Staff members of the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) are visiting small business operators in the Wide Bay and Burnett Region in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth.
Their work has been highlighted with the impact on at least one supplier who has benefitted from their support.
Maryborough retailer, Zane Haas (pictured) has suffered through two years of lockdowns, lack of tourists and Queensland’s peak of COVID-19, and the last thing he needed was a natural disaster.
However, during ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth, Mr Haas’ manufacturing, art and craft supply business was just one of the many affected by floods.
“When I went into town that morning in January, I had a gut feeling that something was going to happen,” Mr Haas said.
“We only had a short period of time because the water was coming up through the gutters,” he said.
Mr Haas said a well underneath his business meant any water that was rising through the streets ended up sitting under his shop with nowhere to escape and, four weeks on from the flood, the ground is still not dry.
QRIDA representatives came to see Mr Haas a few days later after he had already submitted his first application for an Extraordinary Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant.
“Even though I completed my application before I was visited by the QRIDA team, they said they would be happy to sit down with me for one, two, three hours and go through it with me, whatever it takes,” he said.
“They then explained to me that I can put in an application for the grant more than once if things continue to go wrong with moisture and mould.
“So, I put in a second claim for other issues which has now been approved.
“It’s been a big help to get us up and running.”
Mr Haas said he always felt the QRIDA team had his back by making sure he was getting the most out of the available grant funding.
