01-06-2025
Who's responsible for small businesses surviving disasters?
My heart breaks for the communities currently devastated by floods across NSW. But it aches even more for the small-business owners and farmers trying to stay afloat - again.
In disaster after disaster, they are among the first to be affected and the last to recover.
While saving lives is always the top priority, we need to talk seriously about livelihoods.
A lost business or farm isn't just an economic loss, it's a personal tragedy, a collapse of purpose and, in some cases, a precursor to additional loss of life.
Without livelihoods, communities struggle to recover.
The 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience introduced the concept of "shared responsibility" in Australia's approach to emergencies. But what does that mean in practice when it comes to small businesses and farms? And have we progressed any further since 2011?
Let's be honest: the primary responsibility for continuity lies with the business or farm owner.
But the reality is, most small-business owners aren't risk analysts or continuity planners.
A pub owner in a regional town is likely managing shifts and stock, not developing a flood risk management plan.
MORE OPINION:
A farmer running a multi-generational cattle property may be juggling drought, debt, and livestock, not drafting an evacuation or recovery blueprint.
A hairdresser in a small coastal town is thinking about customers and payroll, not business impact assessments.
So, whose job is it to ensure these vital parts of our community survive and bounce forward after disasters?
The answer should be: all of us.
Small businesses and farms are the social and economic backbone of Australia's regions. According to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson, they employ nearly half the private sector workforce.
Yet the average small business operator earns below minimum wage. They're investing everything - often including their family homes - to keep going.
It's unconscionable that these stakeholders remain a blind spot in national disaster policy and practice.
Will the newly appointed Minister for Small Business, Cowan MP Dr Anne Aly, prioritises disaster resilience for this sector? Or does the responsibility fall to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the body charged with driving national resilience?
Perhaps it's both. And what about the state governments, who are closer to the ground?
In this complex landscape, the NSW Reconstruction Authority offers a compelling example of what "good" looks like.
Their collaboration with certified social enterprise Resilient Ready in the Business Beyond Disasters Northern Rivers program demonstrates how small business resilience expertise can be effectively deployed through targeted government investment.
This kind of partnership is exactly what's needed - programs developed by people who understand the real challenges small operators face and can meet them where they are.
But timing is critical.
We keep talking about the need for a window between disasters to work on preparedness.
That window no longer exists.
In our new reality of compounding and cascading disasters, we must prepare as we recover. Resilience isn't a nice-to-have anymore, it's an operational necessity.
We must do disasters differently.
That means embedding resilience thinking into every layer of recovery funding and programming.
It means funding practical, place-based support for small businesses that focuses not only on rebuilding but rethinking how to reduce risk.
It also means creating space for peer-to-peer learning, local storytelling and connection because resilience grows through relationships.
Responsibility is not just on the business owner or farmer.
Work delivered with the Torrens Resilience Initiative for the South Australian grape and wine sector last year very clearly showed there's much more to be done.
The government must better understand how and why small businesses and farmers are key to community resilience.
The Productivity Commission's 2023 report into natural disaster funding called for a rebalancing toward mitigation and risk reduction, not just response and recovery.
That rebalancing must include tailored support for small businesses and farmers.
Let's stop pretending these operators should fend for themselves.
Let's recognise that their survival is not only their responsibility but a shared national priority.
Because when small businesses and farms fall, whole communities fall with them.
We must enable them to connect, survive and thrive, not just endure.
That's not only a smart investment in Australia's economic future, it's the right thing to do.
My heart breaks for the communities currently devastated by floods across NSW. But it aches even more for the small-business owners and farmers trying to stay afloat - again.
In disaster after disaster, they are among the first to be affected and the last to recover.
While saving lives is always the top priority, we need to talk seriously about livelihoods.
A lost business or farm isn't just an economic loss, it's a personal tragedy, a collapse of purpose and, in some cases, a precursor to additional loss of life.
Without livelihoods, communities struggle to recover.
The 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience introduced the concept of "shared responsibility" in Australia's approach to emergencies. But what does that mean in practice when it comes to small businesses and farms? And have we progressed any further since 2011?
Let's be honest: the primary responsibility for continuity lies with the business or farm owner.
But the reality is, most small-business owners aren't risk analysts or continuity planners.
A pub owner in a regional town is likely managing shifts and stock, not developing a flood risk management plan.
MORE OPINION:
A farmer running a multi-generational cattle property may be juggling drought, debt, and livestock, not drafting an evacuation or recovery blueprint.
A hairdresser in a small coastal town is thinking about customers and payroll, not business impact assessments.
So, whose job is it to ensure these vital parts of our community survive and bounce forward after disasters?
The answer should be: all of us.
Small businesses and farms are the social and economic backbone of Australia's regions. According to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson, they employ nearly half the private sector workforce.
Yet the average small business operator earns below minimum wage. They're investing everything - often including their family homes - to keep going.
It's unconscionable that these stakeholders remain a blind spot in national disaster policy and practice.
Will the newly appointed Minister for Small Business, Cowan MP Dr Anne Aly, prioritises disaster resilience for this sector? Or does the responsibility fall to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the body charged with driving national resilience?
Perhaps it's both. And what about the state governments, who are closer to the ground?
In this complex landscape, the NSW Reconstruction Authority offers a compelling example of what "good" looks like.
Their collaboration with certified social enterprise Resilient Ready in the Business Beyond Disasters Northern Rivers program demonstrates how small business resilience expertise can be effectively deployed through targeted government investment.
This kind of partnership is exactly what's needed - programs developed by people who understand the real challenges small operators face and can meet them where they are.
But timing is critical.
We keep talking about the need for a window between disasters to work on preparedness.
That window no longer exists.
In our new reality of compounding and cascading disasters, we must prepare as we recover. Resilience isn't a nice-to-have anymore, it's an operational necessity.
We must do disasters differently.
That means embedding resilience thinking into every layer of recovery funding and programming.
It means funding practical, place-based support for small businesses that focuses not only on rebuilding but rethinking how to reduce risk.
It also means creating space for peer-to-peer learning, local storytelling and connection because resilience grows through relationships.
Responsibility is not just on the business owner or farmer.
Work delivered with the Torrens Resilience Initiative for the South Australian grape and wine sector last year very clearly showed there's much more to be done.
The government must better understand how and why small businesses and farmers are key to community resilience.
The Productivity Commission's 2023 report into natural disaster funding called for a rebalancing toward mitigation and risk reduction, not just response and recovery.
That rebalancing must include tailored support for small businesses and farmers.
Let's stop pretending these operators should fend for themselves.
Let's recognise that their survival is not only their responsibility but a shared national priority.
Because when small businesses and farms fall, whole communities fall with them.
We must enable them to connect, survive and thrive, not just endure.
That's not only a smart investment in Australia's economic future, it's the right thing to do.
My heart breaks for the communities currently devastated by floods across NSW. But it aches even more for the small-business owners and farmers trying to stay afloat - again.
In disaster after disaster, they are among the first to be affected and the last to recover.
While saving lives is always the top priority, we need to talk seriously about livelihoods.
A lost business or farm isn't just an economic loss, it's a personal tragedy, a collapse of purpose and, in some cases, a precursor to additional loss of life.
Without livelihoods, communities struggle to recover.
The 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience introduced the concept of "shared responsibility" in Australia's approach to emergencies. But what does that mean in practice when it comes to small businesses and farms? And have we progressed any further since 2011?
Let's be honest: the primary responsibility for continuity lies with the business or farm owner.
But the reality is, most small-business owners aren't risk analysts or continuity planners.
A pub owner in a regional town is likely managing shifts and stock, not developing a flood risk management plan.
MORE OPINION:
A farmer running a multi-generational cattle property may be juggling drought, debt, and livestock, not drafting an evacuation or recovery blueprint.
A hairdresser in a small coastal town is thinking about customers and payroll, not business impact assessments.
So, whose job is it to ensure these vital parts of our community survive and bounce forward after disasters?
The answer should be: all of us.
Small businesses and farms are the social and economic backbone of Australia's regions. According to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson, they employ nearly half the private sector workforce.
Yet the average small business operator earns below minimum wage. They're investing everything - often including their family homes - to keep going.
It's unconscionable that these stakeholders remain a blind spot in national disaster policy and practice.
Will the newly appointed Minister for Small Business, Cowan MP Dr Anne Aly, prioritises disaster resilience for this sector? Or does the responsibility fall to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the body charged with driving national resilience?
Perhaps it's both. And what about the state governments, who are closer to the ground?
In this complex landscape, the NSW Reconstruction Authority offers a compelling example of what "good" looks like.
Their collaboration with certified social enterprise Resilient Ready in the Business Beyond Disasters Northern Rivers program demonstrates how small business resilience expertise can be effectively deployed through targeted government investment.
This kind of partnership is exactly what's needed - programs developed by people who understand the real challenges small operators face and can meet them where they are.
But timing is critical.
We keep talking about the need for a window between disasters to work on preparedness.
That window no longer exists.
In our new reality of compounding and cascading disasters, we must prepare as we recover. Resilience isn't a nice-to-have anymore, it's an operational necessity.
We must do disasters differently.
That means embedding resilience thinking into every layer of recovery funding and programming.
It means funding practical, place-based support for small businesses that focuses not only on rebuilding but rethinking how to reduce risk.
It also means creating space for peer-to-peer learning, local storytelling and connection because resilience grows through relationships.
Responsibility is not just on the business owner or farmer.
Work delivered with the Torrens Resilience Initiative for the South Australian grape and wine sector last year very clearly showed there's much more to be done.
The government must better understand how and why small businesses and farmers are key to community resilience.
The Productivity Commission's 2023 report into natural disaster funding called for a rebalancing toward mitigation and risk reduction, not just response and recovery.
That rebalancing must include tailored support for small businesses and farmers.
Let's stop pretending these operators should fend for themselves.
Let's recognise that their survival is not only their responsibility but a shared national priority.
Because when small businesses and farms fall, whole communities fall with them.
We must enable them to connect, survive and thrive, not just endure.
That's not only a smart investment in Australia's economic future, it's the right thing to do.
My heart breaks for the communities currently devastated by floods across NSW. But it aches even more for the small-business owners and farmers trying to stay afloat - again.
In disaster after disaster, they are among the first to be affected and the last to recover.
While saving lives is always the top priority, we need to talk seriously about livelihoods.
A lost business or farm isn't just an economic loss, it's a personal tragedy, a collapse of purpose and, in some cases, a precursor to additional loss of life.
Without livelihoods, communities struggle to recover.
The 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience introduced the concept of "shared responsibility" in Australia's approach to emergencies. But what does that mean in practice when it comes to small businesses and farms? And have we progressed any further since 2011?
Let's be honest: the primary responsibility for continuity lies with the business or farm owner.
But the reality is, most small-business owners aren't risk analysts or continuity planners.
A pub owner in a regional town is likely managing shifts and stock, not developing a flood risk management plan.
MORE OPINION:
A farmer running a multi-generational cattle property may be juggling drought, debt, and livestock, not drafting an evacuation or recovery blueprint.
A hairdresser in a small coastal town is thinking about customers and payroll, not business impact assessments.
So, whose job is it to ensure these vital parts of our community survive and bounce forward after disasters?
The answer should be: all of us.
Small businesses and farms are the social and economic backbone of Australia's regions. According to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson, they employ nearly half the private sector workforce.
Yet the average small business operator earns below minimum wage. They're investing everything - often including their family homes - to keep going.
It's unconscionable that these stakeholders remain a blind spot in national disaster policy and practice.
Will the newly appointed Minister for Small Business, Cowan MP Dr Anne Aly, prioritises disaster resilience for this sector? Or does the responsibility fall to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the body charged with driving national resilience?
Perhaps it's both. And what about the state governments, who are closer to the ground?
In this complex landscape, the NSW Reconstruction Authority offers a compelling example of what "good" looks like.
Their collaboration with certified social enterprise Resilient Ready in the Business Beyond Disasters Northern Rivers program demonstrates how small business resilience expertise can be effectively deployed through targeted government investment.
This kind of partnership is exactly what's needed - programs developed by people who understand the real challenges small operators face and can meet them where they are.
But timing is critical.
We keep talking about the need for a window between disasters to work on preparedness.
That window no longer exists.
In our new reality of compounding and cascading disasters, we must prepare as we recover. Resilience isn't a nice-to-have anymore, it's an operational necessity.
We must do disasters differently.
That means embedding resilience thinking into every layer of recovery funding and programming.
It means funding practical, place-based support for small businesses that focuses not only on rebuilding but rethinking how to reduce risk.
It also means creating space for peer-to-peer learning, local storytelling and connection because resilience grows through relationships.
Responsibility is not just on the business owner or farmer.
Work delivered with the Torrens Resilience Initiative for the South Australian grape and wine sector last year very clearly showed there's much more to be done.
The government must better understand how and why small businesses and farmers are key to community resilience.
The Productivity Commission's 2023 report into natural disaster funding called for a rebalancing toward mitigation and risk reduction, not just response and recovery.
That rebalancing must include tailored support for small businesses and farmers.
Let's stop pretending these operators should fend for themselves.
Let's recognise that their survival is not only their responsibility but a shared national priority.
Because when small businesses and farms fall, whole communities fall with them.
We must enable them to connect, survive and thrive, not just endure.
That's not only a smart investment in Australia's economic future, it's the right thing to do.
