$100 voucher program extension flagged

The “dine and discover” program gives four vouchers worth a total of $100 to eligible residents, who can spend half the money on eating out and the other half on entertainment.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said he was open to the idea of extending the scheme to help Sydney’s CBD after the idea was floated at a business summit last week aimed at propping up the area’s struggling economy.

“Modifying or expanding the government’s successful dine and discover voucher scheme to assist the Sydney CBD was one of a number of ideas put forward at the successful CBD Summit held last week,” Mr Perrottet told NCA NewsWire.

“We’re investing an additional $20 million into the CBD revitalisation strategy and are currently working through the ideas raised at the summit to see what practical steps we can take to help stimulate Sydney’s CBD economy and boost jobs.”

The empty streets and offices of the CBD – a result of pandemic lockdowns and a shift to flexible work arrangements – has been a big worry for the NSW government.

In his budget speech in November, Mr Perrottet called the Sydney CBD “one of the biggest casualties of the pandemic”.

Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope said last week commercial occupancy rates in Sydney had dipped from a pre-pandemic rate of about 90 per cent to about 50 per cent.

“When people return to the office, they support small businesses and local jobs by buying lunch, shopping in store rather than online, and going out to visit cultural institutions as they stay open after dark,” he said.

The dine and discover program rolled out in February after a few false starts since it was announced as part of last year’s state budget.

Eligible adults can use the money for coffee, food and snacks, but are not able buy booze with the vouchers.

As for entertainment, the expanded list of businesses that accept the vouchers include cinemas, museums, zoos, go-karting tracks, bowling alleys, travel agencies and sightseeing buses.

The roughly four million NSW residents who already have the Service NSW smartphone application installed would automatically be issued their vouchers when it is their turn.

The state government also recently launched a different voucher program to get people to spend money at hotels that have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic.

A $51.5m stimulus program announced in March will include a program where 200,000 vouchers worth $100 each will be made available for hotel stays in the Sydney CBD.

“It’s about getting people back in our hotels,” Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said.

The vouchers will be allocated on a “first in, first served” basis, with the rollout set to begin in June.