Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has praised the Picton community on rebuilding its main street economy. Two years since the storm of 5 June 2016, Mr Taylor said Picton had a new energy and momentum.

“More than 70 businesses had 100% losses in the storm. Hundreds of millimetres of rain caused flooding which crippled the main street,” Mr Taylor said.

“It’s fantastic news that 14 new businesses have now invested in Picton – a number of them cafes, restaurants and food outlets - and there’s further interest from others. We want to see investment pouring back into the district and I’ll be doing all I can to help this along.”

Owner-Managers of Guilty or Not Gelato Bar which opens its doors this Thursday, Ayesha Freeman and George Kozma, have employed nine young staff.

“I’m definitely keen to employ young people. I like to give them as much variety and opportunity to progress,” Ms Freeman said.

“They may start as an icecream-server but then move on to become a gelato maker (we make our own gelato here), or a chocolateer, or become one of our baristas and then go off around the world with their barista skills. Our aim is to showcase Picton. I want the city (Sydney) to see Picton as a new place to come to,” she said.

Mr Taylor said while a small number of businesses had not re-opened after the storm, Picton’s recovery had contributed to a 5.6% fall in the youth jobless rate in northern Hume in the past year, down to 7.8%.

The Federal Government provided disaster recovery assistance to Picton in the wake of the storm. Mr Taylor was also instrumental in lobbying for assistance to repair the Broughton Pass Bridge near Wilton which was closed due to the storm.