VACCINE BEING DISTRIBUTED IN AUSTRALIA NEXT MONDAY & GOV UPDATE
Dear Members,
I hope you enjoyed a booming weekend of trade with Valentine’s Day & non-essential retail closed due to the Victorian COVID19 circuit breaking lock down.
The vaccine has arrived in Australia and will start to be administered Monday of next week to Hospital & Aged care workers. This will give Aussies a new level of confidence in challenging times. Click here to see the latest news and COVID-19 vaccines update via Department of Health.
For Tatts Kiosk retailers that are currently closed please stay strong as VANA/NLNA work through with the Government and the Chief Health Officer on a re-opening date. We are hoping for this Thursday February 18, this will purely boil down to COVID19 case numbers www.covidlive.com.au. The numbers we are looking for tomorrow and Wednesday are zero local community transmission.
A larger conversation with Federal Government is underway to make Tatts Kiosks an essential service however four parties will need to agree -Federal Government, State Government, Tabcorp and the retailer. This will take time and we are committed to following this through as we appreciate the angst, pain and financial suffering our Kiosk members are feeling right now.
To reiterate for Distribution only members it’s business as usual. On Friday we did send out permitted worker permits as we hadn’t had clarity from the State Government . I was on a call 7pm Friday night and can now stipulate NO permitted worker permits are necessary for this current lockdown and this applies to retail as well.
All of our members are doing an outstanding job as we remain front and centre as an essential service with COVID19 safe plans, mandatory face coverings and hand sanitiser at all outlets. The community needs us right now, keep up the great work and stay safe.
Kind regards,
Brendan Tohill | Chief Executive Officer
VANA – Victorian Authorised Newsagents Association
NLNA – National Lotteries Newsagents Association
