Leaders push for local response to coronavirus
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Local Federal, State and Local Government leaders met this morning to develop a list of priorities to ensure a targeted, tangible, local response to the evolving coronavirus situation.
The Local Leadership Committee (LLC), consisting of Cairns Mayor Bob Manning, Member for Cairns Michael Healy and Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch, are working together to ensure the needs of Cairns residents and businesses are being met.
The LLC is being supported by sub-committees focusing on the economic, and social and human impacts of the virus, receiving real-time information about the specific challenges facing the community.
Mayor Bob Manning said: “The three leaders of this community are all on the same page. We understand the pain and disappointment and fear in some people’s minds about how they will get through this situation.
“I want everyone to know we are all working hard; pushing the State Government hard, the Federal government hard, the Council hard so we don’t let you down.”
Mr Healy said: “This is about advocating to all levels of government as to what we believe is required for our community. Warren and I will be taking these recommendations to Brisbane, to Canberra and fighting for our community. We have unique needs and challenges and these need to be addressed specifically.”
Mr Entsch said there had already been significant work done to identify gaps in areas ranging from business support and unemployment, to homelessness and mental health.
“People have lost their jobs, lost their businesses, lost everything they have. It’s hard to come to terms with. And we’ve got to make sure the support is there for them.
“That’s why these committees are really critical to get accurate, real time information that we can feed into the system.”
Mr Healy confirmed that 7 people in Cairns have returned positive results for coronavirus. All cases are people returning from overseas; there are no cases of community transmission in Cairns at this time.
The LLC will meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.