MILDURA Regional Development (MRD) has warned supporting local businesses will be critical as coronavirus restrictions ease.
Chief executive Brett Millington this week said while the stark reality was that not all businesses would recover from the months-long ban on regular activities, the support offered to home-grown businesses could prove the difference between survival and shutting the doors.
Mr Millington said the easing of lockdown restrictions, including social gathering regulations, and the Queen’s Birthday long weekend resulted in the busiest trading weekend since late March when bans were implemented across the country.
He said while the influx of tourists was not up to the region’s usual standard there had been an increase of people getting out, enjoying fine daytime weather and spending money.
“The June long weekend hasn’t always been the busiest in Mildura and that’s hard to understand why when you sit outside in the sunshine over the past few days,” Mr Millington said.
“But certainly the golf courses have been pretty full over the weekend and down the riverfront and the cafes and retail sector have been busy all weekend,” he said.
“They are always good indicators that people are out and about and that might also be locals taking the opportunity to get out somewhere as opposed to sitting at home.”
MRD last week launched #forkitlocalfriday which encourages locals to help support the return of business in the region by workplaces collectively eating in-house or takeaway at a local cafe, restaurant or bakery every Friday.
“That’s part of the whole recovery,” he said.
“It’s all about saying ‘hey, as businesses start to return to offices and the like, how about you use the opportunity to get together and, as a team, purchase lunch from one place on a Friday’,” he said.
“It would help a local business and return dollars into the local economy.
“We want to make it a real community feel and I know a number of local people have jumped onboard.”
Mr Millington said the amount of support residents gave local businesses would “absolutely, no doubt about it” be make or break for some.
“Something that we’ve got to face up to is that there will be some businesses that don’t survive and there’s lots of reasons for that,” he said.
“Certainly COVID-19 will have been a breaking point for some people who have just said ‘you know what? I can’t keep operating in that space’.
“We also have got to support those people to have an effective transition out of their business because you could imagine the heartbreak that goes with having to make that decision when you have invested a lot of time and money into a business.
“It’s that ability to keep paying the bills to keep the doors open.
“The JobKeeper program will stay for a little bit longer and that will help in terms of employee costs, but those fixed costs such as rent and rates are all still there and anything we can do to help support those people will be critical.”
The Victorian Government has earmarked June 21 to increase the number of people allowed in an enclosed space from 20 to 50 and a further increase of up to 100 patrons per enclosed space in the second half of next month.
Mr Millington said the opening of South Australia’s border would also add to the viability of local businesses as restrictions ease.
“Recent stats suggest that about a quarter of our market these days has been coming from South Australia, even if it’s for short stays or day trips because the Riverland is only an hour away,” he said.
“Our advantage is that we’re a tri-state town and, as a region, we all benefit from those other feedings but we’re losing that at the moment.
“With a return of more flights, people will take those opportunities for a short stay in Mildura over a weekend.
“The main message that we can deliver is that the more we can do to support those businesses, the more attractions we can share from our own experiences and build a broader campaign about ‘hey, come and visit Mildura because it’s a great place to be’.
“It’s a great opportunity to help in what is a really tough time, but let’s get back into it together and help each other.”
