No one in regional Victoria would be surprised to hear that we are on the cusp of a further easing of restrictions, considering it's us who have done the hard work to get to this point.
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So when Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews hints at the possible changes for regional Victoria, understandably, regional Victorians get excited about what that might mean. If the advice from regional chambers of commerce and advocacy groups is to be heeded, the changes cannot come soon enough.
An alliance of peak bodies has penned an open letter to Mr Andrews imploring him and his government to acknowledge the pain regional communities are experiencing, and that many regional business owners are facing "long-term trauma" and are nearing breaking point.
Our own Be.Bendigo is one of the organisations to sign the document, along with similar bodies in Ballarat, Horsham, Shepparton, and Wodonga. Their plea is for the premier to further ease restrictions in regional areas from October 19, which Mr Andrews has repeatedly stated he might do, but his hinted suggestions need to be converted to reality.
There remains just five cases of COVID-19 in regional Victoria - all of them in Mitchell Shire, but our progress to the next stage of eased restrictions in accordance with the so-called Roadmap is currently tied to Melbourne's, and that's the stumbling block.
Be.Bendigo and its fellow signatories to the letter believe regional businesses will "unnecessarily suffer", and hospitality businesses in particular are "haemorrhaging money" attempting to stay open with limited capacities, while we remain stuck, effectively between a rock and a hard place.
Uncertainty around announcements and support has contributed to extra stress, and does not help business owners plan ahead.
Local operators have reacted to COVID-19 be innovating, and then investing time and effort into transforming their businesses so they can be as ready, willing and able to return to work, or to ramp up their work, when the opportunity to do so arises in the very near future.