Insured or not, businesses in the Manning took a financial hit in the wake of last month's floods.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Repairing damaged buildings and replacing stock is just the beginning, with many facing an uphill battle to get back on their feet.
To help alleviate some of that pressure, the NSW government has opened applications for small business grants up to $50,000.
Co-owner of Taree's Bass'n'Blues Music Megastore Tanya Brown understands what any financial assistance will do to make the recovery process slightly easier.
At the height of the flood, the store was inundated with two feet of water.
"We didn't see it coming, that was probably the hardest part of it," Mrs Brown said.
"We were underwater before the river broke its banks so stormwater was our big problem, the water had nowhere to go.
"With staff members flooded in we only had three staff to pick up more than $1 million worth of stock and get it to safer ground.
"We were really lucky the community came to our aid, within half an hour we had 80 volunteers in the store pulling half the stock out."
Stock is temporarily stored next door at the Lifeline Taree building, which also suffered significant damage.
The insurance process is underway but the wait for repair crews, which are understandably in high demand, is taking a toll.
"That holds our business up and while we're not trading properly we're losing a lot of money," Mrs Brown said.
"We're trying to keep our staff going, we're trading where we can and we're replacing stock.
"We're moving stock on our days off from different locations, counting all the wet stock and accounting for our invoicing that was lost. It's a task that feels a bit overwhelming at the moment but you just need to take it one step at a time and we'll get there.
"We have the support of the community and that's keeping us going."
Mrs Brown said Bass'n'Blues is just one of many businesses impacted by the floods.
"There's a lot of people in this area who have lost everything they owned and aren't covered by insurances because of the circumstances they find themselves in," Mrs Brown said.
"All of that assistance (government grants) will be gratefully received, it's going to help our local economy get through this.
"They're all hanging in there, they have to go through the same processes as us and trying to get back on their feet. We're all in the same boat and trying to support each other."
Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead and deputy premier John Barilaro visited Mrs Brown and Taree Sailos manager Barry Murray earlier this week to discuss the grants (more on Barry's story to come).
"We want to get the message out there to all the businesses there's $50,000 for them and $1500 rebate for government and local government taxes," Mr Bromhead said.
The disaster recovery centre at the former MidCoast Council Taree chambers is providing support to those in need.
Service NSW, Local Land Services, Resilience NSW and MidCoast Council are just some of the agencies involved.
"Just in one day they had 90 people go there," Mr Bromhead said of the demand.
"They're (agencies) all there to help people whether it be from the loss of their home, loss of property or businesses."
Mr Bromhead also encouraged primary producers to apply for flood grants up to $75,000.
"If you don't come forward we don't know about it so we need you to come forward, don't feel guilty about it and ask for help," Mr Bromhead said.
Mr Barilaro said the NSW government's response to the bushfire crisis in 2019 provided a guide to the latest support schemes.
"We learnt a lot through bushfire recovery and support and that's why the NSW government and our federal colleagues quickly responded by announcing significant funding support for businesses," Mr Barilaro said.
"Off the back of bushfires, we realised we need to support small businesses."
Me Barilaro, also the NSW Recovery Minister, was proud of the resilience shown by small businesses through drought, bushfires, COVID-19 and floods.
"It's a credit to these small business owners for not only surviving but thinking about the future," Mr Barilaro said.
"If this grant helps them make the decision to stick it out and keep going, that's good for the local economy in terms of jobs."
For more information and eligibility criteria for the grant, visit the Service NSW website.
