Cairns mayoral debate: Candidates grapple with sustainable development debate

Managing debt, floods and urban development has come to the fore at a Cairns mayoral debate in Smithfield this week.

Mayoral candidates Amy Eden, Denis Walls, Paul Taylor and Terry James took part in the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre Mayoral Candidates Forum at the Cairns Institute, at James Cook University Smithfield campus. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns’ mayoral hopefuls have put forward their plans to flood proof vulnerable Cairns suburbs while encouraging sustainable development at a debate in Smithfield this week.

Candidates Denis Walls, Amy Eden, Paul Taylor and Terry James put forth their environmental credentials on a number of issues including how to protect the region’s World Heritage listed reef and rainforest, conservation and green waste management.

But the December flood which impacted 385 properties, wreaked havoc on roads and left council with a $113m damage bill proved to be the hottest topic of the evening.

Cairns residents attended the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre Mayoral Candidates Forum, held at the Cairns Institute on Thursday evening at James Cook University's Smithfield campus. Image: Brendan Radke

“These are going to be huge issues with huge costs and it’s something that we have to confront,” Mr Walls said of the recent natural disaster.

“We have to ensure this never happens … and that this event and the trauma it’s caused so many people … is never to occur in the future.”

Council has at least “two-to-three years” worth of work to address following the wet weather event, incumbent Terry James said.

“We need community engagement. We need to get the hydrologists and the surveyors in, build the data and there will be a lot of work to do,” Mr James said.

Cairns mayoral candidates Amy Eden, Denis Walls, Terry James and Paul Taylor all spoke at the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre Mayoral Candidates Forum, held at the Cairns Institute at James Cook University's Smithfield campus. Image: Brendan Radke

Candidate Paul Taylor ruled out major population increases in several suburbs with the CBD identified as primed for growth.

“There has to be a lot of thought put into where we position medium and high density housing,” Mr Taylor said.

“The (northern) beaches, Stratford, Redlynch are not suitable for medium and high density (development).

“The CBD is a location where high density (accommodation can occur).

“We know that supplying areas in the outskirts with water and infrastructure is a challenge.

“The budget that the next council inherits is going to be difficult. All of this needs to be taken into account.”

As the city grows, improving waste management will becoming increasingly important, Ms Eden said.

“We have thousands of units in Cairns that don’t have any recycling facilities,” she said.

“When we talk about our city growing and building that density, we need to have the appropriate recycling facilities in complexes.”

Cairns Mayor Terry James and former Mayor Val Shier and ex-Labor candidate for Leichhardt Elida Faith discussed the debate at its conclusion. Image: Brendan Radke

Mr James said Cairns’ environmental credentials were improving with the council recording its lowest landfill rates in almost a decade last year.

“This improved landfill diversion rate means there were 138 less truckloads going to landfill,” he said.

Moderator Lucy Graham called for the city’s future leaders to implement flood and heat reduction strategies and implement plans to improve biodiversity in the Wet Tropics in her opening address.

Asked to offer her vision for Cairns in 2030, Ms Eden said the city would grow sustainably under her stewardship.

“It will be a garden of Eden,” she said. “We will have achieved our climate change plan of zero emissions (for council). We’ll have a city that is thriving economically … we’ll have density in our suburban areas of Smithfield CBD and Edmonton where the infrastructure is.”

The debate was facilitated by the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre. Mayoral candidates Binda Warren, Leah Potter and John Kelly did not attend the forum.

Originally published as Cairns mayoral debate: Candidates grapple with sustainable development debate