S1 E9 Covid-19 Casualties: Could 'The Gov' become the next Live Music Venue to be forced to close due to the Coronavirus Pandemic?

The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, referred to by everyone in Adelaide South Australia as The Gov, is one of Australia’s most enduring live music pubs. It is a home to everyone, no matter what their taste in music. For over 25 years the Tonkin family has provided a musical haven unlike no other, and unless it is thrown a lifejacket soon, this SA icon will become another victim of the Corona Virus. In this episode I discuss the reality of this situation with Richard Tonkin. #LoveTheGov #SaveTheGov Australians have been observing the restrictions, and social distancing measures which has resulted in a "sustained and consolidated flattening of the curve". Our lives have completely changed as we all do our bit to stop the spread and protect those most vulnerable. Banning ‘non-essential’ mass gatherings, a prudent move to minimise the spread of #COVID19, but one that nonetheless stands to devastate Australia’s live music industry. The impact of the Coronavirus and the health measures in place to limit its spread, in particular social distancing, is giving rise to unprecedented issues for businesses, performance venues are beginning to show the financial strain from their enforced closure. The Government’s economic response has failed to meet the immediate needs of small business. The ability to negotiate with lenders, defer repayments, apply for Grants, and access loans with deferred repayments is only delaying the inevitable closure . Small businesses need cash, and they need it NOW! Our government needs to be made aware of the impact of the virus on live music venues. We all need to lobby for immediate support and future recovery initiatives for venues, without our support there won't be any left once social restrictions have been removed. The Gov Needs You! Please feel free to message your suggestions to assist with Saving The Gov. I will update episode details, and my Band It About Facebook page with details regarding helping to save The Gov as they become available. Music intro and outro in this episode "Shut In The Shed", was written by Richard Tonkin. Adelaide's Best Live Music Venue Links: https://www.thegov.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/TheGovHindmarsh/ https://twitter.com/TheGovHindmarsh http://instagram.com/lovethegov# [email protected] Band It About Links: Email: mailto:[email protected] Messenger: https://m.me/allowmetoguideyoutothegig?fbclid=IwAR0Ba6yazkxG4Wh2L-hDzwjZ_TRJK8MFHQlKJet6RsQcVdksh8mh0ZyXB2w To watch Band It About videos: https://www.facebook.com/allowmetoguideyoutothegig https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhg0WMgLVQYhLjgcWNQYKrg63Vh5suSfX Listen to Band It About podcast series: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/band-it-about-proudly-supporting-live-music-podcast-series/id1493050539 https://anchor.fm/dianne-spillane https://open.spotify.com/show/0uKplg6T4LiVKD1n2 Please message ideas or requests for future podcast guests, share the link with everyone, and make sure that you subscribe to receive notifications when the next podcast becomes available. Thanks for listening. Band It About - Proudly Supporting Live Music After releasing this episode, the Band it About podcast host Di Spillane wrote a petition to Save the Gov. She used the petition platform Change.org to launch the petition and within days this petition gathered a huge response. The petition went viral with significant support from everyone who had been to or performed in this Adelaide icon. The plan was to gather enough signatures to make an impact prior to personally delivering the petition to the SA State Government. Di set a target of 10,000 signatures, it had reached 9 and a half thousand signatures when the State Government rescued The Gov by providing a grant of $310,000. As a result of this Di took down the petition prior to reaching the initial goal. This is a perfect example of just how dedicated and passionate the host of this podcast series is about Live Music here in her hometown of South Australia. #lovethegov --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dianne-spillane/message