Federal and state leaders will attend a funeral for the eight children at the centre of a shocking massacre in Cairns.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his state counterpart, Annastacia Palaszczuk, will join about 3000 people for the memorial at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday.
The four girls and four boys, aged between two and 14, were found dead in their Manoora home on December 19, prompting an outpouring of grief and shock that extended far beyond the city.
"I am there in solidarity with everybody concerned and I hope that us all stopping to reflect at the service, that that gives comfort to all those who have been terribly impacted by this appalling tragedy," Mr Newman said on Friday.
Mr Newman was due to have a private meeting with members of the children's family on Friday afternoon.
The presence of politicians at the funeral, particularly during the Queensland election campaign, has prompted mixed reactions from locals.
Child safety worker Simone Stacey said the attendance by politicians was important, provided it was for the right reasons and not "just to show their faces".
"I guess for the indigenous community, we do need that support," Ms Stacey said.
But their presence could be interpreted as inappropriate, said one Murray Street resident, who didn't want to be named.
"Probably for the family because, you know, it's their sorrow," she said.
However, Cairns mayor Bob Manning said the visits should be welcomed.
"The fact that the leader of the federal opposition and the state opposition are attending, I think that's the sort of bipartisan support that we want to see from our politicians, particularly on matters such as this," he told AAP.
"Let's look at the positives here. It's a wonderful expression of support and personally I'll be very glad to see these sort of representatives there."
Deputy mayor Terry James said it was a no-win situation for politicians.
"I think they would cop a lot of flack if they didn't turn up, and they're going to cop a lot of flack from some areas of the community for turning up," he said.
Share
