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Keep Huon in our hearts

ARLY reports from the Huon Valley appear to confirm the best about Tasmanians: at the weekend there were strong crowds in the main street of Geeveston showing their support for local businesses and the local community in the wake of the bushfires that cut the area off only a week ago.

The disruption caused by the fires can hardly be overstated in the small towns of the Huon. Summer is a time when so much of their business is conducted and visitors provide a much-needed lift to get through the lean months of winter.

The Mercury has been running its Get Back to the Huon campaign, which will continue over the coming days and weeks to continue to keep the spotlight on the region. As Premier Will Hodgman pointed out when he announced the appointment of a bushfire recovery co-ordinator — it is never too early to start organising the recovery of affected areas. So it is great that Tasmanians have responded so well to the call to visit and to spend in the immediate aftermath.

These are early days though. It is yet to be seen what the long-term effect of such a disruptive few weeks will be. As we have seen in previous events of this type, sometimes interstate and overseas tourists are kept away by an erroneous perception that the devastation was more widespread and lasting than it actually was. The fact that there were not extensive property losses does not take away from the reality that the economic damage caused to so many towns, business and families has been compounded by the stress caused by the fires on locals as they waited nervously for the emergency to pass and to return to their homes and workplaces.

These are early days though. It is yet to be seen what the longterm effect of such a disruptive few weeks will be.

For this reason, it is important not just for people to lend their support in the immediate aftermath of the fires, but also to think about paying a visit a few months down the track. Some businesses will take a while to recover enough to reopen at all — think of the Tahune Airwalk for example — and will greatly appreciate the support when their time comes. Think about an extra visit down the Huon in a few weeks or months, and think about dropping by Maydena or Bothwell or Miena or the other communities affected, they will also appreciate your support.

Our tourism boom is overwhelmingly a good thing. The State Government has taken positive steps to spread the benefits of the boom into the regions of our state which aren’t receiving as much love.

That’s a good plan, one which helps to ensure that the benefits of increased visitation aren’t concentrated in a few areas and that the scourge of over-tourism is avoided. Keeping our focus on our bushfire-affected communities should be part of this.

And as the Business Council of Australia points out in today’s Mercury, small business is overwhelmingly the driver of the Tasmanian economy — employing the bulk of our workforce and being responsible for a corresponding proportion of our growth. Ensuring their continued success is key to keeping our current economic good times going. In order to do this, we will need to keep the shopkeepers and publicans and pharmacists and other small businesses of the Huon in our hearts for a while to come yet.