SKIPTON business owners and residents hit the hardest by the floods are being urged to put their pride aside and ask for help.
Yesterday, politicians visited the Corangamite Shire town to show their support by talking one-on-one with those affected and rolling up their sleeves to help clean.
The contingent included MPs Dan Tehan, Bruce Billson, Alan Tudge and Greg Hunt, as well as Senator Scott Ryan.
Mr Tehan said there was help available for residents struggling to get back on their feet.
“If your business or house has suffered as a result of flood don’t be too shy in approaching Centrelink and asking for what assistance there is,” he said.
He said the next stage in the recovery was helping affected businesses that employ local people get back up and running.
Corangamite mayor Matt Makin said council was also counting the cost of the floods.
“The really difficult thing is that we copped all this in September and that cost us $3.5 million and now we’re copping it again,” he said. “We’ve just got to deal with it the best we can, prioritise the safety issues, and try and fix the whole lot.”
He said the focus was primarily on homes and businesses but the next stop would be council infrastructure such as beautification, roads, bridges and culverts.
The predicted damage is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.