Briefs

L

SUPER

Goose

PROCEEDS from Edge Hill Memorial Bowl’s Club ‘Super Goose Club’ raffle tonight will go to New Zealand’s flood appeal. Prizes include a Reef trip, a Palm Cove night’s accommodation, a restaurant voucher, cinema VIP passes, car wash vouchers, Bowlo Bistro voucher, Lenard’s voucher, chicken trays, seafood tray, meat trays, bread vouchers and more.

l WORKS DELAYED

WORKS to remove aquatic weeds and other dead materials at Centenary Lakes has been postponed due to the rain. A long-arm excavator was due to start works this week to skim the surface of the lake to help open the waterway, improve water flow, and provide wading birds with a better landing zone onto the lake. The works will be rescheduled to be undertaken in the near future.

l TRAIL STARTS ther details about the plan as well as the First Peoples Engagement Guidelines be the subject of a future workshop.

Cr Olds said he was concerned about the council endorsing state and federal aspects of the reconciliation plan and doubted any councillor had adequately read the 69-page document.

“Council has done a lot of great work in this space since 2011 when we adopted our first RAP. Unfortunately with this one, if anyone here can say they’ve read this back to front and understood it, I’d caution them that they’re telling porky pies,” he said.

“I don’t think we can vote on this without fully knowing what it means.” Cr Olds said when councillors were spending ratepayers’ money they needed to know what it was being spent on and needed to know what they were voting for.

Mayor Bob Manning was taken aback.

“It’s all very well to vote against this, but where do we go to next?,” he said.

“My view is reconciliation is like climate change, it could turn out to be a major issue in the future of this community.

“I’m sure this motion doesn’t reflect how we really feel here. I think we’re a bit confused, I’ve found confusion is rife in this area.

“I think we need to set aside a day to get a better understanding.”

Division 3 councillor Cathy Zeiger, who also voted against the motion, said it was “a very important plan that has mostly captured the council’s intent, but I feel this journey needs to be longer before (the plan) is adopted”.

“Each time I read through the document I was left with different questions.

“We’re supporting commonwealth and state initiatives – we don’t know what those initiatives fully involve just yet.”

Division 2 councillor Rob Pyne, who supported the motion with Division 4 councillor Terry James, said he could not believe that a RAP would become so contentious. “We’re fortunate to be home to two of the oldest cultures in the world. It’s important to acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 10 per cent of our population,” Cr Pyne said.

“Reconciliation is so important. There’s always going to be temptation by some to insert the wedge and incite the majority against the minority.” l BIKE RIDE

Other councillors who voted against the plan were Kristy Vallely, Max O’Halloran and Rhonda Coglan. Cr Brett Moller was absent.

The second motion to take the plan to a further workshop was passed unanimously.

CONSTRUCTION has started on the long-awaited $47million Wangetti Trail between Palm Cove and Port Douglas. An earth turning ceremony on Transport and Main Roads land at Palm Cove on Wednesday signalled the start of construction on the southern section of the 94km trail. Originally set for 2024, it 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.

A THREE-day annual Townsville to Cairns Bike Ride for Children’s Cancer Institute is due to arrive in Cairns tomorrow. More than 200 riders from across Australia are gearing up for the ride that left at 7am yesterday. The event first began in 1999 and has raised over $7.6 million of much-needed funds for Children’s Cancer Institute. This year, riders are aiming to beat the record and raise $440,000.