Trade hit continues for The Happy Wombat and Hudson Circus despite no local COVID cases in Newcastle

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed yesterday that Sydney's lockdown and the rest of the state's restrictions would be extended for another week from Friday.

It will mean measures such as the four square metre rule for venues, mask wearing, no drinking while standing and the prohibition of dancing at venues will be in place for at least three weeks in total.

The past two weeks have been the toughest of the pandemic so far for restaurant and bar The Happy Wombat.

Owner Luke Tilse said the Hunter Street venue relied on CBD workers and people staying in the nearby hotels - both of which have been heavily reduced as people reverted back to working from home and Sydneysiders were banned from travelling.

"This one has been the worst so far," Mr Tilse said. "If you said to me that I would have done 60 per cent less trade last week based on what they were announcing I would have said absolutely not, we'll be okay. But it has definitely smashed us. It's our whole area."

Mr Tilse opened a second venue, the Young Street Hotel at Carrington, at the end of last year. Trade is down there too, but not as much as The Happy Wombat.

He said he was able to open Young Street and employ more staff because of government support during the first lockdown, but now they were being forced to survive this hit largely on their own.

The downturn has led Mr Tilse to cut back casual shifts and reduce trading hours.

"It's been really hard having those conversations with staff," he said. "We hate cutting back staff but it's just literally survival. We've had staff in tears wondering how they're going to pay their rent and it kills me. I've offered them loans from my own house loan to keep them going."

The issue has been compounded by the loss of JobKeeper during this lockdown. The government has announced grants of up to $10,000 for businesses which had lost trade, but Mr Tilse said this wouldn't go far for many.

He believed government loans would help traders stay on their feet, but that he would ultimately prefer to go back to normal trade rather than receive financial support. He expressed frustration that restrictions had been extended despite Sydney being in a lockdown and no cases being reported in Newcastle.

"We haven't had a case here in a year, we've had two weeks in these restrictions now and we've still had no cases," he said. "If we get a case come out, lock us down, fair enough. But there's been no indication there's going to be something come up in Newcastle.

"I do understand it because of the proximity [to Sydney]. I know it's the Delta variant. But we've had no cases, none, and the only reason we would is if people were coming up from Sydney."

Hudsons Circus is currently in Newcastle and has also felt the pinch the past few weeks. They had to drop to 30 per cent capacity, forcing them to cancel a lot of ticket bookings and put on more shows to make up for it.

"Our performers are doing more triple somersaults or more laps of the arena or more daredevil bike acts, so they're actually risking their lives more times per week to get in less crowd than what we normally would," said Shane Lennon, who owns the circus with wife Nancy.

Similarly to Mr Tilse, Mr Lennon also said it was frustrating that restrictions had been extended in regional NSW despite the lack of cases. He plans to write to the Premier about the matter.

"It's a shame that today's announcement didn't allow for a larger capacity for regional businesses," Mr Lennon said on Wednesday. "We understand Sydney and we feel for everyone in Sydney, but there are no cases here, why do we have such harsh restrictions? We were hoping for an easing of restrictions in line with the fact there have been no cases.

"We spent 13 months in a dusty paddock until we were able to come back out and perform again. We've got a lot of ground to make up."

Australian Hotels Association NSW CEO John Whelan said the lockdown extension was devastating news for the hotel industry which has operated under restricted trading conditions for more than 15 months.

Labor has also called on the state government to introduce a comprehensive package of support measures for businesses and workers affected by the lockdown and restrictions.

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