Although they knew it was coming, the magnitude of the water left behind by ex-tropical cyclone Ellie has left many residents and small businesses wondering if they will survive the coming months.
Joel Schreiber, a lecturer in management, accounting and training at North Regional TAFE and an Institute of Public Accountants member, lives in the Pilbara, and he said that although his region is faring quite well after the inundation, there are major issues facing those who live closer to Fitzroy Crossing, Broome and Kununurra.
“There [are] a lot of issues around access to food, and many people will find themselves wiped out financially and trying to access the government support that is available,” Mr Schreiber said.
Mr Schreiber said the biggest problem facing people in the more isolated regions of the Kimberley is not so much the amount of water that came into the region but the destruction of the road infrastructure, especially around Fitzroy Crossing.
“The road is the key,” he said. “The loss of the transport route will affect small businesses in regard to supply, and they will be having to deal with a lot of mental anxiety.
“Unfortunately, financial counsellors will not be able to come up with solutions, but hopefully IPA members in the areas will able to channel any government funding that may be available to them.”
Veronique Parent is the finance officer for the Kimberley Accommodation Group, and she said that although the tourism season is not due to start in the region until at least June, there are a number of displaced people in the areas impacted by the worst of the flooding.
“Most people have been evacuated,” she said.
“But they do not know when they will be able to get back up and running. It’s all up in the air at the moment, and the wet season is really just starting, so no one wants to commit to starting to rebuild just yet.
“Some businesses may choose to close their doors for six months.”
Ms Parent said that this most recent event is not the biggest wet season the area has experienced.
“It is the fact that the only bridge into and out of the region has been damaged that has made it worse,” she said.
However, support has already started to arrive with Defence Force personnel and other services on the ground assessing the damage.
“We have helicopters and barges bringing in food, and again it’s something we have seen before,” Ms Parent said.
“It’s the reconstruction of the road that there is no time frame for which is of most concern, and some people still do not know when they will be able to return to their homes and businesses. It’s difficult to predict, and some small businesses may be forced to close.”
IPA member Dorothy Johnston owns Golden Bay Bookkeeping Services in Broome, and she agreed that the destruction of the Fitzroy Crossing bridge has been the most devastating effect of the floods.
“We have had big wets before,” she said. “2018 was similar, but the bridge wasn’t destroyed then.
“There was a lot of water that came down after five days of continuous rain, and it is still dangerous to travel, but we have the Hercules planes and barges bringing in supplies.
“The people around here are prepared for this sort of stuff.”
As for her own business and clients, Ms Johnston said like many people who work in remote regions, a lot is done via the internet and using programs like Microsoft Teams.
“We do a lot of work online already because of our remoteness,” she said.
“In saying that, I still had to go in to the office during the storms to do payroll and pay suppliers.
“A lot of locals are still on holidays, so they know there may be delays with payments because of the rain and flooding.”
Ms Johnston has lived in the region for 30 years and said locals know to be prepared for the cyclone season.
“This is part and parcel of the wet season, but seeing the bridge destroyed was sad,” she said.
“It means the communities and stations past there are a hundred times worse off than we are in Broome, but the community will help them get back on track.”
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson said natural disasters could be devastating for small and family businesses, yet only one in four small businesses have a current business continuity plan.
“In the aftermath of natural disasters, we typically see massive and heartbreaking clean-up efforts, a lengthy and hard-going recovery, questions asked about how small and family businesses and the communities they are a part of and service will bounce back and what, if anything, could have been done to better prepare,” Mr Billson said.
Last year the ombudsman conducted an inquiry at the request of the Australian government after the rolling disasters of bushfires, drought and floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. The ombudsman visited 36 communities across Australia to directly hear from small and family businesses impacted by natural disasters. In addition, an online survey attracted more than 2,000 respondents.
The Small Business Natural Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Inquiry report included 16 recommendations.
“It is clear from our work that preparation is key to small and family businesses building resilience and coming through natural disasters in the best possible shape. It is equally clear that small and family business owners cannot do this on their own and require clarity and certainty of the support available,” it said.
The report found that governments at all levels and the business community together have a crucial role to play in ensuring small and family business owners have all the information and support they need to manage risks.
“As a country, we put an enormous amount of effort and resources into the clean-up. Some 97 per cent of money spent by governments on disasters is after the event and only 3 per cent is on preparedness,” Mr Billson said.
“What became abundantly clear during our inquiry is that a strong sense of community connectedness, including collegiate business relationships — what we have called ‘socio-commercial capital’ — leads to more resilient and unified communities that learn from and support each other to work together to prepare for, and respond to, natural disasters.”
Mr Billson said the experiences of many hundreds of small and family businesses showed that having a plan will help them be more able to bounce back after a natural disaster.
“As we have sadly seen too often, natural disasters can cause lasting harm to our enterprising women and men,” he said.
“Small business creates vitality in our communities, employs two out of every five people with a private sector job and contributes one-third of our GDP, so it is absolutely worth building its resilience.”
IPA chief executive Andrew Conway said the association’s heart goes out to everyone that has been impacted by the devastating floods in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, and the many small businesses that support these communities. “Natural disasters can cause serious supply chain disruptions for regional areas, and cleaning up the damage can be a very difficult process,” he said
“We will do everything we can as a profession to support these communities in the weeks and months ahead. If any member needs support, please do not hesitate to contact the IPA team at any time.”
