It is an honour and a privilege to have been chosen by the residents of Mount Isa to be your new Mayor.
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In the month since I and the other Councillors were officially sworn in, we have fully embraced our roles and the responsibilities that come with them.
My vision is for a Council that prioritises transparency and community engagement and makes informed decisions for the betterment of all residents.
We also have a vision of Mount Isa being a city and community that excels, thrives and continues to lead the way in the North West.
Of course, we cannot achieve this without adequately engaging and consulting with community members, including representatives of the business community, and we intend to do just that.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected Mount Isa, even though no confirmed cases have been recorded here at the time of writing.
Businesses have shut their doors, had to lay off staff, or significantly alter the way they go about their day-to-day operations, while sporting groups and clubs have had their futures thrown into doubt.
In the spirit of whole-of-community consultation, we sought to collect comments, data and information from those Mount Isa businesses and sporting groups that are at the coalface, to get a better idea of just how COVID-19 is affecting them.
In late April we sent out a letter to hundreds of local business owners, urging them to send us a "COVID-19 impact statement", outlining possible impacts to their operations within the next few months and beyond.
Their responses will help guide Council's decision-making processes over the next 12 months, and Council looks forward to hearing back from as many of them as possible.
The coronavirus pandemic will have lasting consequences, which we as a Council should be mindful of and take into consideration when deciding on our next courses of action.
However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
Recently the Queensland Government announced a slight relaxation of restrictions, meaning, amongst other things, our two off-leash dog parks (Edna Medley Park in Sunset, and Norm Smith Park in Mornington) could reopen to the public, and the Mount Isa Water Board was able to reopen the boat ramps at Lake Moondarra for recreational fishers and boaters.
People can also now leave their homes for non-essential shopping trips, go for drives or motorbike rides, or have a picnic.
However, we should all remember to keep doing the right thing by continuing to practise social distancing and good hand hygiene.
Together we can get through this.
Mount Isa Mayor Danielle Slade
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