WHITSUNDAY Mayor Andrew Willcox has extended his sympathies to the shop owners and staff affected by the fire that destroyed businesses in the Whitsunday Shopping Centre.
“On behalf of the councillors and staff at Whitsunday Regional Council, I would like to extend our thoughts and sympathies to all those business owners, staff and members of the community affected by the devastating fire at the Whitsunday Shopping Centre,” Cr Willcox said.
“The full impact of the fire may not yet be known, but I’m confident that our community will pull together and support those affected by this tragedy.
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous effort of the emergency services crews who responded to the fire, including our local teams from Airlie Beach, Proserpine and Bowen, who were supported by resources from Mackay.”
Cr Willcox, who inspected the site this morning alongside council’s Acting CEO Barry Omundson said council would assist in any way it could.
“Investigations into the cause of the fire commenced earlier today, and council’s building and plumbing team are assisting the Queensland Police Service in carrying out those investigations,” he said.
Meanwhile Member for Whitsunday Jason Costigan surveyed the site after being briefed by Superintendent Bruce McNab from the Queensland Police Service.
“The loss of local businesses is absolutely heartbreaking; likewise the loss of the art gallery operated by our volunteer members of Art Whitsunday… less than four weeks after I called in,” Mr Costigan said.
“I’ve been in contact with our arts community today to assure them I’ll do whatever I can to help get a new gallery up and running.”
Nerida Conisbee Ray White Group Chief Economist The latest population projections from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have just been released. While getting long term projections correct is notoriously difficult, the reality is that in the next 48 years we are very likely to have a much bigger Australia. … Read more
Nerida Conisbee Ray White Group Chief Economist The number of single people purchasing homes is falling but becoming more evenly matched by gender. Increasing cost of housing has meant that the proportion of single people purchasing homes is falling. In 2014, an estimated 26.2 per cent of purchasers were single. … Read more