Southwest businesses facing long road to recovery post-COVID

What will economic recovery look like in the southwest after coronavirus, now that the $1B fund to rescue small business has been tapped out?

While some small businesses will benefit from state government loans, shopping local will remain the key to keeping them viable long-term after the pandemic is over.

A MASSIVE statewide fund to save small businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic has already been exhausted, and despite the state government doubling money on offer, many are still expected to miss out.

While the loans delivered from the fund will offer security to the recipients, the small southwest businesses which didn’t receive one are facing a greater degree of uncertainty as local economies recover from the pandemic’s severe impact.

Jo Tardent, small business specialist of the Roma-based Rural Financial Counselling Service Southern Queensland, told The Western Star they have been swamped with calls from business owners worried about the effects of coronavirus.

“Even before the major government assistance was announced, we had a lot of inquiries from small businesses in the area,” she said.

“They were still suffering from the effects of drought and COVID-19 has really exacerbated the situation.”

As the pandemic stretches over months without an end in sight, Ms Tardent said it is difficult to gauge what recovery will look like for small businesses in the southwest, but grassroots ‘shop local’ movements will undoubtedly play a key role.

“Business owners are wanting to fight to keep the doors open … it will be a slow process, because there were a lot of businesses struggling already but everyone is supporting each other,” she said.

“People in country towns realise that if they don’t support small local businesses, they won’t have them going forward.”

The Rural Financial Counselling Service Southern Queensland is a free service which can provide a range of assistance to small businesses anywhere in the region.

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