Supermarkets and pharmacies could trade 24/7 under measures the NSW government is considering to ease the supply chain headaches gripping the state.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has told 2GB the state government is also mulling a more “targeted” version of JobSaver to take pressure off small business in the current “lockdown-like” conditions.
Kean says the government is looking at axing more red tape for small businesses, including the need for people to have a licence to serve alcohol.
“We’ve got a massive problem for our hospitality system whereby they can’t get workers at the moment,” Kean says.
He says these people would still be supervised by people with a Responsible Serving of Alcohol certification.
The Treasurer says the state has “some of the toughest economic conditions that we’ve seen during the whole pandemic”.
“It’s almost lockdown-like conditions,” Kean says.
He says the government will look to extend operating hours for supermarkets, pharmacies and other select retailers that will be able to run 24/7.
“That’s going to help to deal with some of the supply chain issues,” Kean says.
“We’ve got a huge backlog of supply chain deliveries.”
Delivery hours will also be extended to June with certain conditions depending on residential areas. Kean says the NSW government is also looking at a more target version of JobSaver.
“It will be similar, targeted specifically to support our small businesses that are doing it so tough at the moment,” Kean says.
“This period will be temporary. We’ve got every confidence that cases of omicron will decrease over the next four to six weeks.
“So we need to make sure that we get businesses through this period safely.
“We want to keep people safe, but we need to support our economy to keep it strong.”