The theme of the presentation was to put the economy into hibernation by protecting businesses from unsustainable debt and rent arrears after the closure period.
The Prime Minister repeatedly signalled that 6 months is the period that the Government is considering. However, we are yet to hear any more details of the package.
The suggestion appeared to be that commercial tenancies would be dealt with first, with residential tenancies to follow.
The Prime Minster foreshadowed that he and the Treasurer would have more to say in “the next few days”.
The PM declined to answer a question seeking more details on the proposed hibernation, but did say that there are landlords that would need to suffer and banks would need to make arrangements with them. Land tax relief was also foreshadowed.
The PM also highlighted that before locking a tenant out for not paying the rent and closing its doors, landlords should consider that the property can’t be re-let in the current environment and that it is sensible to consider the economic environment to ensure that everyone gets through.
Sam Hopper, Abilene Singh and Callum Dawlings
Sam Hopper Barrister 
March 27, 2020
Uncategorized