By Jessica Anstice
A Berwick businessman who illegally operated his clothing store during the strict Covid-19 lockdown has continued to resist paying the $10,000 fine.
Harry Hutchinson, of Harry’s Clothing, copped the hefty fine after reopening his Loveridge Walk shop in mid-October while all other retail businesses across the state remained shut.
The bold businessman has stood his ground and refuses to pay the fine, despite having to take his fight to court.
“I’m very confident I won’t pay it – which way it goes it’s now up to the magistrate,” he said.
“The penalty is up to the discretion of a magistrate. If it’s community service, I already do a lot of community service now as a volunteer.
“Obviously my stance was the right decision and I’m pleased that I did make that decision.”
Since breaching the chief health officer’s directions and making such a public statement by claiming to be the “unofficial spokesperson” for small businesses, Mr Hutchinson said his business has been booming.
He said customers have been travelling from far and near to visit his store in Berwick.
“It’s made a massive difference to Berwick with the amount of people coming to support my business and going on to stay for lunch and to support other businesses. The foot traffic in Berwick has increased immensely,” he said.
“Every day we’re getting customers coming in and congratulating me for making the decision to open and becoming the voice for small businesses when our small business leaders went to the ground.”
As businesses attempt to recover from the pandemic, Mr Hutchinson has every intention to continue to be the voice for small businesses across the state.
The next step for Mr Hutchinson is lobbying the State and Federal governments to offer more support for small businesses.
“The governments very poorly support small businesses, considering the largest employer in the country is small businesses such as hospitality and retail,” he added.
“There’s no doubt that people are coming to me for support and to find out what the next stage is going to be, but were desperate for a strong voice.
“My message to small businesses in area considering closing up once Job Keeper ends is to stay strong and stay open.”
