LETTER TO ED: Mayor's Quaids Dam views concerning, Port Douglas will always pay the bills, be the heartbeat of Douglas Shire
LETTER TO ED
Dear Editor,
Thank you Michael for your recent video interview with the Douglas Shire's new Mayor, Lisa Scomazzon.
It was an interesting and informative interview revealing the new Mayor and her interest, or lack of such, in her rate base.
Port Douglas is the place in the Shire that generates most of the income for Douglas Shire, it is the reason the industrial areas of Craiglie exists and why Mossman, the hardware and its industrial area will still exist after the Mill closes.
It is the reason for the Cooya Beach residential expansion, Port gardens and the habitat. Many people from Julatten, Mossman, Oak Beach, Mowbray, Cairns and the rest of the Shire work in Port Douglas. It supports the Daintree and its tourism, the Mossman Gorge tourism centre and infrastructure.
The Great Barrier Reef tourism and the major Investment in Port Douglas that is injected into the economy facilitates access to the Reef.
The many resorts and accommodation houses in Port Douglas and their thousands of interstate and local investors, the restaurants and cafes in the Shire, the vast supply network of food required for them and the tourists.
Coles, Woolworths and IGA all rely on, or exist, because of Port Douglas.
Recreational and professional fishing, airport flights quotas, hire car fleets in Cairns and Port and many other offshoots of the tourism industry, it also plays a large part in tourism and economy of Cairns, Mareeba and Cooktown - the list goes on.
The Mill used to contribute but now its future and agriculture as a whole may take years to re-establish, but only with some vision and leadership.
As I mentioned in my last letter the Douglas Shire needs a visionary leader and Council but already the new Mayor appears to display little, maybe the Councillors will display some.
Outright rejection of a new water pipeline from Quaids Dam is just one aspect of her lacklustre interview that portrayed a person lacking in any vision, just a carry on as usual approach as though everything is fine and dandy and Port Douglas will always be there to pay the bills, just as the Mill is, sorry - was...
Yes, we were hit by a natural disaster, but this should provoke a desire for change, not an apathetic reason to reject any vision for the future and the years of neglect in Port Douglas.
The CEO already expressed at least $200M as an estimate of money the State and Federal Government would need to inject into the Shire for infrastructure repairs and new works such as new pipelines throughout the Shire (and an) upgrade (to) filtration plants, but has any thought been given to Port Douglas?
Lisa has said a new pipeline to Port Douglas would be around the $60M with a flat refusal to even consider the thought, (Leichhardt MP) Warren Entsch has suggested around $70M with a positive desire to help change the fortunes of the Shire and build the pipeline, Cynthia Lui has said nothing as usual unless there’s an opportunity for a photo.
The natural disaster we received was a lot of rain... yes, rain can cause flooding of our homes and the landslides that we saw throughout the ranges and along our road systems, but natural disasters from rain are frequent events in Australia.
What happens if this rain event was to happen again in the next few years? Remember; we do live in the Wet Tropics.
Do we future proof the essential parts of our infrastructure or throw all of our money into old systems with its many drawbacks because it’s just too hard to have a vision or to care?
Our Council has had no vision for decades especially for the very place, that in essence is the one place in the Shire that pays the bills - Port Douglas.
The water, town planning, and all that is required to continue to make Port Douglas the bill payer has again been put on the back burner.
Port Douglas is of little concern to the Council as long as it keeps paying the bills, but what if Port Douglas fails? don’t think it can't happen to us.
Other places in Australia and around the world have ceased to exist or become a shadow of their former glory because of natural disasters, or poor management and a lack of understanding of where the money actually comes from.
It appears Douglas Shire just might be next. By not planning to future proof the water supply to Port Douglas, is going to see Port Douglas suffer for years, if not decades.
Whyanbeel plant is getting an upgrade and a new pipeline from the Mossman system, but it only has a outflow of just .7M/L a day and that supports the residences up to Wonga Beach - not Port Douglas.
The Mossman system supplies the rest up 12M/L a day.
Yes, a new pipe is being run to connect the two systems but essentially this I believe was to send Mossman water to future proof the Whyanbeel system, not the other way around. There have been over 400 leaks in the existing pipe system, so we need a new pipe system, not lots of patches.
Port Douglas will remain on level four restrictions for the foreseeable future, so in reality Port Douglas needs its own water supply.
I’m definitely not saying those that rely on the Whyanbeel system don’t deserve every drop of water, nor the rest of the shire's residents, but I suggest that a continual neglect on the essential needs of Port Douglas will only suck the life out of the only place left in the Shire that pays and supports everything.
$60-70M, even $150M is not a high price to guarantee water to Port Douglas, not a couple of tanks, (not reserves as they are frequently referred to) that may last three days if there is another issue in supply, or a creek that has proven its inconsistencies and failings.
Ergon had the foresight to run a new transmission line exclusively to Port Douglas decades ago just to help guarantee power to the most important asset in the Shire, funny how nobody rolls their eyes and laughs at the fact that it runs through Mareeba Shire to supply electricity to Port Douglas.
The rest of the Shire is supported through the older transmission lines that run through Mareeba Shire, telecommunications all run through Mareeba Shire, roads access runs through Mareeba and Cairns.
The new $40-50M bike track runs from Cairns and through the rainforest, but everybody thinks that is a great asset for tourism, as the helicopters fly in excavators to cut a road through the Shire's rainforests.
Yet water, 'oh no that’s ridiculous'! We can’t have that run through Mareeba Shire, it's so much better to not worry about Port Douglas and just band aid its future, hoping some billionaire will come along and have a vision for Port Douglas.
Oh! that’s right the last one who had a vision for Port Douglas is dead, and the latest one is selling up and leaving. Something about a lack of vision by the Council for the future...
The Water in Quads Dam is not owned by Mareeba Shire, it is allocated by the State Government.
The Pipeline, yes, would have to run through Mareeba Shire, but if that is so upsetting to the new Mayor and existing CEO of our Shire then lets not be hypocrites and lets chop down the transmission towers and dig up our telecommunication system and replant the rainforest easement that runs down the Rex Range.
Hopefully I am being too harsh in my assessment of Lisa’s first interview as Mayor. Maybe Lisa, Roy, Abigail, Damian and Michael can show true leadership and vision for Port Douglas.
I’m glad there was once great foresight and vision from those in the past who were interested in development, infrastructure and the needs of Port Douglas and recognised how Port Douglas and all that it provides, is in essence, the Douglas Shire.
Kind regards,
Trevor Frizelle
- You can watch the video interview talked about in this Letter to the Editor here.
- A reminder the views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and author only and do not reflect those of the editor or Newsport staff.
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