Category: Daintree News

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…

The iconic Daintree River is under repair after floodwaters caused erosion in its lower reaches. Tree-planting and earthworks have strengthened the river’s banks near the Daintree Village, where land washed away in record floods in recent years.

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.

New flood cameras at the Daintree River Ferry crossing will now stream images to the Douglas Dashboard, giving the community a better ability to keep a close eye on river levels this cyclone season.

The Douglas Shire Council is currently conducting a poll on a bridge versus a two-ferry option. The actual consultation is restricted and people have told us that information being presented is insufficient and misleading. Many people do not regard the process as free, fair and transparent, as it looks like a deliberate push for a bridge under the guise of consultation. Push polling is a common tactic used to get people to support one side of a poll over the other.

Douglas Shire Council hosted a public consultation meeting on Monday, as the first of seven community meetings concerning the Interim Report from Council on the Daintree River crossing options. The meeting’s specific focus was the “financial and services aspects of a bridge or two ferries.”

We acknowledge the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Bama as the rightful custodians of this land, and we seek to assist the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation in achieving the aspirations of the custodians..
Jabalbina have asked that their letter (to UNESCO) not be published. DSSG respects that request, has removed it from DSSG websites and social media and asked any others who have published it to do the same.

As a retired Community Development Worker experienced in social research for community organisations and local government, I believe it is important to explore the current research/survey methodology being undertaken by the Douglas Shire Council.

The Daintree River Crossing Options Report prepared by the Douglas Shire Council is not an economic analysis that governments would use to determine if an option is worth funding. Cost Benefit Analysis reports are used to show if a project generates a net public benefit or cost. The Cost Benefit Analysis shows: Two Ferry Option yields a $6.817 million net benefit while the Bridge Option yields a $40.644 million net cost.

A coalition of organisations made up of Douglas Shire Sustainability Group, the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre, the Queensland Conservation Council, The Wilderness Society and the Australian Conservation Foundation have collectively written to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to raise concerns about development threats to the Daintree Lowland Rainforest…