Economy

After a shocking year for retail during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Goulburn Chamber of Commerce, Goulburn Mulwaree Council and Regional Development Australia Southern Inland are launching a gift card to encourage more people to shop locally. Purchasers will be able to top-up the 'Shop 2580' gift cards with $10 to $1000, which can be spent in stores in Goulburn and...

Visitors to the regional NSW city of Goulburn could take a spin on a new 54km cycling and walking trail or enjoy a visit to a Japanese garden with waterfalls and a koi pond sooner rather than later. Goulburn Mulwaree Council is hoping to increase local tourism activities and attractions by submitting three applications for round five of the Federal...

Forestry businesses across Eden-Monaro have received a total of $14,361,330 in Federal Government funding from the Forestry Recovery Development Fund Program. Eden's South East Fibre Exports will receive $2,249,679 to replace fire-damaged, aged and obsolete high-voltage infrastructure to ensure electricity supply to all parts of the site is reliable. The Tumut-based operations of AKD NSW will receive $5,5 million to...

Some South Coast businesses are struggling to find staff as the region gears up for peak season, with many blaming the Federal Government's COVID-19 support for discouraging job-seekers. The Federal Government has extended the coronavirus supplement payment on the JobSeeker unemployment benefit — at a lower rate — until the end of March 2021. JobSeeker will reduce from $815 a...

The news has been good for Hyne Timber in Tumbarumba during the past week, but it's not out of the woods yet, so to speak. The softwood timber processing company welcomed the announcement of almost $3 million in NSW Government support for bushfire recovery at its Tumbarumba Mill. But reeling from a loss of timber to the fires, the company...

Businesses establishing themselves or expanding in regional NSW could be eligible for grants up to $10 million if they can show they are creating at least five new jobs for people in the bush. The $100 million Regional Job Creation Fund was announced by NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Sunday, 25 October. He said the fund will provide businesses...

During the past summer, Upper Lachlan Shire Council Mayor John Stafford only had animals to greet at his wildlife park in Taralga each morning. His business and others in Taralga and the neighbouring town of Crookwell survived on little to no income as smoke from nearby bushfires drove customers away. They were already battling years of drought, then the bushfires,...

There's a long history of harvesting kelp manually on the NSW South Coast - a tradition started by Betty Long in 1970. As owner of the business Sea Health, Betty earned the title of "The Kelp Lady". Betty sold the business to Jo Lane in 2015, and it now looks set to pioneer a sustainable kelp farming industry on the...

Bega Valley parents are among thousands who have signed an open letter asking Prime Minister Scott Morrison to provide federal funding for the installation of solar panels and batteries in schools and early childhood centres around Australia. The Solar Our Schools initiative, led by Australian Parents for Climate Action, aims to reduce emissions, aid the green economic recovery after COVID-19, and...

The family-owned 138-year-old Hyne Timber company is continuing to call for government support to direct Australian saw logs destined for China to their mill in Tumbarumba. Chief Executive Officer Jon Kleinschmidt said employees and the community were increasingly concerned about the mill's future following last summer’s devastating bushfires, which decimated 40 per cent of Hyne’s local log supply. Following discussions...

A farming family in Yass has agreed to lease agricultural land to a state-significant solar farm estimated to cost $110 million and produce 80-megawatts of electricity. If approved, Yass Solar Farm will be located next to TransGrid's substation in Yass, on 150 hectares of mostly cleared land that runs along Perry Street in the town's southwest corner. READ ALSO: Man...

A new policy passed by the NSW Government will encourage government agencies to consider purchasing goods and services from small, medium and regional businesses for all direct procurements up to $250,000. The NSW Government's Small and Medium Enterprise and Regional Procurement Policy aims to boost regional economies in the wake of drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. READ ALSO: Yass...

A former South West Slopes woman and her husband have come up with an innovative concept to help inject much-needed cash flow to businesses struggling through COVID-19. And it seems to be a hit, judging by the 1500 businesses which signed up within an hour of watching a Today show segment on the concept. Jen Hollingsworth (nee McCloy) was born and bred...