Economic development Georges River LGA is home to 18,000 GST-registered businesses that contribute to $8.7 billion to the LGA’s gross regional product. Of the 56,000 local jobs in the LGA, most are in health care and social assistance sector (27.5 per cent of jobs), followed by retail trade, education and training, construction and professional, scientific and technical services. Our job to residents’ ratio was 0.66, meaning that there are fewer jobs than resident workers. Health care and social assistance had the highest ratio (1.45 – meaning more people from outside the area travelled here to work in these industries), while the lowest ratio was in information media and telecommunications (0.22). A key focus of our economic development work is to increase the number of local jobs, and this aligns with the Diverse and Productive Economy pillar of the Community Strategic Plan. In 2020/21 we focused on the potential of Hurstville and Kogarah and supported local small business owners who were hit by COVID-19 restrictions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand on the health care and social assistance sector meant job numbers and employment in this area have remained constant and this industry offers stability within the Georges River economy when other sectors, like accommodation and food services, have suffered.
Supporting business During the times of COVID-19 restrictions, we used Australian Business Register (ABR) data to engage with local businesses. The heavily impacted hospitality sector suffered closures, or the need to quickly adapt. We provided immediate support to cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services, redeploying Council staff to phone each business to inform them of available relief and stimulus packages. We designed posters that were hand delivered by staff to impacted businesses to promote Buy Local and the #weareinthistogether campaign. These were displayed in shop fronts to let customers know of the changes to face-to-face dining, online contact details and takeaway/delivery options.
We allowed takeaway services even where a development consent was not present, relaxed enforcement of parking to allow increased takeaway trade and eased enforcement of trading and delivery hours for food, beverage and grocery stores. This significantly changed how Council’s regulation officers did their job and provided the opportunity to be the face of Council during the crisis while proactively engaging with business owners. The officers found having different conversations, providing support and answering questions strengthened relationships with the community in challenging times. Other initiatives included: • 25% deduction in DA fees for commercial fit-out and residential applications for a period of six months • a Local Procurement Policy for contracts less than $250,000, with a five per cent weighted criterial for local contractors • faster payments for suppliers • a Council-run competition where if a resident spends $150 at a small business in the Georges River LGA, they could enter a draw to win 12 x $100 debit cards • support for St George Business Chamber’s Buy Local initiative by installing Buy Local banners around the LGA. • creating www.georgesriverbusiness.com.au for local businesses to connect online, promote their services and access free resources provided by the NSW Government’s Business Connect program – our website had the fastest take-up of registrations across all LGAs that launched the platform. more than $140,000 in COVID-19 recovery grants were offered to organisations and small businesses, including $43,000 to businesses, representing the first time we included businesses in our grants program • free business support webinars and business mentoring program with St George Business Chamber that focused on the current economic climate, future impacts, recovery resources and tools and the need to manage mental health • a Night Time Economy Study and Action Plan to activate centres after hours.
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