Community help for visitors
CAIRNS businesses have linked up with community organisations to cook thousands of meals for backpackers struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 crisis.
Adventure Cairns and Beyond owner Erryn ‘Ezzy’ Wells and a team of volunteers, including four qualified chefs, have prepared “about 5000 meals” for unemployed international visitors to the region.
The group started cooking at 2pm yesterday afternoon and finished in the early hours of this morning.
“We’ve been working closely with Red Cross and Anglicare and this week they donated 150kg of meat and lots of other stuff,” she said.
“The café on the corner, 92
Lake St, donated their commercial kitchen, Cheflink donated all the containers to put the food in and the Woolshed donated some veggies.
“The connections that we’re getting to make and the community coming together has just been amazing.”
The meals will feed up to 150 backpackers. “They should be able to space it out to last a couple of weeks,” Wells said.
in the CBD at 9pm on Wednesday.
Police allegedly seized a bag he dropped at the scene containing cash and cannabis.
The Cairns Magistrates Court heard yesterday Mr Bouhassoun was ordered to surrender his passport and not approach an international departure point as part of his bail conditions, before telling the court he doesn’t want to leave Australia. “I want to stay here,” he said.
Magistrate Trevor Black queried his income and job prospects which would likely be limited during the virus crisis.
“The proceeds (of crime charge) seem to suggest … Mr Bouhassoun’s capacity to earn an income might be subject to illegal activity,” he said.
“The concern is Mr Bouhassoun has a propensity for evading police. It appears he is in breach of bail conditions in New South Wales. He is transient. He has no source of income other than the suspected proceeds of crime.”
Mr Bouhassoun is charged with unregulated high-risk activities, trespassing, obstructing police, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of a thing used in the commission of a crime and possession of property suspected of being the proceeds of crime.
The court heard he was living in a Grafton St hostel.
“I understand him to be living off savings,” duty solicitor Michael Finch said.
The backpacker was granted bail with the case adjourned until May 14.