Minister makes plea for local business support

Small Business Minister Paul Papalia has called on Bunbury shoppers to support local businesses and buy the majority of their Christmas presents in town this year. After a difficult year for businesses, many of which were forced to close or had stock issues, Mr Papalia said it was important to buy from local shops. “We want to remind people to make a small pledge to buy some of your gifts for Christmas from a local small businesses,” he said. “It is an opportunity to not just get a great product, you are also going to be helping one of your fellow citizens in the lead up to Christmas. “It is a perfect opportunity as we come out of COVID to help the local economy.” Afez of the Heart owner Emma Kenward works on Victoria Street and has seen first hand people flooding back to local business. “It was a hard start to the year, we closed for five weeks, but it has been great since and everyone has been very supportive,” she said. “It has just been quite incredible, everyone has been making a point of coming in, the street is really busy, it is quite vibrant and there is a real community feel. Local business owners really know their products.” “The Christmas period sets us up for the next year.” Mr Papalia said Western Australia was generally doing well in supporting businesses through their pandemic recovery. “We know that retail growth in Western Australia leads the nation, we also know from credit card data that Western Australians are spending more on food and beverage, more on shopping, travel and overall spend than any other jurisdiction in the country,” he said. “The enthusiasm of Western Australians to buy locally is unparalleled and it is a great place to be.” Bunbury MLA Don Punch said residents would not find it hard to buy everything they needed in town. “It is not hard to support businesses in Bunbury, we have got one of the biggest toy shops in regional WA, some great coffee shops, great babywear shops and great book shops,” he said.