Desperate plea for workers goes viral and saves Victoria’s snow season

Chris Bonacci saved the Victorian snow season when his last-ditch call for workers went viral, inspired action, but exposed a risk for tourism.

Chris Bonacci never planned to be responsible for helping keep the Victorian snow fields afloat, but after his call-out for workers went viral on social media, he’s taking credit.

“I wanted to help a couple friends out,” Mr Bonacci said. “And now it looks like I’ve helped the whole snow industry for the snow season.”

Chris Bonacci (pictured) put a call-out for help on Facebook. Picture: Facebook / Alpine Spirit Coaches

He jokes, but he’s not wrong.

After a friend said his Mount Hotham snowplay business wouldn’t have enough staff to operate this season, Mr Bonacci knew he had to help.

“It really hit me and I thought, well, I never do anything like this. I thought I’ll put a bit of a heartfelt message out if there’s anyone that wants to work in the snow,” Mr Bonacci said.

The plan was to connect local high school students wanting weekend and school holiday work experience with local businesses. He even offered to use his bus service, Alpine Spirit Coaches, to transport them there.

Mt Hotham in the snow. Picture: Facebook / Mt Hotham

But his posts to local Facebook community groups snowballed, drawing hundreds of messages from around Australia and the world to Mr Bonacci’s inbox.

“It’s definitely gone viral,” he said. “Even now just talking to you the messages sent would be going every minute, and that‘s been going on for two days.”

But the call for workforce back-up for the Victorian alpine region points to much larger problems facing Australia as tourism swings back into action and many local businesses try to find their feet after the pandemic.

And the pressure has only mounted with international borders reopening and a bumper start to the snow season.

Picture: Facebook / Mt Hotham

“We’ve just experienced the biggest start to a snow season in probably 30 years, in the way of good snow,” Mr Bonacci said, adding that bus travellers were up a “phenomenal” 218 per cent on previous levels.

“And, look, we’re short staffed ourselves. We’re at critical levels, but to get bus drivers it’s like hen’s teeth. Because they’ve got to be specially trained.”

Pre-Covid Mr Bonacci said he and wife Nadina would field up to 30 job applications per year – “where we can pick and choose the right candidate”. But this year, Alpine Spirit Coaches has only received four applications.

The Bonacci’s operate Alpine Spirit Coaches, and have struggled to find drivers post-Covid. Picture: Facebook / Alpine Spirit Coaches

“The funny thing is that my wife got a bit upset. She goes ‘Chris, you’re helping everyone else but you’re not helping us’.

“And she said it in good faith; but for us to get help someone for customer service, you can get them anywhere and train them up. But not bus drivers.”

“It‘s funny, I’d like to think I’ve helped a lot of people but, at the end of the day, Alpine Spirit Coaches is in the same position we were a month ago. We still haven’t got enough drivers.”

He said his coach business and others on the slopes were “being hit from all angles” – by staffing shortages, rising fuel and living prices, increasing wages, and Covid and flu outbreaks among travellers, locals, and the few workers they already have.

But after the success of his social media push, Mr Bonacci says a new problem has emerged: where do the workers stay?

“A lot of the accommodation venues that we had pre-Covid have been bought out and turned into investment properties and holiday rentals,” he said, after people fled major cities in Covid lockdown for greener, more relaxed regional pastures.

Many accommodation options have been bought as rentals, homes, or investment properties over the pandemic.

“That‘s where a big portion of the accommodation shortage is borne from,” he continued.

“So it‘s funny, because we’ve got the people wanting to work, but we’ve got nowhere to put them. And that’s something we have to fix if we’re going to try and get people on the mountain to work.”

Mr Bonacci says he and the snow fields have been reinvigorated by the “biblical” show of support from the community. Particularly by the initiative of young people who have been “knocked down too much”.

“We say they’re on their phones too much, they’re lazy, and they’re not interested in work. Well, jeez, what I’ve experienced in two days … the kids want to work,” he said.

Picture: Jason Edwards

“I was talking to some business owners on Hotham the other day and they’ve been bombarded with emails and text messages from people applying for work for the holiday period, (and) weekend work.”

“I mean, if we can find our accommodation I can honestly say to you: I think the problem is fixed.”

In fact, Mr Bonacci says the avalanche of public support has reinvigorated the Mount Hotham community, sparking an idea to introduce a work experience program aimed at connecting high school students with local operators for the next snow season.

A long-term plan to keep the alpine communities kicking for holiday seasons to come.

Picture: Facebook / Mt Hotham

However, though he jokes about saving the snow fields from ruin, this “old school” bloke is humbled by the way the community and young people from all over have rallied around the region.

“It just reiterates that we live in a great country and our youth are our fellow workers, we need to support them,” he said.

“Anyone could put this stuff out and say I support this and I support that. But to go out and show your support with feet on the ground? I think it says a thousand words.”

All he did was think “what would a politician do? And I did the opposite.”

“I’m nothing special. Just a simple bloke that put a post out and asked them for help, and the community responded – and that’s why I like where we live.”