It can be easy to forget the COVID-19 pandemic as you walk the streets of Manuka - the cafes are bustling, the car parks are hard to find, just like in the "before" times.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
But for Lisa Calabria and her team at Capital Travel, the pandemic and its devastating effects were still a grim reality.
When international and domestic travel ground to a halt in March of 2020, the five staff at the business, including Ms Calabria, had no work to do but process refunds.
"That impact was immediate and immense on our business and all travel in Australia. Since that time, we've just been here, focusing on getting refunds and credits back for all of our clients," she said.
All the staff, including Ms Calabria, were working reduced hours to keep under the cap of the JobKeeper payment, as there was no other income coming in to the business.
"We're still here, just still doing the same things still getting refunds and still keeping credits for people."
After working in the business for decades, Ms Calabria took the plunge and bought it in July 2019, leaving her just nine months until the spread of the virus across the world dealt a blow to everything she worked for.
"It's not something we like to really think about," Ms Calabria said of the looming cliff at the end of March when the JobKeeper wage subsidy would end.
"If there's no ongoing support generated for this industry, we won't be able to keep any staff on. I can't see paying myself a wage, either. The forecast is that 90 per cent of the travel industry will close down without any ongoing support. When COVID first hit we were 90 per cent down. And we're still at that level."
READ MORE:
The government announced a $128 million package of cash grants for travel agents in December. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Monday the economy has recovered enough for JobKeeper to be switched off.
Ms Calabria wasn't eligible for the grants already announced for travel agents because she bought the business less than a year before the virus hit. Even if she was eligible, it would only have been for a payment of $4000.
While most of the economy had rebounded or could see light at the end of the tunnel, Ms Calabria said many people did not realise just how bad it still was for the travel industry. International borders look set to stay closed until 2022 and snap lockdowns and border closures made people reticent to plan interstate travel.
Labor Senator for the ACT Katy Gallagher met with Ms Calabria on Friday and said stories like hers showed more support was needed.
"It's all very well to say the recovery is happening and things are going well. There's still almost 3 million Australians relying either on JobSeeker or JobKeeper," she said.
"And so at the end of March, we know that there will still be millions of people who this is their Lifeline either to keep their job or to keep meals on the table."
Senator Gallagher said extending JobKeeper to specific industries would be more helpful and more direct support than grant programs.
"I'm hopeful that the government, I hope they will provide some certainty and security to people like Lisa, business owners all around Australia, it's not just here in Canberra," she said.
Sally Whyte
I report on a range of issues in federal politics and the public service, with a real passion for how decisions made in Canberra affect the lives of Australians.
I report on a range of issues in federal politics and the public service, with a real passion for how decisions made in Canberra affect the lives of Australians.
