
The Hillcrest Primary School horror continues to hang heavy in the hearts of the nation with the Prime Minister on Saturday visiting the site where unthinkable tragedy unravelled.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid a solemn and quiet visit to the site, flanked by his wife Jenny and Liberal Braddon MHR Gavin Pearce and his family.
Mr Morrison laid flowers among a wave of tributes already at the site before taking a moment of silent reflection.
His visit came just hours after he was in Hobart making a Federal Government financial commitment to the direct families and Devonport community who had been impacted by the tragedy.
That financial commitment saw the federal government pledge $800,000 for counselling and mental health support for those impacted.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement at a press conference alongside Premier Peter Gutwein.
"I want to say to them, whether they're the first responders, the teachers, friends, the family, the [parents and citizens association] at Hillcrest, the whole community, that Australia is one with them," Mr Morrison said.
"We grieve with them, we mourn with them and we want to do everything we possibly can to help them through this terrible, terrible, unthinkable, unimaginable tragedy.
"We're providing $800,000 to support families and communities affected in counselling support, $250,000 responders $550,000 for the broader community, to be paid to the Tasmania's Primary Health Network.
"The $550,000 includes $200,000 for additional trauma counselling in the community, there's $200,000 for the local Headspace trauma care and training and expanded supports for young people, there's $100,000 to support return of school in 2022, including training and counselling for teachers and staff and $50,000 in community mental health and wellbeing grants.
"We will reach out our arms and throw them around the community of Devonport."
Premier Peter Gutwein thanked the Prime Minister for the support from the Commonwealth, which will be rolled out over the next 18 months.
"This builds on a package that we announced late yesterday," Mr Gutwein said.
That package saw the state government offer up to $500,000 set to be handed out immediately to address "immediate needs".
"To all of those who have been impacted by this terrible, terrible tragedy, to the families of the five children who passed away, words can't express the sympathy that I feel, that Tasmanians feel, the outpouring of sympathy right across this country," Mr Gutwein said on Saturday.
The $1.3 million combined response from the governments added to a GoFundMe that had seen more than 15,000 donations and brought in $1.1 million within 48 hours of the tragedy initially unfolding.
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