Category: Daintree River Crossing Options

In unison, all four Councillors criticised aspects of the Daintree ferry debacle that Mayor Kerr has brought about. At Douglas Shire Council’s Ordinary Meeting held on December 15, 2020, the two-ferry or bridge question should have been finalised.   It appears, however, that the Mayor is still trying to avoid having the contract signed, by instigating a questionable last minute change to the meeting recommendation, and further, not advising all fellow Councillors of his intention to do so.

Douglas Shire Council will hold the last Ordinary Council meeting for the year on Tuesday, 15 December 2020, at 10am, and there are quite a few items of community interest on the agenda….

Today’s results of Douglas Shire Council’s consultation on the Daintree River Crossing Option confirm that 66% of Douglas Shire residents and ratepayers prefer a two-ferry service compared to 33% of people who choose a bridge. 1% prefer a single ferry.
These results consolidate the excellent work completed by the previous Council under the leadership of Julia Leu as mayor. The new consultation has wasted a year of time and resources. The previous Council approved the two-ferry option on December 3, 2019. New ferries would have been operational on July 1, 2021, in seven months time. Now, this will not happen, as a new contract needs to be signed before the contractor can commence construction of the new ferries.

Douglas Shire Sustainability Group (DSSG) welcomes the results of a survey conducted by Douglas Shire Council into the appetite for a bridge crossing the Daintree River.The survey results confirm the views of DSSG members that a bridge is neither required nor desired and that this community prefers conservation over development. Two thirds of those surveyed said they preferred a two ferry system.

The survey results are in with Douglas Shire preferring a two-ferry crossing over a bridge at the Daintree River. The detailed results, released on Douglas Shire Council’s website today, revealed a majority of those who completed the Daintree River Crossing Survey preferred a two-ferry service with 66% of the count, compared to 33% of people who chose a bridge.

Today’s featured Letter to the Editor addresses claims of a proposed bridge over the Daintree River being more environmentally friendly than. the ferry. “Members of Douglas Shire Sustainability Group (DSSG) have participated in the Douglas Shire Council’s process which is aimed at determining the appetite of residents and others for a bridge over a two ferry system, as a means of crossing the Daintree River. As the arguments in favour of a bridge have been eroded, we have noted that proponents are sticking with two arguments to support their claim that a bridge is less environmentally damaging than a ferry.”

The Douglas Shire Council’s ‘Daintree River Crossing – Options Assessment Report’ gives the costs of the four bridge options as between $53 and $75 million with the average of $60 million compared to the double ferry option of $2.8 million. The two lowest cost bridge options require the clearing of endangered forest types. It is highly unlikely that permits would be issued to clear this endangered vegetation when there are other options .

As a general member of the community with no affiliations to any political group I feel it’s important for the people of the Douglas Shire to have oversight of ALL of the questions being submitted to the DSC and the DSC’s responses. So, I am respectfully requesting that my questions and answers be published on the DNN website and Facebook page if you are agreeable.

DOUGLASNEWS.NETWORK The current Daintree River Crossing Options poll has become a football match where the umpires have changed the goal posts and the rules without…

Two meetings were held in Mossman on Friday October 2, 2020 as part of Douglas Shire Council’s public consultation on the Daintree River Crossing Options Report. DouglasNews.Network summarises the key outcomes and issues arising from the two Mossman meetings.