There would be many in country towns across the state who would argue their local footy and netball competitions were just as essential to their communities as the Victorian government would have us believe the Australian Open tennis grand slam was to Melbourne.
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On the outside, the cap of 1000 people at local footy and netball grounds this season looks like something that needs changing, or at least clarifying, as quickly as possible.
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As Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell pointed out earlier this week, the capacity limit at sporting events has been imposed by the state government in response to recent COVID-19 outbreaks in the hotel quarantine program based in Melbourne.
Speaking in State Parliament, Ms Lovell said it was unfair that country sporting clubs are burdened with limits that will restrict revenue and place additional pressure on club volunteers. And if Melbourne venues such as the MCG can lift capacity to 50 per cent, as announced yesterday by Premier Daniel Andrews, then we owe the rest of the state a similiar review of ground capacities.
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The number of coronavirus cases recorded in regional Victoria is extremely low compared to metropolitan Melbourne - and some areas have recorded zero cases throughout the pandemic. It's one of the great tributes to regional Victorians that case numbers remain so low - and an acknowledgement that we know and recognise what we need to do to keep COVID-19 at bay.
We need to be able to provide some certainty and clarity to sporting groups, community organisations and the business community that we have the confidence and ability to manage any future isolated outbreaks of COVID-19 without needing a blanket shutdown of the entire state.
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The commencement of the vaccine rollout is a game changer for this country, and while many of us will have to wait several months for our turn to get a jab, we should not lose sight of the fact our nation is blessed to not be in the dire emergency situation many others remain trapped in, with mounting death tolls and a massive number of COVID-19 cases that simply dwarves our own.
The federal government's decision to allocate JobSeeker recipients an extra $3.57 a day came in for a lot of criticism this week, perhaps not surprisingly. While many Australians are likely to experience minimum wage growth in the next few years due to the lingering impacts of the global pandemic and the associated economic fallout, the fact this was the first real increase for such a long time only added more disappointment to the lacklustre announcement.
And given the continuing fragility of especially the Victorian economy due to having to tough out three lockdowns throughout the pandemic, there are probably more than a few people worried they could end up on JobSeeker when the payment reverts to its new normal rate in late March.
There's currently approximately 1.2 million Australians on JobKeeper, with Victoria the state most represented in those numbers. Workers in the industries most impacted by the pandemic, including those in tourism, entertainment and hospitality, are among those most vulnerable workers who need a better outcome.
The need for the rest of us to show our support for Australians working in these and other industries becomes even more important in coming months. As restrictions continue to be scaled back, we need to take advantage of any new-found freedoms and opportunities and we should feel encouraged to eat out more, to travel more and to support our local economies in whatever way we can.
With 75 per cent of us allowed back into work premises on Monday - the highest level permitted since the state of emergency was invoked, workers and shoppers need to vote with their feet - and their wallets, and support the local shops and businesses around them.
We need to have the confidence that this is the right thing to do - for all of us, and let's face it, after the past 12 months, we could probably all do with a bit of extra pampering and personal enjoyment.
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