Cherbourg council offers ‘one-off’ financial lifeline
Aid measure to cost $40,000, which council believes is a fair price to pay to help the community.
South Burnett
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RESIDENTS of Cherbourg will not be required to pay rent in the coming month, the new council unanimously decided yesterday.
The COVID-19 threat and supporting the community were put at the top of the agenda by the newly appointed Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council.
The first decision voted and agreed upon was that all Cherbourg residents would be exempt from paying rent for the month of May, 2020.
Mayor Elvie Sandow said she and her fellow councillors agreed they wanted to help the community in any way possible during these tough times as part of council’s commitment to the wellbeing of residents.
Cr Sandow said the one-off rent-free May would come at cost of $40,000 to the council.
She said residents could choose, if they wished, to still pay rent during the month of May to gain a credit on their rental account.
Since making history as the first woman to be elected as mayor of Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, Cr Sandow said she wanted to make sure the people in her community knew that they came first and always would.
In her first press conference last week, she said her first priority as mayor was to tackle the coronavirus risk, which her predecessor Arnold Murray called the “biggest threat to our community in its history”.
“At the moment my concerns are around the wellbeing of our elders and people in our community,” she said.
“The health of our community is paramount.
“We are going to focus on getting through COVID-19 for the next six months, it might even be nine months.
“My message to the community is that they need to listen to the advice and take precautions. “The government are doing these things … because once it gets into the community, it won’t get out.
“We can’t let it get into our community because we have a lot of vulnerable elders and young people.”
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