R E G I O N A L FOCUS OPEN FOR BUSINESS, BRACED FOR CHALLENGE Movers in Australia and New Zealand have endured a torrid few months, with extreme weather events and severe pandemic controls impacting heavily on their businesses. As COVID restrictions have been lifted, Andrew Mourant finds them bullish, but wary about the future impact of soaring costs and staff shortages F ires, floods and then COVID. It has been a tempestuous time for the Australian removals industry, but one that has helped instil resilience and ingenuity. Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, their New Zealand counterparts have endured one of the free worlds most draconian lockdowns. Survival, in both countries, has been about willpower and a battle of wits. Government aid gave companies a lifeline, enabling them to keep staff on. Even so, doing business in Australia became hideously complicated, with every state and local authority having a different response to the pandemic. Few took a harder line than Victoria, locked down for more than 260 days. I survived by being intelligent, Kieran OHara, Business Director at Palmers Relocations, told FIDI Focus. They (the state authorities) banned removal companies from entering 46 FF307 September-November 22 pp46-53 Regional Focus.indd 46 another state and spreading the virus. But courier services were considered essential so, for 120 days, I registered us as a courier company. I wanted to stay in business and looked for loopholes. He sees a full recovery from COVID as very dependent on government legislation. I think Australia will want the revenue that comes with immigration, so well see our strict laws relaxed to some degree. OHara says Palmers business prospects look especially promising with the US and Ireland. Australia has a large Irish population - we send more containers to Ireland than to the UK, he says. Brexit has hurt a lot of UK companies, with problems over customs clearance. One obstacle to bouncing back is the worldwide shortage of containers. Moreover, some shippers, he warns, are taking over container manufacturing WW W. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 06/09/2022 07:42