Australian Retailers CEO Paul Zahra is disappointed with the Victorian government’s decision to abandon plans to allow long-suffering retailers to emerge from lockdown and reopen on Sunday.

Under the original reopening plan, Melbourne’s 14-day rolling average must have fallen to under five before businesses could exit hibernation but Premier Daniel Andrews concedes this will not happen.

Asked by Money News host Brooke Corte whether Melbourne retailers will be open in time for the crucial Christmas trading period, Paul Zahra says “we’re starting to think that possibly could be an issue,”

“There’s so much at stake here, every day counts”

“We do not want to envisage a Christmas without Victorian retailers being able to trade,” Mr Zahra said.

Click play to hear the full interview: