Coronavirus fears and the cancellation of famed Man From Snowy River Festival has devastated the already struggling Upper Murray region, costing the area's economy $7.5 million and forcing a complete rethink of bushfire recovery strategy.
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About $800,000 of profits from the festival is usually reinvested into the Corryong community and this year 100 per cent of profits were going to support bushfire recovery.
Towong mayor David Wortmann said it was extremely disappointing news, but he was hopeful the festival would run later in the year.
"We all know recovery in the Upper Murray is going to take months not years, the festival was going to play a big part but unfortunately it has to be postponed," he said.
Organisers announced on Saturday the festival would be postponed and hopefully rescheduled to September.
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"After the heartache of this summer's bushfires, it is with deep regret we must postpone this year's festival following governmental advice," they said in a statement.
A string of other major Border events were also cancelled or postponed at the weekend due to coronavirus.
They include the Albury Wodonga Outdoor Show, the Best Border Easter Egg Hunt and the Yackandandah Folk Festival.
Cr Wortmann said the government's recommendation events should be postponed would hurt bushfire recovery plans.
The 25th Man From Snowy River Festival was due to run April 2 to 5.
Cr Wortmann said the community had hoped it would help draw people and funds back to the region after the bushfires.
"It's our biggest festival in the shire, it attracts 20,000+ people to the district. It's a huge boost to the economy," he said.
Cr Wortmann said a large part of bushfire recovery was relying on people coming to the region, which would be impacted if major events could not go ahead.
"As a council we're going to have to discuss this because it's changed everything," he said.
"We were encouraging people to come to the Upper Murray to events like this, we're going to have to rethink some of our ideas on recovery."
Cr Wortmann said he hopes coronavirus fears do not stop people travelling to bushfire affected areas to support them.
"I know it's an evolving situation but I hope people will still visit the Upper Murray region event if we won't be able to hold larger events," he said.
"It's extremely disappointing but we can all only follow the advice from the Australian government medical experts."
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Cr Wortmann said a lot of money would be set aside by governments to combat coronavirus, but he was confident bushfire recovery would still be well funded.
Member for Indi Helen Haines said it was disappointing festivals were being canned.
"While no-one likes to cancel events that have sometimes taken 12 months in the planning we need to follow the advice and ultimately it's for the greater good," Dr Haines said.
Man From Snowy River organisers met late Sunday afternoon but did not respond to requests for further comment. They advised ticket-holders, competitors and vendors to hold on to their festival paperwork as they were hoping to reschedule to September. "We will confirm the details and advise you as soon as possible in the next week," they said.