Helping Local Businesses Through COVID-19 (31 July 2020)

I would encourage all local business owners to think about taking part in Council’s ‘Coffs Coast Businesses Care’ program to help them work safely through the current pandemic.

The goal of this free program is to help provide both staff and customers with the reassurance that the owners of the premises they work in or are visiting are doing all they can to make it safe. On completion of the program, each business receives a window sticker for display, NSW Government COVIDSafe posters covering hygiene and physical distancing, plus a digital button and banner images for online promotion.

Businesses can be involved by following the Federal Government’s 5 Step Process to keep COVIDSafe, including making a COVIDSafe Plan. The steps include:

Council’s 6 degrees platform – 6degreesco.com.au – provides support and resources to assist people create CovidSafe Plans. They also have links to training, workshops and groups offering business assistance.

Council’s Environmental Health Officers are also helping businesses comply with the NSW Government’s COVID-19 Public Health Orders by working with, guiding and advising business operators towards compliance.

There’s lots of help available and I’d urge business owners to get in touch with Council if they need any assistance.

Recovery Stimulus Projects

Council is focusing a great deal of energy into projects that will help stimulate the local economy, which is obviously being impacted by COVID-19, as well as provide lasting benefit for the whole community.

The latest projects to be announced are the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden Glasshouse Project and the next stage of the Jetty Foreshores Project, which are respectively receiving $782,096 and $600,000 of Federal funding. The money has come from the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, part of the national COVID-19 economic stimulus recovery plan. Council is also contributing funds to the costs of these projects.

Back in April, we also responded to a call from the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, requesting ‘spade-ready’ transport infrastructure projects to help with economic recovery as we start to emerge out of the pandemic.

In total, we provided a list of 16 local initiatives worth an estimated $91.9m for consideration for funding from the Federal Government. We have not yet heard whether any of those projects were successful.