‘Worse than COVID’: East Kimberley businesses plead for flood freight assistance with petition

Desperate Kununurra business owners are petitioning the State Government for more support to get goods freighted into the town, saying current freight subsidies are not enough to keep their flood-impacted businesses viable. Gulliver’s Tavern manager Darren Spackman created the petition, which will be tabled by Liberal MLC Neil Thomson after it closes on March 15, in an attempt to force the government’s hand to address staggering freight costs to the region after the collapse of the Fitzroy Crossing Bridge. Business owners have reported the cost of trucking goods to the town doubling, and in some cases tripling, since the town was cut off from the rest of the state, apart from a 2000km longer route through South Australia and the Northern Territory. Mr Spackman said the cost, which was largely passed on to local consumers, was adding to the already inflated cost of living and exacerbating the already tough struggle to attract and retain staff. “The whole town will shut down...no one has been able to explain to me how the town will be sustainable during this,” he said. “It’s been six weeks, we need some assurance. Do we shut down (our businesses) or keep trying to get staff? “It’s already too hard to get attract workers to Kununurra...if we get smashed with tourists we’re not going to have the workers. “There’s going to be a bigger shutdown than with COVID.” The petition is seeking “a review of the current freight subsidy arrangements implemented in response to the catastrophic floods that resulted in the destruction of the Fitzroy Crossing Bridge.” “The current subsidies are at the discretion of the DFES Controller and are based on emergency requirements of food and essentials with any other product transported in the same load rendering the entire freight load ineligible,” the petition reads. “The current subsidies do not recognise the prolonged periods of high transport costs that face the Kimberley over the years until the construction of a new bridge is completed. “All freight time delays will impact on business viability and the cost of living in the north until road-trains can traverse Highway 1 unimpeded.” Mr Thomson said the increased cost of freight was also putting East Kimberley businesses under extreme stress, both for their input costs and the cost of sending products to markets in Perth. “While some freight is able to access subsidies, the range of goods permitted under emergency arrangements is limited and does not include items such as machinery parts, agricultural inputs and certainly do not apply to freight on produce,” he said. “It is going to be extremely difficult for businesses to export cattle and agricultural produce out of the region, severely affecting much-needed businesses in the region. “The region has suffered disproportionately during the COVID pandemic and the private sector cannot absorb these costs now there is no certainty about when the road will be restored.” He said he hoped people outside the region would sign the petition in solidarity with their ‘country cousins.’ East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Clare Smith said the chamber was in full support of the petition. “The freight situation has not changed,” she said. “We have heard that the State Government is working with the Commonwealth on developing a solution, however, nothing has been confirmed and businesses are still in a state of uncertainty and distress. “We continue to lobby for the WA and Federal Government to introduce a freight subsidy as a matter of urgency to support business’s ongoing operations in the Kimberley.” Member for Kimberley Divina D’Anna said she was advocating for East Kimberley businesses, with the State Government prioritising the delivery of essential goods. “I know the floods have had a major impact on our region including increased freight costs, particularly in the East Kimberley and I continue to advocate for all East Kimberley residents and businesses in this regard,” she said. “Massive works have already been commenced in an effort to reconnect the West Kimberley with the East Kimberley including reopening of the Great Northern Highway between Broome and Derby, the arrival of barges for transporting people and freight over the Fitzroy River and works which are currently underway on embankments which will allow safe access for those barges to connect the western side of the river with the eastern side. “Immediately following this flooding event, the State Government activated the Resupply Subsidy Scheme to ensure the community would receive essential goods, this support is ongoing.” She said the government was engaging with stakeholders about the long-term road reconstruction, with Main Roads working as quickly as possible to reconnect the roads and open up key supply routes in the short-term.