Retail trade figures for October released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that while retail in the rest of Australia has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, retail in Victoria is still way behind due the devastating impacts of Labor’s second wave.
The October figures show that while every other state and territory had higher retail trade turnover in October than in March before the pandemic, under Daniel Andrews, Victoria’s is down by 13.7 per cent on the March figures.
These figures are driven by continued weakness in turnover for cafes, restaurants and catering services, clothing, footwear, personal accessory retailing and department stores.
This is the second major piece of economic data this week to confirm that as the rest of Australia has begun to recover from the COVID-19 induced recession, Victoria continues to struggle as a result of the second wave caused by Labor’s bungled hotel quarantine program and inadequate contact tracing.
Comments attributable to Shadow Treasurer, Louise Staley:
“These numbers confirm that because of Labor’s second wave of coronavirus, retailers are suffering more than every other state in Australia.
“Due to Daniel Andrews’ incompetence, retail trade in Victoria has gone backwards since March by a staggering 13.7 per cent.
“What retailers desperately need, and what Daniel Andrews has failed to deliver, is support for small businesses to get back to work.
“As we approach Christmas I encourage all Victorians shop locally and support struggling small businesses.
“The hospitality industry is still doing it tough, now is great time to support your local cafes and restaurants.”
