DINE and Discover vouchers have been extended until June 2022 and we all have two extra vouchers in our Service NSW App.

One additional Dine and one additional Discover voucher is available to each of us.

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Add to this a raft of initiatives and $66 million in funding that will see alfresco dining, outdoor activations and events return to the region.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Taylor Martin said the local hospitality industry had borne the brunt of the recent lockdown and the NSW Government was committed to supporting them.

“We’re ripping up red tape and getting Government out of the way to let businesses do what they do best,” Mr Martin said.

“We want to give our restaurants, bars, cafes and venues the ability to open up more than they have before and welcome more customers to enjoy a bumper summer.

“Alfresco dining is not only a great way to dine, it’s a safer way to socialise as we open up.

“After a long winter, it’s time for the community to enjoy a meal or drink in the sunshine and the NSW Government is committed to helping businesses do that in time for summer.”

Mr Martin said the Government’s Alfresco Restart Package will help businesses get back on their feet after a long winter in lockdown.

“After many months in lockdown, the community is ready to enjoy themselves, so we’ve thrown out the rule book with new temporary alfresco measures, while also making last year’s trials permanent,” Mr Martin said.

“In addition to the permanent easing of rules for dining on footpaths and public spaces, we’re temporarily allowing outdoor dining on privately-owned bowling greens and carparks, meaning businesses can expand outdoors on almost any piece of land they own to welcome more customers.”

The program activates emergency temporary alfresco measures for outdoor dining in parks or on private land with the owner’s consent; and there are 45,000 grants for hospitality businesses to establish new alfresco settings; plus permanent outdoor dining as an exempt development for pubs and small bars state-wide.

This package is part of the NSW Government’s efforts to slash red tape and support businesses and communities to recover from the pandemic.

By Marian SAMPSON