Guidelines; Tips for managing employees, contractors and customers; and a workplace poster in two sizes, are available for download here.
Economic Response to COVID-19
The Federal Government has announced a $17.6 billion economic stimulus package to counter the economic downturn caused by the impact of COVID-19. The package is targeted at maintaining consumer confidence, supporting business investment and keeping people in work. It includes measures that extend to primary industry businesses.
It is focused on providing relief over the next 3 months, in the belief that the impact of COVID-19 will be temporary. However, it is scalable, enabling the government to expand on these measures and add new measures if the situation intensifies over the next few months.
Greenlife Industry Australia has welcomed the support for business acknowledging that the industry is already under pressure from the prolonged hardship of drought and in some regions, bushfires and floods. The measures in the stimulus package will benefit industry businesses and some households.
An information summary has been prepared for Members here.
For more information:
Greenlife Industry Australia
peter.vaughan@greenlifeindustry.com.au
www.greenlifeindustry.com.au
Greenlife Industry Australiapeter.vaughan@greenlifeindustry.com.au
www.greenlifeindustry.com.au