Loading "Every business in town is suffering, from the service station through to the clothing store — they rely on this period." Mr Jackson said the area had been deserted by tourists even though the town itself had not been hit by the fires, which meant people had cancelled bookings out to February and cost him about 40 per cent of his total annual earnings. "Can you imagine wiping out half your pay for the year? You would be f---ed," he said. The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has promised to go beyond last week's commitment of a $2 billion recovery fund if more money needs to be spent to get regions back on their feet, while he has also pointed to separate disaster assistance payments.

Small business leaders are expected to canvass the best options on Tuesday, leading to a formal proposal to be considered by cabinet later in the week. Some federal disaster payments are already offered to small employers, with concessional loans and subsidies available under Category B of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) between Canberra and the states. But a more direct form of help is also being considered at a time when business owners have been forced to shut down. The Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said on Friday he hoped to announce more assistance for small businesses "very soon" but that the government had to be "methodical" in its response, which would take time. Peter Strong from the Council of Small Business Organisations Australian (COSBOA) said his members needed assistance.

"Some of them will be hitting the wall," Mr Strong said, adding the government had been "extremely receptive" to calls for more help. Eden takeaway owner Geoff McCabe, who had to evacuate when the fires hit the NSW South Coast town and who still has no power or water at his home, said he was afraid for the future of small businesses like his. Eden cafe owners May and Geoff McCabe. Credit:Kiran Ridley "There's a lot of businesses that will struggle and might have to close for good," Mr McCabe said. While the federal and NSW state governments have made $15,000 grants available to those whose businesses have burnt, Mr McCabe's business is untouched by the flames but not their economic effects.

"There's nothing that covers businesses at this stage that aren't able to operate [due to a loss of customers]," Mr McCabe said. "Nothing covers tourists being completely evacuated from the region and also being isolated ... because of the road blockages." The NSW South Coast was declared "open for business" by the NSW Rural Fire Service on Saturday, which had previously ordered tourists to leave the area, but many locals said they expect the tourist loss to linger. Tracy Innes, whose family owns the Innes Boatshed fish and chip shop in Batemans Bay, said the business expected to be down about $500,000 over the holiday season. "We're such a tourism town here, while you can't plan around six weeks of busy, you certainly don't anticipate an absolute lack of business for six weeks," Mrs Innes said, referring to the amount of time the Kings Highway that normally brings in a flood of tourists from Canberra has been closed. Terry Robinson, chief executive of tourism-promotion body Destination Gippsland, said bringing tourists back to the area was the best way to cure the economic malaise.

Loading "We're trying to get the message out that a lot of Gippsland is unaffected and safe ... It's a fantastic experience," Mr Robinson said. Census data shows about three times as many people work in the hotel and accommodation industry on the NSW south coast and in Gippsland than the NSW and Victorian average. There are other forms of relief available, including payments for business owners personally and tax relief. The NSW government has committed $1 billion to the rebuilding effort, with the government saying it will prioritise local infrastructure projects. In Victoria, the government has said it is looking at more measures to help small businesses.

Loading In the Snowy Mountains region, locals worry about a sustained economic downturn after the fire burnt through orchards and forests, with at least five years needed to bring new apple trees to production and more than two decades needed to recover lost timber plantations. "This area produces two million tonnes of software fibre a year and we use three million tonnes," said Snowy Valleys Council mayor James Hayes. "We already were in deficit and now we're even further in deficit. And it just doesn't grow in a year. "The farmers are pretty resilient but it would be good if they could get some assistance with fencing and with fodder in the short-term, and after that they could use some assistance with loans." Business owners said they understood the government had to prioritise those who had lost their houses, but said the loss of business did not mean bills had stopped coming in, causing intense cash flow problems.