Council is calling on the Federal Government to extend the JobKeeper Payment Scheme, establish dedicated funding streams to support investment in urban water supply and iconic tourism infrastructure, and provide insurance relief for northern Australia.
As part of a pre-submission for the 2021-22 Federal Budget, Council has outlined five key recommendation:
- Consider, develop and implement the recommended actions contained in the COVID-19 Cairns Local Recovery Plan.
- Establish a dedicated funding stream to support investment in urban water supply infrastructure projects, such as the Cairns Water Security – Stage 1 project, which will provide additional supply to support forecast population growth of the city.
- Establish a dedicated funding stream to support investment in new iconic tourism infrastructure and experiences such as the Cairns Gallery Precinct project to support the medium to long term economic recovery of tourism destinations whose economies have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
- Implement the recommendations made in the JobKeeper Payment Scheme – Cairns Submission, including an extension from 28 March to 30 June and a further review in the lead up to June 2021 to determine if a further extension is required.
- Following on from the ACCC Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry, develop and implement initiatives to provide immediate insurance premium relief, such as direct premium subsidies and/or a government backed reinsurance pool, for residents and businesses in northern Australia (including Cairns) to address insurance affordability and availability and increasing rates of non-insurance.
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