Local Briefs

l LUCKY MOURILYAN

A MOURILYAN woman has won nearly $100,000 in last weekend’s lottery Super 66 draw. The Cassowary Coast resident held the only division one winning entry. She is now one step closer to owning a home with her daughter. In the meantime the search continues for the winner of a $2 million Keno prize at the Mourilyan Hotel four weeks ago.

l BUSINESS LUNCH

ADVANCE Cairns, Cairns

Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tropical North Queensland are hosting a special lunch on May 9 at which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deputy Premier Steven Miles will speak. The lunch is at the Pullman Cairns International hotel.

l DRAINAGE WORKS

tralia to pass over the 300,000 mark,” said Cummings Economics director Bill Cummings.

“The figures indicate that Cairns LGA (Local Government Area) staged a major post-COVID recovery in 202122 adding 2900 in population (1.7 per cent growth) after plunging to a mere growth of 439 in 2020-21 due to COVID restrictions and well ahead of recent years of less than 1 per cent.

“Among the northern cities however, it was pipped in absolute growth by Townsville at 3062 (1.5 per cent growth) but Cairns led in percentage growth (1.7 per cent increase).”

Cairns is second behind

Townsville and ahead of Mackay (125,162), Rockhampton (83,723) and Darwin (149,582).

“In terms of wider servicing regions, the Cairns Tropical (Far) North region also continued to consolidate its leading position with a growth of 4101 (to 299,408), Mr Cummings said.

The Far North was ahead of the Townsville region (266,804), Northern Territory (250,702), Central Queensland (245,264) and Mackay region (186,512). Douglas Shire grew by 248 people (two per cent) to 12,693, Cassowary Coast by 126 (0.43 per cent) to 29,651 and Yarrabah by 26 (one per cent) to 2624.

Cairns Regional Council planning, growth and sustainability director Ed Johnson said the council had started work on the Towards 2050 Growth Strategy, which factored in a population of up to 265,000 by 2050.”

“A key focus of the Towards 2050 Growth Strategy, which is expected to be completed at the end of 2024, is to accommodate population increases and identify growth opportunities,” he said.

“As such, these latest figures do not impact council’s strategic planning.” l

Advance Cairns chief executive officer Jacinta Reddan said she was not surprised about the continued population growth.

“The continued diversification of the economy is fuelling an expansion across sectors, particularly in marine and health,” she said.

“Tourism will always remain a key sector for the region but this diversification brings about greater economic resilience and creates demand for different skills from trades through to highly skilled health professionals.

“We will continue to advocate for governments at all levels to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure (both hard and soft) is planned to accommodate this continued growth,” Ms Reddan said.

She said health was a priority.

UNDERGROUND drainage works that tie in with a major road upgrade have been fast-tracked to coincide with construction of a new subdivision. Cairns Regional Council has approved $1.25 million to start stormwater drain works at Johnson Rd and Giffin Rd at White Rock. The work was originally set for 2024 and was brought forward to align with planned works at a new subdivision which includes installing a new water main, kerb and channelling, inlet pits and earthworks.

Farm Calendar

PRIMARY school children around Queensland are gearing up to enter the annual farm safety calendar drawing competition hosted by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Students from prep to year six are encouraged to pick up some colouring pencils and compete for prizes by creating safety illustrations focussed on electricity, animals, machinery, quad bikes, water safety, and general health and well-being on the farm.