"The Australian industry group has welcomed the return of the COVID Summer rules which were previously in place prior to the most recent Victorian lockdown," Tim Piper, Victorian Head of the national employer association Ai Group said today.
"However, the time has come for the Government to ensure the community that there will be no further sudden lockdowns of this state-wide nature and that general community lockdowns are seen as an absolute last resort.
"There needs to be an understanding between our health bureaucrats and our business community as to the need for a balance of risk approach to lockdowns. We don't need to have lockdowns of entire states, including regional areas and all parts of Melbourne. We need to ensure our testing and tracing and our quarantine hotels are able to deal with minor outbreaks.
"The removal of the need to wear masks in workplaces is extremely important and welcome, as is the opportunity for employers to increase the number of people within offices.
"Victorian businesses will be delighted that people will be able to move around and act in a COVID-normal way. Consistency, certainty and recognition of the harm lockdowns create, need to be a hallmark of our ongoing response to this virus," Mr Piper said
