THE Mt Hotham Chamber of Commerce has spent the last 18 months advocating for recovery assistance on behalf of their members at Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham.
Chamber president, Steve Belli, said there has been much to do following the 2019–2020 bushfires and COVID–19 lockdowns and restrictions which resulted in only four operating days in 2020.
"We have lobbied at state and federal levels for government assistance for bushfire and COVID recovery and have received some bushfire recovery grants," Mr Belli said.
"But our area needs help to ensure that our businesses survive and are here when visitors return and that has been very difficult when we haven't been able to access certain alpine–specific funding which was announced."
The Alpine Assistance Package is one such grant which Mr Belli and other business owners were hoping to access.
"Unfortunately, if a business received any other Business Victoria or Licence Venue grant, then that amount is subtracted from the Alpine Assistance Package and in many cases that zeroed out any potential assistance," he said.
"There has been a new stream of alpine funding released that is supposed to be more accessible however we haven’t received any other information about that to date."
Currently, each resort in Victoria is managed by its own board but from July next year, Alpine Resorts Victoria will become the centralised board managing Mt Hotham, Falls Creek, Mt Buller, Mt Stirling, Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw.
"How that looks and what plans are enacted going forward is still to be decided, but the government has been listening and asking for feedback on what's needed, so that's really good," Mr Belli said.
In addition to being president of the Mt Hotham Chamber of Commerce, Mr Belli is also deputy chair of the Alpine Resort Industry Advisory Group (ARIAG), deputy chair of the Community Recovery Committee – Bushfire – Alpine and owns a number of businesses in the Mt Hotham and Dinner Plain areas.
Calling the area home means that recovery and forward momentum for the community is foremost in Mr Belli's mind and, as well as battling alongside fellow business owners to stay afloat, he is also determined to be a voice for them and the region in his roles on advisory boards and the chamber.
"The chamber is a voice for businesses on the mountain and we collaborate with them to find an approach which benefits us all and makes Mt Hotham a better place to visit.
"We reach out to the community and work closely with government agencies and the Mt Hotham Resort Board to ensure we are compliant with all current requirements as well as encouraging people to visit and giving them things to do when they are here.
"Whilst Mt Hotham looks to build its summer business, we are reliant on the ski season each year to keep things going and the last 18 months have definitely been a challenge.
"But, we're a resilient bunch – we're like farmers – we go through peaks and troughs and although we had to park a lot of the activities we had planned for the opening weekend, we are hoping to be able to hold some of these events during the July school holidays if restrictions ease and public gathering numbers are lifted."
