Liberal MP Gladys Liu says there are signs that confidence in Chinese businesses is being restored after huge profit losses due to coronavirus fears.
Following visits to Chinese-owned businesses in the Melbourne suburbs of Box Hill and Glen Waverley, Ms Liu told SBS News that business has "picked up a little bit" over recent days, despite many still doing it tough.
The Australian Parliament’s first Chinese-born MP said messages on social media telling people not to leave their homes over fears of coronavirus infection were to blame for the massive drop-off in trade in suburbs with large Chinese communities.
"Basically a lot of the Chinese-Australians are getting messages through social media asking them not to come out. However most of these messages [are] directing to China, rather than in Australia," she said.
Gladys Liu was elected during the 2019 federal election, in the seat of Chisholm. Source: AAP
"It's mainly because the messages that people are getting on social media, it is very hard to tell [if it's accurate], if you see ‘don’t go out, don’t go out’ all the time. However, I must emphasise in Australia, we are doing very well here. We are containing the spread of the virus and we are safe to go out and about, and conduct your daily activities."
The numbers are staggering. Ms Liu said businesses in Box Hill and Glen Waverley had suffered losses of between 50 to 80 per cent.
The trend is similar in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood, which saw massive losses for Chinese and Korean businesses.
To assist in Eastwood, the Ryde City Council decided to allocate more than $500,000 towards boosting public relations and marketing for businesses, as well as providing funds to shops that decided to stay open during the downturn.
Ms Liu said her conversations with business owners suggested things may be taking a turn for the better.
"Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, business has been down but I have been told in the past couple of days people are starting to have confidence and the key word is confidence.
"People are confident to come back and come out and eat again, to shop again, so I encourage that to continue."
So far, health authorities have identified 15 cases of the coronavirus in Australia, including five in Queensland, four in New South Wales and Victoria, and two in South Australia.
"In Australia we are very safe, there [have been] no new cases for the last 10 days at least. And in Victoria, the four cases we have, they are safely home now. So there is nothing to worry about.
"I encourage everyone to conduct their business as usual. If you like a Chinese restaurant or any kind of restaurant, just go for it."
The Federal Government this week announced an extension of the travel ban for Chinese nationals to Australia, a move which unions say could lead to job losses for foreign workers.
Ms Liu said the travel ban had been "very effective" during the initial two-week period and the one-week extension was important to "keep all Australians safe".
