Greek-Australian restaurateur Chris Lucas warns that over-regulation and growing bureaucracy are a “recipe for disaster”, and that Australia is no longer the land of the “fair go”.
Chris Lucas made the comments to News Corp’s Back Australia series. He runs some of the nation’s top high-end restaurants. They include Chin Chin, Maison Batard and Society in Melbourne, as well as Grill Americano in Sydney.
Earlier this year, he also announced Noẽma, a modern Greek restaurant in Melbourne inspired by his heritage.
Chris Lucas and his father’s Australia
His Greek immigrant father, Con, came to Australia as a refugee in the 1920s. Con used to call it “the greatest place on earth because it’s the only place you can have a real go”.
Now, however, the nation is an unimaginably different place, Lucas said.
“We have huge inflation in this country,” he said. “We have what’s called a small business crisis. And this small business crisis has been purely and solely created through poor legislation, poor policy.”
Energy bills triple
In particular, Lucas pointed to what he called “a tripling” in his restaurants’ gas and electricity costs. As a result, with falling living standards and overwhelming red tape, his supply chain is suffering, he said.
“It affects our entire supply chain,” he said. “The bloke growing the cattle, the farmer trying to make wine, the bread maker, the grain grower, the transportation company.”
Earlier this year, Lucas went on a “fact-finding mission” to Dubai. He is eyeing expansion into the United Arab Emirates. Even so, he said he loves Australia and what it stands for, but something has to give.
Still, he warned that action is needed to stop the “brightest people” leaving. “If our leaders don’t step up to the plate and find a way to cut through this noise, we’re going to really suffer,” he said. “And our kids are going to suffer.”
Source: Adelaide Now