THE Canberra Business Chamber is calling for federal, state and territory governments to work together and develop a consistent set of small business support measures for future natural disasters.
The calls come after the chamber lodged a submission to the Senate inquiry, “Lessons to be learned in relation to the Australian bushfire season 2019-20”.
Highlighted in the submission, one of the lessons to be learned from last summer’s bushfire season is ensuring smoke-affected ACT businesses are better supported, said chamber CEO Graham Catt.
“The Canberra and capital region community was uniquely affected by the bushfires,” he said.
“We suffered comparatively little burning of houses or commercial premises, yet the severe, extended smoke pollution which enveloped the region had a major impact on residents and businesses, reducing trade and forcing many businesses to close their doors.
“Businesses that rely on summer holiday trade sustained financial losses, especially in the retail and tourism sectors, and others were forced to operate at reduced capacity.
“Yet financial and practical support for business was limited, as smoke-induced losses and damage were largely ignored by federal government relief programs.”
For example, the chamber noted that business assistance programs listed on the commonwealth’s bushfire recovery website lists many financial support measures, but ACT businesses were excluded from the $50,000 recovery grants program.
It’s an example of how local businesses were apparently overlooked by policymakers and existing support systems, Mr Catt said.
“Government seemed to regard smoke-induced loss as a nuisance and short-term impact, rather than as a genuine business problem,” he said.
“In practice we learned the hard way smoke-induced losses can be just as significant as a fire itself. A business that can’t open its door because of damaging smoke loses as much income as a business that cannot open its door because there is a fire nearby.”
Support should vary significantly from one state to another, he said.
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