Every day we wake up anticipating news of more attacks; shootings, fire bombings, kidnappings and ram raids.
It’s a miracle no one has been killed thus far but there is real fear in the sector that a tragedy is around the corner.
The targets have included some of Melbourne’s most popular venues.
Yet, after weeks of attacks, authorities appear no closer to determining who is behind them or how to stop them.
Police are said to be irate with the revolving door “catch and release” program that sees those arrested bailed and back on the streets, sometimes within hours.
Jacinta Allan assured Victorians we would have the “toughest bail laws in the country” but the crimes labelled “hospitality terrorism” have shown, again, that those words are a big fat lie.
A leading figure in the hospitality sector told me that the industry was on its knees.
“It’s a f—ing disaster, we run the risk of losing the entire industry,” he said.
“Victoria relies on the hospitality industry; if that goes, what does Melbourne have left?
“It’s not just the loss of business and loss of jobs, it’s the knock-on effect on suppliers, we’re talking about billions of dollars. We are at a crisis point.”
The veteran operator wants the issue raised in federal parliament and has called on the Allan government to take the matter seriously.
“There’s been no relief, no assistance … and we keep being hit with more taxes, more obstacles,” he said.
Bar 20 owner Michael Trimble also spoke out: “It’s relentless every day. It’s hard to feel like you’re living in a prosperous first-world city when you’re turning on the news every day and seeing these kinds of incidents just happening all the time. I don’t know how much worse it has to get before we start taking drastic measures.”
Melbourne likes to see itself as a cultured, cosmopolitan city, but right now it feels lawless, with the bad guys acting with impunity.
We risk causing enduring damage to the city if we do not support the hospitality sector that gives this city its soul.
Rita PanahiColumnist and Sky News host
Born in America, Rita spent much of her childhood in Iran before her family moved to Australia as refugees. She holds a Master of Business, with a career spanning more than two decades, first within the banking sector and the past ten years as a journalist and columnist.