Source: supplied.
Mandated closure of ‘non-essential business’ and other trading restrictions have been a nightmare for small business owners around the country, both for income and for mental health. Confusion just makes it worse. We need a nationally consistent, standardised
approach to COVID-19 restrictions so that small business owners can plan for the risk of a lockdown.
When Australia first went into lockdown in March 2020, the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association (ACAPMA) started receiving concerning phone calls from distressed service station owners in Victoria and South Australia reporting that police officers were ‘manhandling’ truck drivers
away from roadside rest areas — they had interpreted the rest areas to be a dining facility, a non-essential part of the service station that was required to close. The federal government had made an exemption for roadhouses, truck stop facilities and truck driver lounges to stay open so heavy vehicle drivers could take breaks to manage their fatigue, but this information hadn’t made it through to state police forces.