"The New South Wales support package will provide welcome relief to businesses suffering from the self imposed lockdown by many in the community," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today.

"Payroll relief and the range of other measures will help businesses get back on their feet after a subdued summer where consumer confidence and demand have been suppressed.

"The NSW Government has consulted widely on the measures to support industries get through what has been a particularly tough period for our city and regional centres. Businesses in other states will now be looking for similar support from their state governments.

"The focus now also needs to be on rebuilding consumer and business confidence. The dollars need to be matched by a concerted effort by governments to start putting the pandemic behind us both through words and deeds.

"Health officials could start by relegating the daily COVID tallies to history. The increasingly unreliable data is perpetuating unease in the community and preventing our overwhelmingly vaccinated communities from getting on with normal life,” Mr Willox said today.

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