25/09/2026
To Lismore and our surrounding communities,
Small locally owned businesses across the northern rivers are under enormous pressure right now. Fuel prices are going through the roof, freight costs are rising and, in some cases, fuel surcharges on deliveries are changing constantly depending on the price of diesel at the time.
For regional businesses, where almost everything comes by road, that is making the cost of getting stock here harder and harder to manage.
Local businesses rarely pass every increase straight on. Most try to hold prices for as long as they can because higher prices hurt customers and they hurt the business too. People buy less, shop less often or decide the product has simply become too expensive.
So businesses absorb as much as possible.
Sometimes the price on the shelf stays the same even though the business is paying far more for that product than it was only a short time ago. Sometimes several increases are absorbed before the price finally has to change.
And when a price does go up, it is usually because there is very little choice left.
In some cases, the choice now is to increase the price or stop stocking the product altogether.
That is already happening.
Some suppliers have increased their prices so much that local retailers are having to look elsewhere. This is especially difficult with suppliers in Perth and Victoria, where freight was already expensive before the latest rises in diesel and fuel surcharges.
By the time the supplier price rises, freight is added and then a fuel surcharge goes on top, some products simply become too expensive to bring into a regional town and still sell at a price people will pay.
Sometimes another supplier can be found closer to home. Sometimes a similar product can be sourced. Sometimes the product disappears from the shelf altogether.
That is the reality many small businesses are dealing with now.
There is also constant pressure from government changes around employment costs, superannuation, regulation, compliance and the general cost of doing business.
Too often those changes seem to come from people who have very little understanding of how a small business actually runs, or what happens when one extra cost is piled on top of another.
On paper, each change might look manageable. In the real world it gets added to rent, power, insurance, freight, stock, wages and everything else that has to be paid before the doors even open.
And this is where people often misunderstand small business.
There is no big pot of money sitting there at the end of the week.
Plenty of small-business owners take home less than the people they employ. Some barely break even. Some keep putting money back into the business just to keep staff employed, bills paid and the doors open.
A lot of local businesses are walking a very fine line between staying open and closing.
When there is nowhere left to absorb another increase, staff hours get reduced, positions are left unfilled, stock ranges shrink, owners work longer hours themselves and some businesses eventually shut their doors.
That affects the whole town.
Lismore’s locally owned businesses employ local people. They spend locally. They support schools, sporting clubs, charities, events and community groups. They give people a reason to come into town and they help make Lismore what it is.
At the same time, they are competing with huge corporations that can buy in volumes, negotiate freight rates and secure wholesale prices that small independent businesses could never match.
Then there is theft.
Shoplifting from a local business comes straight back on local people. The stock has already been paid for. The freight has been paid. The fuel surcharge has been paid. Staff have been paid to unpack it and put it on the shelf.
That loss lands on a business that may already be struggling to keep going.
These are genuinely difficult times for small businesses across Murwillumbah and the surrounding towns.
Nobody expects people to spend every dollar locally. Families are under pressure too and local businesses know that.
But when you can, please support the businesses in your own town.
Have a look locally before ordering online or heading to a big chain. Buy the birthday present here. Buy the household item here. Use the local tradie. Have the coffee here. Support the shops, cafés and businesses owned by locals and employing locals.
And when something in a local shop has gone up by a few dollars, please remember that the business may already have absorbed several increases before finally having to change the price.
Small businesses are trying hard to keep prices reasonable because they know higher prices hurt everyone.
Lismore businesses have already survived floods, COVID, staff shortages and years of rising costs. Right now, fuel, freight, supplier increases and the general cost of operating are putting even more pressure on businesses throughout town.
Many are doing everything they can to stay open.
If we want Lismore to keep its independent shops, cafés, services and family-run businesses, this is the time to back them.
Support local where you can.
It keeps local people employed, keeps money moving through our community and helps keep our town alive.
And a quick mention to the customer who complained about a $2 dollar charge for extra satay sauce on his sticks & rice. We closed @8 pm like everyday,you walked in @ 8.15 and we still fed you because we like to go the extra mile for our customers. Only for you to carry on about how you were not charged last week when you bought the same product. There was nothing wrong with the product or the service you received but still 10 min after the fact you decided to call up by phone to call me all the names under the sun over $2. This saddens me greatly that you think we were ripping you off 🥲 that was never the intention and the staff have been breifed in relation to this matter. It is not ok to abuse or threaten our staff at any time as they are there to help. As for your kind words you had for me to which I can’t repeat here I’ve been called worse. But we are still sad that your experience wasn’t up to your standards.
Thanks for your understanding and support.
The Thai satay hut crew ❤️
