Mayor says stay at home, hold the line

BY CR BEN TAYLOR

MAYOR, CITY OF BALLARAT

THIS week saw the introduction of Victoria’s COVID-19 Stage 3 restrictions.

The City of Ballarat, along with Committee for Ballarat, Commerce Ballarat and Ballarat Regional Tourism, really welcome these tighter restrictions as a way of keeping our community safe.

Our current confirmed cases are remaining steady but that doesn’t mean we need to relax our vigilance at all. Now, more than ever, we need to protect our elderly and those most at risk.

We all need to respect these new restrictions, which prohibit gatherings of more than two people, except for members of your immediate family or for work or education.

But what does that actually mean for the Ballarat community?

It means you shouldn’t be walking Lake Wendouree in groups of three or more. It means you shouldn’t be getting takeaway coffee in groups of three or more. It means you shouldn’t be visiting your friends’ homes just to say hi.

You can still go outside for food, medical care, exercise, work or education (when it cannot be done from home), but every social distancing precaution must be taken.

However, I would still strongly urge our residents to stay home. I ask you to be kind, stay home and do your bit to flatten the curve.

I would also urge you to be bold and stay within our municipal boundaries – Melbourne is currently recording far more cases than regional Victoria so it makes sense to stay home and stay safe.

As a community, we can look after each other to stop the virus and flatten the curve by not getting infected and by not infecting others. It’s as simple as that.

If you know someone who should be self-isolating, we want you to reach out to them and see if you can help by doing little things like ordering for them online or paying their bills over the phone.

We know Australia’s current figures look steady, and here in Ballarat we still only have a few confirmed cases, but to make these figures flatten altogether, we need strong and decisive leadership.

I have been advocating strongly to the State and Federal governments to work together, and with us here in Ballarat, to provide the measures we need, as a country and as a community, to get through this current crisis.

I have written to Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek asking for financial support for Victorian councils which are offering rate relief to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While I know this situation is not unique to Ballarat, support from the state government is vital to being able to offer rate relief to the degree we would like to.

Last week, we announced extensions on final rate instalments for businesses directly affected by the pandemic, along with a cut in interest payments.

We are doing exactly what every other level of government and the banks are doing to do our best to help our community through these unprecedented times, but we need support from state and federal governments to do this.

I, along with other civic leaders, will continue to lobby hard for all the supports, including financial, that we need to keep our community safe.

In the meantime, I again urge Ballarat residents to be kind, stay home and help flatten the curve.