Melbourne’s CBD faces $110b wipeout

The campaign follows AFL star turned radio host Luke Darcy telling the Premier “you have to admit the policy has caused death, the policy by locking people down has tipped suicide into a level that’s untenable. I lost my 78-year-old father, Premier, during this time.”

An estimated 22,900 jobs will go from accommodation and food services, 6800 will go from education, 8000 from financial services and insurance, and 2300 from retail, among the major job losses in the city alone.

The monthly job losses are three times higher than those of the 1990s recession – Victoria lost 128,000 jobs in April, compared to 38,000 in March 1991 (the largest single month job reduction in Victoria in the 1990s recession).

“With thousands of people working from home, our shopping malls, hotels and restaurants have been almost deserted,” Ms Capp said.

“Office workers are a big part of the community in neighbourhoods like Docklands, which is normally home to 72,000 jobs,” she said, noting that the office vacancy rate is up to 5.8 per cent, up from a historically low 3.2 per cent in February.

Federal Treasury projections and economic models suggest anywhere between 400,000 and 700,000 jobs could be lost across Victoria – more than four MCGs full of unemployed. The stadium will also stand empty this year after Brisbane secured this year’s AFL grand final.

Exxon Mobil is warning it might have to close its Altona oil refinery which employs 350 Victorians, on top of 700 jobs at risk at Viva’s Geelong oil refinery revealed this week.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce wrote to the state and federal governments on Wednesday calling for a multibillion-dollar rescue package, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned Mr Andrews he would not receive extra financial assistance until he revealed his rescue plan.

Labor member Jennifer Yang, who is running on a pro-business ticket, which Ms Gee is considering joining, said: “Our mayor can’t just be a sycophant to the Premier and state government – businesses need a strong voice, not a faint echo.”

Paul Zahra, CEO of the Australian Retailers Association, said: “Restrictions have hit CBD retailers like a sledgehammer, and they have felt the pressure more than other locations under the weight of lost foot-traffic and elevated rents.”

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