supreme court. arms. abortion. health
CRISPIN HULL Ominously for conservatives and the religious right, Joe Biden was silent during this week’s debate about whether he would “pack” the Supreme Court…
PUSH POLLING / Pushing the Bridge Option Divides Community
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.
PUBLIC OUTCRY / Douglas Shire Council’s Daintree Crossing Options
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.”
DSSG Media Statement / Respect for Jabalbina privacy
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Jabalbina have asked that their letter (to UNESCO) not be published.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.
Open Gardens / Everyday gardens by everyday people
The seeds for an open garden event in the Douglas Shire were sewn at the 2019 Douglas Shire Garden Awards night with beloved gardener, Costa Georgiadis. While the ‘Let It Grow’ awards reward the finest gardens, there seemed a missed opportunity for the public to visit and experience the beauty and unique nature of the entrant gardens. Passionate food grower and gardener, Monika Prins, also noticed that during the Covid lockdown, many fellow community members were getting their hands dirty in the garden. She decided to take action, and to start working on an Open Garden event. Her enthusiasm was unstoppable. She got novice veggie gardener, Mandy Stone, on board to help out, and they developed a plan and a vision for the project.
Crispin Hull / On politics and population policies
Remember when political parties were condemned for being “poll-driven”. If only they were poll-driven (rather than donor-driven) now. We would have good population, climate, energy, tax and defence policies, as various publications in the past week or so reveal…
Dr Doug Quarry / COVID Immunity and Vaccine Development
Summary of this week’s international SOS findings on the development of COVID immunity and vaccine development:
Letter to the Editor / The Ethics of DSC’s Daintree Survey
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.
Daintree Views / Op-Ed by Dr Doug Quarry
I was the superintendent of Mossman Hospital in 1983 as the Daintree blockade, led by Mike Berwick, was unfolding. While the Blockade was ultimately unsuccessful and a new road was carved from Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield, the Blockade led to the World Heritage listing of the Daintree Rainforest, limiting its development and totally preventing logging..Fast forward to 2020 – the year of COVID-19….The Bloomfield Track remains a windy unsealed road with steep sections. For an undisclosed reason, the new Council has re-opened the issue of building a bridge. I don’t understand how this became a priority….