Queensland Premier, cabinet to visit Cairns amid flood recovery
Far North locals will have the chance to meet the Premier and ministers this week in Cairns, with questions about disaster recovery top of the agenda.
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Tough questions about the region’s recovery from a “horrendous” start to the year will be asked this week as part of a series of face-to-face meetings with Queensland ministers.
Premier Steven Miles and all 18 ministers will converge in Cairns on Wednesday for a community cabinet session at Cairns State High School.
It comes more than two months after ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper devastated the region, with issues including emergency support, roads and future development still front of mind for many.
A trio of northern beaches community groups spanning Yorkeys Knob, Machans Beach and Holloways Beach have joined forces ahead of the event to request sit-downs with key ministers.
Yorkeys Knob Residents Association president Adrian Gover said while immediate issues needed to fixed, ongoing development was also a huge concern to people living north of Cairns.
“There’s a massive amount of concern for the amount of residential development in what was traditionally flood areas,” he said.
“These are areas that in past reports over past decades, it was suggested these areas not be built up … so flat areas have been affected.”
The groups will also request the government reassess SES training requirements in a bid to get more volunteers into emergency services.
“(Another issue) is looking at the housing needs of displaced people, with an emphasis of keeping people connected within their community,” Mr Gover said.
Advance Cairns chief executive Jacinta Reddan said the advocacy group would be pushing for progress on road infrastructure and health, particularly in pursuit of university hospital status.
“In order for the region to continue to grow, we need to make sure that we have a health system and a health services system that can meet the needs of the growing population,” she said.
“We’ve seen what happened to our vulnerable road infrastructure system in the wake of the flooding. It’s really important that we ensure that our road networks will be sufficient to drive and support the growth in population, and to also ensure that we can build a climate resilient region.”
While requests to attend the town hall session or a minister meeting have closed, Cairns MP and Tourism Minister Michael Healy said there was “strong representation” among those who have registered to join.
“The simple fact is, we’ve had a horrendous start to the new year. One of our biggest employing industries, the tourism industry, has been absolutely hammered,” he said.
“It’s a good opportunity to let the key decision makers in government see how we are still in recovery mode in some areas.”
The Cairns community cabinet session marks the second of the year after the first was held in Ipswich earlier this month.
It comes after the Liberal National Party shadow cabinet was in Cairns last week.
A group of Cairns business leaders will also lead a delegation to Brisbane in March to advocate for the region’s development.
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Originally published as Queensland Premier, cabinet to visit Cairns amid flood recovery
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