Category: Daintree News

There is something inherently human in the practice of ritual.From the sacred rituals of spirituality and worship, to the obsessive urgings of bedtime door-lock checks, rituals bookend the important cycles in our lives and they reinforce the gravity of occasions and locations for which our high regard must never become diminished.

A “Save the Daintree, Again” campaign is being launched by a coalition of local and national conservation groups who see the push for a bridge over the Daintree River, coastal road upgrade and reticulated electricity as a threat to the areas’ Outstanding Universal Values, the foundation of its World Heritage Listing.

Off-grid Daintree residents and businesses will now receive the same financial assistance as everybody else in the State, as part of the State government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contrary to the Douglas Shire Council’s claim in its Daintree Crossings Options Paper that “no significant environmental or hydrological studies (are) required to obtain approvals (for a bridge)”, the Qld Department of Environment and Science have informed DouglasNews.Network that any impact on the National Park and World Heritage Area “….would require thorough assessment under the relevant State and Commonwealth legislation”.

Terrain and the Wet Tropics Management Authority are calling on Wet Tropics teens to draw inspiration from the likes of David Attenborough, Greta, Dr Karl and local environmentalist Brian “Rossy” Ross and put Wet Tropics environmental issues in the spotlight.

Questions about the legality, process and cost of Douglas Shire Council’s decision to suspend the Daintree ferry contract and to explore a bridge remain unanswered… but will naturally surface given that this was the biggest contract ever awarded by the Douglas Shire.

Learn why a proposed Daintree Bridge may saddle the Douglas Shire Council and its ratepayers with over $60 million in debt…

The Daintree River Crossing Options Assessment Report, while meeting basic Council requirements, is woefully inadequate for such an environmentally sensitive area, and will undoubtedly receive national and international scrutiny and criticism.”

This article investigates the costings and issues associated with the four bridge options presented in Douglas Shire Council’s Daintree River Crossing – Options Assessment Report released in August 2020. (see References below). According to estimates, the lowest cost bridge option would be around $53 million with the other options being considerably more. The two ferry option will only cost $2.8 million and this will be rapidly recovered through ferry charges.

At the Douglas Shire Council Meeting held Tuesday 25 August, 2020, Council made its first tentative steps in the debate with a decision to release a consultation paper on the crossing of the Daintree River.