Murray traders plead for help before business dries up

The state government cannot afford to wait for the inevitable before it steps in to help river towns, local leaders says.

A Riverland trade association has called on the state government to help support struggling local companies who have been hurt by the rising levels in the River Murray.

Renmark Paringa Network chairman Clint Lewan said some small businesses in the area had been forced to stop trading because of the swollen river levels, while others had been hit by falling numbers of tourists.

Mr Lewan said support packages such as those offered during the Covid crisis should be offered to the flood-hit businesses.

“I definitely want to take the opportunity to call on the state government … to actually perhaps think about coming up with a support package because these businesses have already been through a horrible time with Covid,’’ he said.

Riverland MP Tim Whetstone. Picture: Matt Loxton

Mr Lewan pointed to the plight of houseboat operators who would have to stop operations during “their peak period when their fleets are booked out’’.

“All of the houseboat operators up here are family-owned businesses, they’re not large corporations,’’ he said.

“They rely specifically on tourism and the tourism dollar coming through, so I do hope that there is some kind of financial assistance.

“These guys, their bills don’t stop coming in. They still have to put food on their tables.’’

Last week, the Environment Department said flows at the border were 89GL a day, the highest since 2016, and were predicted to reach 135GL by December, which would put the Murray at its highest level since 1975.

Mr Lewan also said he hoped banks could pause loan repayments for the businesses as well.

“The last three years that they have done it hard. They need they need all the help that they can get,’’ he said.

Local Liberal MP Tim Whetstone backed calls for government help for struggling businesses. Mr Whetstone also highlighted the plight of houseboat owners but said the region’s irrigators would be doing it tough.

“The irrigators, food producers, if they can’t access their pumps and their pumps do go under, we’re going to see massive issues up here,’’ he said.

Mr Whetstone said the government needed to do more to keep local residents informed beyond doing one flow update a week.

According to the state government, tourism contributes around $233m to the Riverland economy and supports 1500 jobs.

But a government spokesperson said there were no immediate plans to support local business beyond an already committed $3m to help fund levee repair.

“If and when a natural disaster occurs, this activates access to support under the National Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements,’’ the spokesperson said.

In the 2019-20 bushfires, this included access to personal hardship grants, primary producer grants, small business grants, mental health services and other community recovery support.

Federal Emergency Management Minister, Murray Watt said the Albanese Government was working cooperatively with the South Australian government and would continue to look at ways to support communities in disaster-impacted regions.

In the meantime, Mr Lewan urged South Australians to rally behind businesses in the Riverland. For example, he said people could still book houseboat holidays for next year when the river will have receded but pay a deposit now.

He also said there was plenty to see and do in the region, even if people could not get out on the river itself.

“It presents a real unique opportunity to come and have a look at you know some of these events that happen only once every 20 years or 25 years,’’ he said.

Amazing pictures: More than 60 incredible drone shots of the River Murray floods

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Time to build a bridge

By Nathan Davies

Governments should consider a long-term plan of constructing more bridges across the Murray to reduce the reliance on ferries, Mid Murray Mayor Dave Burgess says.

With many ferry crossings set to be suspended as the river rises, Mr Burgess said there would be a high level of inconvenience for people in the ­region.

“We have one bridge at Blanchetown, then it’s ferries all the way to Cadell,” he said.

“If they go out that will have a huge impact on the community. If the Mannum ferry stops, it’s half an hour down to Murray Bridge and half an hour back.”

Mr Burgess said he’d like to see “a 10 or 20-year plan” to replace some ferries with bridges.

“It’s so much more efficient if you’re coming to work every day, or you’re in the transport industry and you don’t want to be lining up for ferries,” he said.

Bridges across the Murray are located at Murray Bridge, Blanchetown, Kingston On Murray, Berri and Paringa

Mr Burgess said the approaching floods were a waiting game for the people of Mannum and surrounds.

“We get our weekly updates, but they’re for the border,” he said. “You can then work out what that means for Mannum, to a certain degree, but those updates don’t include what’s happening interstate that’s going to land on top of what we’ve got.

“I read today that they’re letting more water out of the Hume Weir because they can’t keep up, and that’s going to impact down here. It’s very unpredictable. All you can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”