Good news on recovery front

I’M NOT telling you anything you didn’t already know but 2020 has been a shocker.

It was already tough coming out of the blocks economically for the Far North but the world was dealt a bitter blow in the form of coronavirus.

Thankfully, touch world-heritage listed timber, we have dodged a massive bullet in terms of an all-out health crisis. However, the knocks will continue to keep coming economically.

COVID has thrown a curveball on everything from whether we think one square is more prudent than two to whether we should be so reliant on China, or any other country for that matter, in the future.

But today there are two positive stories coming out of COVID on our front page that are worth shouting about.

Land sales are going through the roof (pun intended) as Far Northerners pounce on new federal and state government grants.

The stimulus is working a treat in a region that is doing it tougher than most.

Real estate and building insiders say the stimulus package is doing what it was meant to do.

One agent had contracts inked on 18 blocks on the first weekend after the grants were announced.

The other bit of happy news is the announcement of a new route between the Sunshine Coast and the Far North which will begin mid-July.

Tickets for the three flights per week go on sale in coming weeks.

The announcement, while not a game-changer, sure beats the hell out of talking about closures and restrictions.

Jennifer Spilsbury

Editor