The three-month delay to become eligible for the $10,000 bushfire recovery grants was too long to wait for some businesses forced to close in Wangaratta and Indigo shires after spending months without visitors.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But for others, this week's announcement that they have now been included in the joint federal and Victorian scheme will be just the boost they need to get back on track.
The grants for small businesses and primary producers that lost income due to the 2019-20 bushfires, announced in March, were previously only for regions such as Alpine and Towong directly hit by the fires.
Indi MP Helen Haines said the economic loss from tourism across the whole North East from the bushfires was between $158 million and $208 million.
"It didn't matter if you were affected by the flames or not, if you had a business that was reliant upon tourism, you were impacted significantly," she said. "There are businesses that have gone to the wall in the waiting period.
"I'm very, very sorry about that, but I'm delighted that our businesses can now apply for these grants."
She said Wangaratta and Indigo had been made to wait for too long, but credited the three-month campaign and teamwork of federal, state and local governments for making the change.
Victorian Senator Jane Hume described the work as a "Liberal team effort", saying she, Benambra MP Bill Tilley and Eildon MP Cindy McLeish lobbied the Victorian government. "These grants will assist recovery and see businesses back stronger on the other side of the pandemic," she said.
Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees apologised to Dr Haines for the "hammering" of phone calls as they all fought to be included.
He and council chief executive Brendan McGrath also travelled to Canberra to make their case directly to Peter Cosgrove, who is leading a national business bushfire recovery initiative.
"We've got a number of businesses that were greatly affected by the fire season, not that they were specifically burnt out, but they lost all their tourism and basically had to shut up shop," Cr Rees said. "Some of those businesses probably won't open because it did take too long, however at council we're here to help them as well."
He said he hoped the grants will help to get others back on track.
Indigo mayor Jenny O'Connor said it was the best news since the beginning of this year.
"I was talking to business owners and one actually burst into tears when I told her about it," she said.
"This really means a lot to our small main street businesses - their margins are already very slim."