A tough decision but the right one

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Longreach Regional Council has welcomed the tough decisions taken today by the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Museum.

Acting Mayor, Cr Leonie Nunn, said it was important that people be discouraged from visiting the region during the current shutdown. 

“We need to ensure that visitors aren’t tempted to ride out the pandemic in our communities. That’s why we took the decision yesterday to close our own facilities, including camping grounds and visitor information centres.

“We’re a gracious and welcoming community, but we need to put ourselves first on this occasion.”

She acknowledged that the current crisis comes at the worst possible time for many of the region’s tourism businesses.

“This year had been shaping up to be one of our best tourist seasons in years. There’s been an incredible amount invested in new product at all of our major attractions and operators, and we had a slate of events that looked set to engage our whole community and visitors alike.

“It’s going to be extremely tough for the people that have worked so hard on all of these projects to see them stalled indefinitely.”

Council says it will move in the coming days to begin aggregating information from key stakeholders on the impact of the developing crisis. Cr Nunn said a meeting with key service groups tomorrow night would start the process.

The Longreach Local Disaster Management Group moved to Lean Forward status today and as a precautionary measure has set up the Local Disaster Coordination Centre.

Council is encouraging anyone who wants to stay informed about the pandemic to make use of official sites such as qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19 and health.gov.au