Disaster impacted businesses in the South East are facing a quadruple whammy of lost income, unplanned closures, unbudgeted expenditure to protect property, and ongoing operational and staff costs on top of essential recovery measures, the state’s biggest business body says.
Business Chamber Queensland CEO Heidi Cooper says businesses in the large disaster zone across South East Queensland have been closed for days and are now facing further costs to put their business back to normal and reopen.
“The economic impact and lost productivity is enormous,” Ms Cooper said.
“Natural disasters can have significant impacts on businesses and their communities, and business owners will always put the safety of their people and customers first. We saw businesses across the South East respond quickly to protect their staff, customers and property and also support the communities in which they operate.
“However, many of these businesses have been closed for days which means significant impact to revenue while so many still have large operating costs. The financial loss for these businesses is escalating.
“There are businesses in the South East that are sadly facing the all too familiar clean-up from a natural disaster and it is essential these directly impacted businesses have quick responses to support them to recover and get back to business.
“It is important to recognise even businesses which aren’t directly or physically impacted by the disaster are also experiencing significant loss through indirect impacts like lost revenue, road closures, power and service disruptions, workforce unavailability and interruptions to supply chains and their customers.
“The business loss is crippling, and businesses cannot continue to absorb this cost. It is essential support is provided to cover the full extent of the economic impact of this disaster.
“As businesses are able to move from response to recovery, they need to be able to re-open and return to business as usual as soon as they can where it’s safe and feasible to do so.
“There are also many businesses across other parts of the state who rely on our capital city for their daily business operations which means indirect business impacts may be vast and felt throughout Queensland. This is especially concerning given the impact we are seeing on roads, transport and logistics.”
Ms Cooper says the South East disaster comes as much of the state’s business community are already grappling with a challenging business environment and compounding business pressures.
At the same time, businesses in North Queensland continue their long recovery process following the disaster and flooding event in February.
“Unfortunately, natural disasters are now a regular part of Queensland business life,” Ms Cooper said.
“Businesses need to be supported to prepare and protect their business during normal operating times, so they can respond to challenges during disasters or other major disruptions.
“It is essential governments at all levels recognise the ongoing and regular economic impact of natural disasters on our state and effectively support businesses to build their resilience long term so that they can better respond to these types of events.”
