Lismore small businesses have not heard from either the state or the federal government in regard to financial help from the effects of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

It has been two weeks since Alfred tore through the Northern Rivers, with most of the damage in the Tweed and Coffs Harbour LGAs.

Of course, there were some affected residents in the Lismore, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Ballina and Byron Bay LGAs, too, from storm damage more than floodwaters.

For Lismore businesses, the impact of Alfred is not a one-off event; it is a cumulative effect that began with the February 28 2022 big flood.

Three years later, businesses in the CBD, South and North Lismore are still struggling with debt, both a bank loan to reopen their business and, in some cases, an ATO debt that is accumulating interest due to no disaster clauses in the ATO legislation.

So, when small businesses say they are hurting from the loss of income suffered from being evacuated as a result of TC Alfred and still paying their staff, it is adding another layer to what has been and will continue to be a slow recovery.

NSWRA (Reconstruction Authority) Flood Recovery Coordinator Scott Tanner yesterday said the Northern Rivers is 'Open for Business' and asked for visitors to come and spend money over the Easter holidays.

Scott also acknowledged the pain that small businesses are feeling.

"I was speaking to a small business owner the other day in the CBD of Lismore, and for a five-day shutdown, it cost him $40,000, and he can't afford that.

"That's potentially a cumulative effect of the 2022 flood, and now they've been hit with another one. Whilst you won't see the physical damage as much as 2022, the financial damage is just as bad. These people still had to pay their staff but weren't getting an income.

"We're very conscious that we don't want to make this a welfare society either. There's a lot of money going into some resilient building and resilient business education. What we did see again, especially in Lismore, was that all the businesses that evacuated, did so because their business was built back better from last time.

"They made sure that all the important stuff was up high, that the fit-out in their shop and stuff was not going to be as damaged as last time. So, in that sense, they're going really, really good.

"The trick now is to make sure that they are supported financially to keep getting back on their feet. It's not to get back on their feet; it's to keep getting back on their feet because they're still crawling from 2022. Part of my role is to get all that data in and then advocate to government and say, Hey, here's a gap. Let's see how we can fix that."

(Some key business owners had a private meeting with Prime Minster Anthony Albanese last week. Photo: supplied)

Business Lismore President Michael Ackrell works for Cleanaway in South Lismore. He told the Lismore App that the industrial businesses had plenty of warning to plan the pack-up this time, unlike in 2022, so trucks, hoists, cars and computer equipment had time to be moved to higher ground.

"Everyone else was back in business very, very quickly. We obviously closed on the Thursday and didn't come back again till Monday. We spent that first week getting back to all our clients and making sure everything that we programmed to do Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday was actually done, so we're back to normal." 

Unlike retail businesses, light commercial or industrial businesses could reschedule their clients to the following week, so income was not lost. Conversely, a retail business lost five days of trade that could not be recaptured. Both business sectors had to pay staff for those days.

"We didn't really lose any revenue other than the fact we obviously pay for full-time, part-time drivers and some of our casual employees that we paid them a wage obviously for those few days that we were closed. We actually made that money back up because that revenue we lost we actually got back.

"And I think, for the majority of people in South Lismore, it would've been the same because if you are an electrician and you had clients booked for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and you couldn't go, you would just reschedule that. So, while you had three or four days off, and that might be good for your mental health anyway, you know you didn't go back and get that business back, and you're not going to lose anything.

"People were very conscious of the fact that this was happening, and we were all aware of what happens in Lismore, so it was actually a no-brainer for us, so that was a good thing."

"The problem in the CBD was that they closed up, and they weren't allowed back in, and while they were closed, especially for those mum and dad and sole traders and the other small businesses with only two or three people, they're paying their employees for a job. The government is paying some of that cost, but that revenue they won't get back.

"What's good, though, is we've seen a bounce back like after 2022 with people coming back in and spending more money in the CBD to try and make up for it, which is good.

"Some people used the time when they went back to do a refresh inside the store to make it different, and quite a few people, I think quite a few chemists, actually reinvigorated their shelving and everything else as well. For some, it was a bit of a positive, but the biggest positive is the fact that we actually had time to do this; in 2022, we all got caught out." 

(Scoops and Candy took the time for a refurb. Check out the new pink floor!)

Felicity Hyde, Business Lismore Secretary and owner of Scoops and Candy on Keen Street in the CBD, talked about the stress of business owners around the CBD block.

"I think a lot of people have been stressed from packing up for the cyclone and the unknowns of the cyclone. So it's good to see so many people coming back, and it's good to see some people taking the time that they need to actually rebuild and do a little maintenance that they need to do before they come back. I think it's important to take that time for your mental health and things like that. So it's good to see that everyone's coming back.

"I think probably about 30 to 40% of people took a couple of extra days. We have spoken to businesses that do take a lot longer to come back. So, it takes a day to pack up, but it takes three days to actually come back. So it's good to see that some people have taken the time and gone. You know what? I will tidy, I'll do some extra things I need to do, and then come back, and I think that it's a positive thing."

Is there a call from small business owners for help?

"It's great that the government does offer such grants. It is a shame that it isn't available for everyone, especially those who do really need it. I do know that there was a business in South Lismore that is ineligible for the funding because they are a company instead of a sole trader or partnership. So they've paid their staff out of pocket, and they've had to reset back up and pay their staff again, and there's no assistance for that company because they're under a company, not a partnership or sole trader," Felicity said.

"I know a lot of people who are in that boat."

Michael Ackrell said, "There certainly is. They said to me that we need money to try and cover some of the revenue shortfall and the costs associated with actually losing revenue for the week or for however long it might have been.

"It's great, we've got sole traders looked after, we got not-for-profit, but for those people that are small businesses, we've really got nothing other than the employees can be covered for the wages lost for a period of time or if you lost your fridge for 48-hours of no power you got $900.

"For a business that may trade as a cafe or whatever, you probably lost $10,000 or $15,000 or $20,000 of stock because you have nowhere else to take unless you got it out in time. And that's half the battle; we had plenty of time and plenty of warning to get out there, but we couldn't always get everything out.

"The government can certainly do more and we talk about 2022, the ATO being allowed to give us one year's grace. That should've been five. There are people out there still struggling mentally. PTSD is certainly a thing in Lismore that we could have a lot more help with the ATO was allowed to actually give five years rather than one. That's something that the federal government needs to legislate for because the ATO can't do it themselves.

While lessons have been learnt since 2022, it does feel as if the government, state and federal, find it difficult to roll out financial aid to a portion of a disaster-affected area with a long history of devastation and trauma. The learning and improvement have been embraced by residents and business owners who live in the area, while the government rolls out a plan that is spread evenly across the board, which is still accepted practice. Bureaucracy at work.