Background
Small towns have many different hearts. All have small or large contingents of local shopkeepers, tradies, service personnel, professionals, teachers, and their permanent workforce, along with the local children, youth, and older folk, their carers and their cared-for. Surrounding many/most towns are farms, outlier hamlets, and a range of ‘others’ who depend on the towns for services.
A rural or regional town that supports agriculture – cropping, milking, or growing, or an industry like mining, will clearly be stressed by any general economic downturn, but if the products it provides are ‘essential’ – milk, grain, vegetables, livestock, or ore – demand will usually continue, and the town will likely survive the economic headwinds.
Other towns – and Lorne, our town, is a prime example – thrive from regional, state, interstate, and international tourism. But the raison d’être of a tourist town – its visitors – can prove a double-edged sword in troubled times, if the visitors stay away. Any major reduction of tourist activity can pose a truly existential threat to its fabric.
A tourist-dependent town, its ‘product’ sustained by natural beauty, sights, walks, and waves, its services and businesses geared to encourage relaxation, leisure activities, shopping, dining, and social interaction, is at enormous risk in perilous times, especially if social interaction is forbidden. Discretionary spending is commonly the very first economic casualty in tough times: trips are deferred, and bookings cancelled. When the communal life blood depends on a throughput of itinerant tourists or the discretionary spending of a retiree population, major economic downturns can be devastating … and Covid-19 has brought the global economy to a standstill. While food production, mining, and milking may continue to support a ‘product’ town, a tourism town can lose its soul and its reason to exist.
A further dimension is added if its largely itinerant workforce, commonly domestic or international backpackers and/or temporary visa holders who service the restaurants, businesses, hotels, and attractions, lose their employment.
If a town faces an isolated ‘local’ downturn, these essential workers who help a healthy tourist town to tick would simply move on elsewhere. Even if a wider economic state or national threat emerged, they can still pull up stumps and fly home. But the Covid-19 pandemic has created a unique issue, for all travel has ceased, national and state borders have been shut, even between-town, non-essential travel has been banned.
For a rural town that supports a seasonal workforce, the picking, harvesting, or shearing can continue, revenue will still flow, pay packets will still fill, and some semblance of normality will remain.
But, for seasonal workers in a tourist town, unemployed, trapped, and unable to move, their summer clothes increasingly inappropriate to an unanticipated change of seasons, and ineligible for the many social service supports extended to Australian workers by listening, helpful governments, the situation rapidly becomes very grim indeed.
Lorne in a Global Pandemic
Our unique town has been hit hard by the social paralysis of this pandemic. The unparalleled international appetite for the Great Ocean Road has ceased in the space of days. While local, state and federal agencies have been doing their best, their wheels grind agonisingly slowly, yet nimble, agile, and immediate supports are crucial. Meanwhile, international workers – often on limited or expiring visas – are tumbling through the eligibility cracks. Recognising this, the Lorne community has stepped in to fill the void.
The Committee for Lorne, Lorne Community Connect, and the Lorne Community Op Shop team have quickly set about sourcing low (or no) rental accommodation for our 58 stranded backpackers and several badly stressed local families, with generous donations of cash or ‘kind’ providing warm clothing, and food deliveries. The response has been swift and effective.
While mentioning by name risks missing quality contributions from the un-named, there are some who demand acknowledgement:
- Paul Upham: food and meals from the Lorne Hotel.
- Pakitu Henry from the Great Ocean Road Cottages: a simply outstanding effort in providing food and all-round care for his backpackers.
- Katie and Leon Walker from HaH: food and wellness support.
- Ian Stewart, Chair of the Committee: as a coordinator.
- Clive and Lesley Goldsworthy, Pete Spring, and Gary Allen: for simply being as they always are … our community go-to’s.
- Lauri (Late) Lassila: for establishing a group communication infrastructure via Facebook and individual SMS contact.
- Jorge Guerrero: for nurturing ‘our Argentinians’.
- Jonn Stewart and his wonderful FoodWorks staff: for assembling and distributing fresh produce food parcels to the many caught unawares.
- The Men’s Shed, and what a bunch of excellent old codgers they are: for ‘volunteering for everything’.
- The One and Only Lorne Community Notice Board on FaceBook: for being a useful communication platform.
- Perhaps above all, the Op Shop team – esp. Stella, Wendy, and Judi: for their continued support for our Aged Care residents, healthcare workers, the disadvantaged, and those facing financial hardship.
These are but a few of the many who, with humour and good will, are keeping this hurting town functioning.
This global crisis has a long way yet to run. While our national and state leaders have done all that they can to help the nation survive to the other end, a swift local response has been essential. Lorne can hold its head high as one small but determined community that has looked the pandemic in the eye and said … beat that!
John Agar
