CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION
OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Melbourne businesses are calling on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to resign over the hotel quarantine debacle that led to a fresh COVID-19 outbreak and forced the whole of Melbourne into a second lockdown.
Chrissie Maus, general manager of the Chapel Street Precinct Association, which represents more than 2000 businesses in the area, said those at the top should take responsibility, and called for Premier Andrews to resign.
“I can’t trust [Mr Andrews'] government to effectively manage this, given the hotel quarantine debacle. But not only that. The fact he won’t answer questions on his leadership.
“As a leader, anyone needs to admit their faults. The fact he can’t stand there and admit he has driven this state into billions of dollars of more debt is very concerning. I feel like he has to fall on his sword because the trust has gone," she said.
She said businesses on Chapel Street had been doing the right thing, with rigorous hygiene practices and social distancing. But she said the botched hotel quarantining system was forcing them to pay a heavy cost through no fault of their own.