FNQ Regional Plan: Panel to discuss Kuranda Range and urgent update
It doesn’t happen often but three levels of government were in agreement that the Kuranda Range needs to take centre stage on a vital plan which will lead to highway heaven.
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IF there’s one thing all levels of government can agree on it's that the Kuranda Range needs to be a heavier focus on the outdated FNQ Regional Plan from 2009.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Shaping Far North Queensland discussion at the Crystalbrook Flynn had a panel which included Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, Barron River MP Craig Crawford, Cairns Regional Councillor Brett Moller, Douglas Shire Council Mayor Michael Kerr and Deputy leader of the Opposition Jarrod Bleijie.
Mr Entsch said there was a real consensus the Regional Plan needed to be updated with urgency and the Kuranda Range should be at the top of the list.
“It should be a big factor,” Mr Entsch said.
“The current plan does not take into consideration any of the work that is going to be up the Tablelands and the significance of connectivity between Cairns and the Tablelands.
“We need to accelerate the process, the money is available let’s do it now, let’s do it in the next 12 -18 months.”
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said the range should be a federal road.
“The access between Cairns and Tablelands should be a road of national significance,” Mr Crawford said.
“In the meantime we will work on short and medium solutions to try and make the road work.
Mr Crawford said the road needed to be safer for the heavy transport.
“There is no emergency place for you to drive into the side. We need a rest stop for the truckies,” he said.
“At the moment they have two choices they go over the edge or into the hill.”
“We also need to be able to clear the range quickly.”
Mr Crawford said they were committed to creating a new FNQ Regional Plan in order to improve the approach to infrastructure planning, local jobs and create a more liveable region.
“I can confirm the FNQ Regional Plan is a priority. Cairns is at the top of our list for regional plan reviews,” he said.
“We are fortunate in a way that our plan is the next one coming because of the time with the shift in Covid.
“If a new plan had of come out in 2017 we’d be sitting around saying we can’t use it because the world shifted.”
Mayor Michael Kerr said the plan needed to be updated because Douglas Shire wasn’t even included in the original.
“Douglas is a classic example, we weren’t part of this area when it was made. Douglas has changed, the whole region has changed,” he said.
“It’s important the plan is updated for the whole region.”
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Originally published as FNQ Regional Plan: Panel to discuss Kuranda Range and urgent update
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