Albury-wodonga Tallies Costs Of The Gas Crisis
The Age
Monday October 19, 1998
The Victorian gas crisis cost businesses in the Albury-Wodonga region up to $9 million, according to a report released by a regional economic development group last week.
The report, conducted by Investment Albury-Wodonga, found that the area's manufacturing and tourism were the hardest hit, with two-thirds of the damage across the border.
The chief executive officer of Invest Albury-Wodonga, Mr Grant Hall, said the damage to the centre's 92,000 residents and local businesses would take time to recover from.
``The impact of the recent gas crisis was felt by all sectors of the region to varying degrees, ranging from complete closure of some businesses to minimal inconvenience for others," he said. ``Of the 500 firms we surveyed, nearly 2000 employees were displaced during the period."
During the crisis, Albury-Wodonga's abattoir closed and stood down 200 staff.
The survey found that the manufacturing, , which accounts for almost one-fifth of the employment in Albury-Wodonga, lost nearly $7.3 million during the 12-day crisis.
Reduced occupancy rates in the region's hotels and ``substantial falls" in takings in the restaurants and other industries serving the tourist market meant Albury-Wodonga's retailing, accommodation and tourism lost approximately $1.5 million.
The tourism industry employs more than 3000 of the region's workforce, who look after roughly one million tourists visiting the region each year.
Together with the growing convention industry, tourism is the third-largest employer in Albury-Wodonga, earning the region about $175 million each year.
In the informal tourism market, income derived from travellers visiting friends and relatives in Albury-Wodonga amounted to a further $50 million last year.
The Australian Industry Group estimated that during the crisis, Victorian businesses were losing up to $100 million a day, and the final bill could be as high as $1.4 billion.
While some operators in Albury-Wodonga changed from gas to electrical energy during the crisis, Investment Albury-Wodonga was planning to bring local businesses together with local lawyers to consider compensation claims.
© 1998 The Age
