Please pay us a visit

Fire-hit communities plead with Tasmanians

FIRE- HIT c o mmunities across the state are returning home this weekend and there’s a clear message for their city cousins — come visit.

Huon Valley Mayor Bec Enders is encouraging people to return to the Huon Valley and have a holiday, and for locals to support locals.

“To buy local will be so very important,” she said.

Councillor Enders said businesses throughout the Huon Valley had to close their doors to the public in recent weeks, which generated a huge loss of revenue.

“When businesses rely on peak season to get through their winters it can have a devastating effect,” she said.

“They’re not all corporate businesses that can handle that sort of loss of revenue.”

Owner of Geeveston business Baker & Co Providore and Patisserie Fiona McAlpine said herer bakery had reopened and she was looking forward to people returning to the Huon Valley.

“We would really love to see more people back in town because our tourist num-bers have declined rapidly,” she said..

“It seems thatat people who would’ve been visiting the area have made alternate plans and we’re losing out.

“We hope people come down and see all that we have to offer not only at Baker and Co but within the town in general. We’ve taken a massive hit and as we’ve only been operating for three months, so our business is very much on a knife’s edge.

“I think a lot of other Geeveston business owners are feeling the same.

“A lot of people know me for my patisserie and de- licious cakes and tarts. I want the community to know that just because we’re a little quiet that it doesn’t mean our high-striving standard will be restricted.”

Waterfalls Cafe in Mt Field closed for 10 days from January 25 because of the threat from the Gell River fire burning nearby. Cafe owner Rachel Power said her January trade was down about 50 per cent on last year but said business was slowly returning to normal.

“The days have been picking up a bit since reopening but we’re definitely still feeling the effects,” she said.

“We hope people realise that everything’s open for business. I think there’s no better time than now for people to visit this part of the Derwent Valley.”

Cr Enders said she would do everything she could to help businesses recover.

“In the coming weeks I’ll be working with the businesses in the Huon Valley as well as community groups to represent them and be the voice for them for funding and for looking at opportunities so we can recover economically,” she said.

Ms McAlpine said she was grateful for the help the Government had offered, but she said much more was needed.

She said her business, which relies heavily on peakseason trading, had lost twoweeks of trade since the fires started.

“It’s like putting half a Band-Aid on a gaping wound,” she said.

“We need to get some real support from the Govern- ment. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Premier Will Hodgman said the Government had established a range of assistance measures, including income support and transport subsidies.

“As we shift into the recovery phase of the fires, one of the best supports Tasmanians can provide is by spending money in local communities, stopping by the local shops, cafes and using locally based contractors,” he said.

“The Tasmanian Government, through Tourism Tasmania, has been working with major partners including airlines, tour operators, the cruise industry and Tourism Australia to ensure visitors know that the current fire situation does not apply to the whole of the state.”

Mr Hodgman said all the main domestic airlines had confirmed that their forward bookings had not been affected by the bushfires.

“What this shows is that people are still coming to Tasmania and the focus needs to be on encouraging them to visit affected areas, and encouraging Tasmanians to also get out and support these communities,” Mr Hodgman said.

Information on the grants can be found at https://www.business.tas.gov.au/finances-tax-and-insurance/seeking-finance-and-funding/applying-for-grants