City of Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin commends the State Government for its decision to ease density restrictions for hospitality venues.
“It has been such a challenging year for business across all sectors as they try to recover economically from the impacts of COVID-19,” Mayor Martin said.
I have been lobbying Premier Steven Marshall and also Local Government Association SA CEO Matt Pinnegar on behalf of our community for a review of the 1 per 4 square metre density rule for hospitality venues as this severely restricts their economic viability.
– Mayor Lynette Martin
“I was pleased to see that on Friday 4 December 2020 the restrictions were eased to 1 per 2 square metres for the hospitality sector. Considering this sector has been one of the hardest hit throughout the pandemic, I really hope that the easing of restrictions will assist these businesses particularly as we enter the festive season, a time when they rely on strong custom.”
Mount Gambier Molten Chocolate Café owners Robbie Barker and Cheryl Saunders employ six staff and said their small business is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic due to its loyal patronage.
“We have capacity to fit less than half the number of seated customers as usual in the café, but we are glad to see that density restrictions are easing,” Mr Barker said.
The Mayor also welcomed the removal of border restrictions between South Australia and Victoria earlier this month.
“It was also pleasing to see the opening of the Victorian Border on 1 December 2020, which provided a real economic boost for our business community just in time for the festive season,” Mayor Martin said.
