Lord Mayor with OzHarvest Newcastle’s Peter Tom and Kellie Walker (community grants)
CITY TASKFORCE Inaugural meeting on 17 April
LOCAL COUNCILS Supporting Communities
ACTIVE COVID-19 CASES IN THE HUNTER NEW ENGLAND HEALTH REGION HAVE DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY, THANKS TO SUCCESSFUL LOCKDOWN MEASURES. BUT YOU’D BE HARD-PRESSED TO FIND A SINGLE PERSON WHO ISN’T STILL AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC, WHETHER THROUGH LOST WORK, CHANGES TO BUSINESS OPERATIONS, OR THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE IN LOCKDOWN.
WORDS CLAIRE BRADSHAW
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At times like these, we look to our leaders to provide strong guidance and support – and on a local level, that means city councils. Here, we’ll take a look at how councils in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and introduced measures to support their communities through a time of crisis.
The City of Newcastle’s COVID-19 response has been robust and fast-moving. Since March, the specially formed COVID-19 Emergency Response Team has been working 12 | www.intouchmagazine.com.au
with government partners and local stakeholders to mitigate the effects of the virus on Novocastrians. A comprehensive Community and Economic Resilience Package was announced towards the end of March, putting forth an initial $5.5 million for financial and social support. The package incorporates: • COUNCIL SUPPORT ($1,500,000) – Flexibility on Council fees and policies for businesses and individuals; includes waiving of library fees, returning booking fees and maintaining current parking rates. • RENT RELIEF FOR CITY OF NEWCASTLE TENANTS ($732,000) – A 50% discount on rent for two quarters for small businesses operating out of Council-owned buildings. • COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM ($700,000) – Financial and in-kind support for local not-for-profits, nongovernment organisations, community groups and organisations delivering essential services and solutions to COVID-19 challenges. • PROCUREMENT AND PURCHASING SUPPORT ($535,000) – Increasing local weighting assessment wherever possible, and fast-tracking invoice payments for existing contracts with local suppliers. • CITY TASKFORCE AND INDUSTRY RESPONSES
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($500,000) – A task force incorporating business, industry and government representatives from key sectors to coordinate the recovery phase and provide support to targeted industries. LOCAL ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAMS ($500,000) – Professional development training and accreditation opportunities for local small business owners and staff. FINANCIAL HARDSHIP SUPPORT ($468,000) – Enabling residents to undertake payment plans for rates and waiving interest penalties until end of June 2021. LEAN IN NEWY ($150,000) – A soon-to-be-launched social action and economic incentive app, pairing volunteers with local organisations in need of assistance and rewarding participants with points redeemable at local establishments. NEWCASTLE LIBRARIES E-LIBRARY EXPANSION ($100,000) – Expanded access to e-books, online newspapers and magazines, e-audio, movie and music streaming, and more e-Library services. NEWCASTLE LIBRARIES ONLINE LEARNING ($60,000) – Expanded subscription to Studiosity, a one-on-one tutoring initiative for students, as well as thousands of online training programs available through LinkedIn’s online learning platform, Lynda.
