The loss of three American crew members in a downed water bomber on Thursday puts all else into perspective. It is difficult to overstate the courage and selflessness of someone who will travel across Pacific Ocean in order to stand with us during a crisis of this magnitude.
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Through the horrific bushfire season, we have lost a number brave emergency services personnel, as well as homeowners, and countless more have been injured. The last few months have brought home to the wider community just how committed and invaluable our emergency services volunteers truly are.
While we still have active bushfires across the country, the stories and perspectives of those already affected over the past weeks and months are starting to emerge and resonate across the community.
There is a sincere determination among Australians to support these towns and regions, and longer term, to restoring them. The outpouring of empathy, the efforts to help and the sheer volume of donations are testament to that.
However as weeks turn into months and the recovery process rolls on, we will need to remain attentive over the long term to the wellbeing of these communities, for whom things may get harder before they get easier.
The responses from local chambers in areas like Batemans Bay, Bega Valley, Berrima, Mogo and Sussex Inlet had many common themes. Small business owners devastated by what has occurred to their communities, were hit by the secondary impacts of a complete collapse in visitation, many with staff who have also been affected and that they may not be in a position to pay.
A number of business people wondered how they would service their business loans, and those that were insured were uncertain as to whether they would be paid out and how much. Very few had taken out business continuity insurance, which has reportedly been difficult to access in any event.
In the aftermath of the New Years fires, particularly on the coast, many businesses donated goods and services to community to keep people fed and sheltered, and to tourists in order to help them evacuate safely. Another hidden cost is in sustaining our emergency services volunteers and army reservists, who give up their time willingly but we should note the significant cost pressure born by individuals and the businesses that support them.
The damage to the environment, including national parks as well as farms and livestock, is of major concern to businesses given the extent to which the tourism sector relies on the natural beauty of these regions.
Beyond the towns that have seen immediate devastation, we now know that during what should be the busiest trading period of the year, most small economies across southern NSW now face a cash flow crisis. Being tourism dependent, many had built their hopes on the income they will now forego over this terrible summer. I remain concerned about the real costs for business people of recovering from a natural disaster of this scale, and whether these small regional economies will be able to survive the next twelve months.
For these communities to recover, their local businesses must survive. No town is complete without its corner shop, the servo and the newsagent. But beyond that, we need to retain the tourism and accommodation providers, the aged care and health services, the lawyers and accountants, mechanics and farmers.
This hasn't been lost on the community, the private sector or the government. Some impressive social media campaigns have been developed to drive visitation and business to smaller vendors across these regions, and I'd single out Spend With Them and Empty Esky (both on Instagram) as grassroots examples of how we can all help by purchasing goods and services from those affected.
Big business is keen to support; largely through fundraising, being empathetic in managing debt from bushfire affected businesses and through altruistic procurement efforts. Locally, there has been significant interest from the big end of town in a statewide campaign that the business chamber will launch shortly.
Government's main response to affected businesses has taken the form of cash grants for those that have lost property to the fires, and a non-interest loan scheme - the details of which are currently unclear. There will be a major tourism campaign to address visitation, and an array of tax measures to ease the immediate cashflow situation.
It is estimated that there are around 200,000 businesses affected by the bushfires. The vast majority of these will not be eligible for the grants and other forms of cash assistance, so they face the bleak prospect of trying to survive and retain local staff until next summer. Whether to take on a no interest loans will be a tough decision for many, as at the end of the two years they will need to be paid back and it is hard to predict who will be in a financial position to do so.
We will be closely monitoring the rollout of various forms of assistance and the delivery on these tourism campaigns over coming months, as well as the wellbeing of our friends and colleagues in business across affected regions. In the meantime, it is worth remembering that community support is the most immediate and significant means through which most will receive help.
Adam Zarth is the Executive Director of the Illawarra Business Chamber and Illawarra First.