Mayor, community want action to rescue future of Mornington Island

It’s a beautiful slice of Queensland, but one that never makes it  on to postcards. A place where chronic illness, early death and unemployment is rife. Now the community’s leader is desperate for help.

Teenagers with type two diabetes, a cemetery with the graves of people taken far too soon and crowded homes where families share cramped bedrooms and wonder what the future holds.

Welcome to Mornington Island – a slice of paradise that should be a jewel in the State’s crown, but is in danger of becoming the place Queenslanders forgot.

Look beyond the stunning beaches and there is a community facing battles unimaginable to mainland Queenslanders, with almost half the population facing chronic illness, one in 10 people not knowing where they will sleep at night, and one in four out of work.

Elders like Louisa Roughsey, aged in her 80s, want action now – before it’s too late for children like young Arizona, whose mum Cheree Loogatha has lived on the island her entire life.

Elder Louisa Roughsey with her six-year-old great-granddaughter May. Picture: Brian Cassey

“What the future holds for this community, only God knows,” Ms Roughsey said.

“I’ve lived here and I’ve seen what happened.

“I went around the cemetery the other day, a couple of weeks ago, and I was shocked to see the graves there from dialysis.

“We never had that before, because people used to live off the land.”

About 40 per cent of the Mornington Island community suffers with chronic disease. Picture: Brian Cassey

Mayor Kyle Yanner is fighting for opportunity amid hardship and disadvantage.

It is an uphill battle, but one he is not willing to give up on.

According to Cr Yanner, about 40 per cent of his community is suffering from chronic illnesses – in some cases there are people as young as their teens with type 2 diabetes and heart conditions.

The community is battling crowded housing – with up to 11 people living in some two bedroom homes, a council statistical analysis has revealed.

Kids on Mornington Island playing on the island’s main street. Picture: Brian Cassey

The same analysis also shows there is an unemployment rate of up to 25 per cent and about one in 10 people don’t have a place to call home.

And only 18 per cent of the 201 students at Mornington Island State School attended class at least 90 per cent of school days, according to latest statistics.

The pressure from Cr Yanner and his council has proven hard to ignore.

The state’s Environment Minister and the community’s “Ministerial Champion”, Meaghan Scanlon, will visit the island soon to see the hardship for herself.

Asked what he wanted government representatives to see when they visited the island, Cr Yanner put it simply: “I want them to see the struggles all my families have.”

Mornington Island Mayor Kyle Yanner is fighting for opportunity for his community. Picture: Brian Cassey

“I want them to see why it’s so hard to get a good night’s sleep, I want them to see the overcrowded housing,” he said.

“I want them to feel us – our pain and our cry for help.”

Cr Yanner said he felt “sometimes” his community was forgotten and that was why he was “making a bit of noise” to ensure they were being seen and heard.

“I’m hoping that now that we are seen and heard that something will be done about it,” he said.

Cr Yanner is searching for solutions to create jobs and opportunities, including plans for a market garden – where fresh produce can be grown locally on the island.

He wants federal funds to get the idea off the ground, and will pitch the proposal when he meets with federal Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt in the coming weeks.

“We will bypass freight, food will be a lot cheaper. And, like I said, it will be jobs,” Cr Yanner said.

“We will be eating nutritious, wholesome, bloody beautiful food.”

The Loogatha family yarn around the fire. Photo: Brian Cassey

Another idea he will put forward to the federal government is the establishment of several cattle stations in a bid to create “meaningful” jobs and to “get people back on country”.

He is also still calling for an independent audit into services on the island, something the state government has so far stopped short of committing to.

Mother of two Cheree Loogatha, who has lived on Mornington Island all of her life, said she enjoyed living on the island but acknowledged it was hard – pointing to the price of food.

She said her father used to work on a market garden when she was a girl and supported the Mayor’s push to establish one on the island.

Teen boys at the Mornington Island PCYC. Photo: Brian Cassey

“When he was out there working, I was only small … he used to bring back fresh veges and everything for us. It was good,” she said.

Ms Loogatha said she lived in a two bedroom house with four people – something she said was a challenge.

“We’re cramped up in one room,” she said.

“Because the other room we use it as our clothes room because we’ve got so much clothes – there’s four of us.

“So it’s actually hard with us all cramped up in one room.”

Mornington Island children arrive for a free cooked breakfast supplied by the Gangurrumungalen - Gully Peters - Memorial Church. Photo: Brian Cassey

On Friday morning, The Courier-Mail visited Mornington Island Uniting Church where the pastor, Gewa Au, served up breakfast to local kids in a bid to get them to go to school – greeting them with a smile.

“We do it every weekday,” he said.

“We haven’t been doing too well – sometimes four, five (children turn up).

“But now that I’m back (after a brief time away), I’m going to go around and knock on all of the doors.”

And sometimes, he will even beep the horn of his car.

The breakfasts have been run for a few weeks now, in conjunction with the organisation Junkuri Laka.

Nikita Sellin serves a free cooked breakfast to a child. Picture: Brian Cassey

The pastor moved to the island about three and half years ago and used to live at Labrador on the Gold Coast.

“At times it’s been challenging,” he said. “We are here for the people, not for us.”

Nikita Sellin, who lives on the island and is the chief executive of Junkuri Laka Wellesley Island Governance Law and Association – an organisation that provides assistance in a number of areas – is questioning what the future holds for the next generation on the island.

“Because you’ve got 30-year-olds on dialysis,” she said.

Mornington Island Elder Duncan Kelly ... life expectancy in the community is significantly shorter than elsewhere. Photo: Brian Cassey

“You’ve got kids not even finishing year 10, the education level is very low.

“So what does the future hold for the next generation here?

“That’s the why the elders are very worried there is no hope, there is no future.”

A government spokesman said Mayor Yanner was “right” and acknowledged there was a long way to go to close the gap in Indigenous communities.

“The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships met with Mayor Yanner last month as did the Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef as Ministerial Champion,” he said.

The Loogatha family, including mum Cheree (blue shirt) gather around a fire. Picture: Brian Cassey

“The Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef will also visit the island soon.

“The government will continue to engage with Mayor Yanner to improve services and conditions for the people and families who live on Mornington Island and build on the significant investment in health, education and housing.”

Cr Yanner said he was happy with the meeting with the Minister.