The Newsport was requested to send this letter to relevant elected representatives and candidates. Received responses follow the letter below.

Firstly, When the dredge was bought up to Port Douglas to reopen the Dickenson’s inlet mouth several years ago, why wasn’t the same dredge taken a few Kilometres North to the mouth of the Mossman river between Newell Beach and Cooya Beach?

This river has become silted up over the years and can be easily walked at low tides. This river has an excellent boat ramp better than at Rocky Point or even Daintree River. It has a better parking area, offers protection from the winds, yet the river access and boat ramp has become near useless for Mossman, Newell and Cooya Beaches, Miallo even Julatten boaties for the last 4 years plus. Half the boats seen at the Port Douglas ramp would be from Mossman etc.

This river situation causes untold damage to boats, injuries and untold heartache and unforeseen costs, not to mention the damage caused to the environmental choking of this vital local waterway.

There is also a volunteer radio watch station located in the nearby building next to the ramp, but the indifference to the dredging of this river mouth has caused this lifesaving voluntary organisation to near fold, as any available emergency boat would not be capable of being launched from this location.

Yes Port Douglas does have the Volunteer Coast Guard, but the radios are not always manned locally nor are there always bodies available to man the vessels. Newell Beach by good fortune used to have (may still have) an around the clock radio listener and ample boaters and crews living within minutes from the ramp.

Economically had you transferred the dredge just a few kilometres North of Port Douglas after that river’s mouth had been cleared, the cost of the extended exercise would most likely have been similar in cost compared to the “extended” dredging carried out soon after the mouth and inlet passageway been deepened up to the Whitehaven Marina area, well past the Marina Mirage marina.

You could have won the hearts of many locals by allowing this oh so necessary works to be carried out, you would have showed an understanding of local issues affecting everyday voters so why did you also ignore what has been requested for so long?

Secondly, do you support the call to ban reef fishing?

Thirdly, do you support the recent talks and planned proposals of the Coral Sea closure initiated by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Green groups?

Fishpest Glenn, Mossman.

Response
Val Schier, Mayor Cairns Regional Council

1. Queensland Transport (QT) planned and carried out the dredging of Dickson Inlet. They called tenders in August 2009 and appointed a contractor who carried out the work in 2010.

QT met the cost except for an area in front of the Meridan and Closehaven marinas that was additional work requested and paid for by Council. QT wouldn't fund the dredging of that area. The marinas also engaged the contractor to do some work inside their marinas.

In mid 2011, QT called tenders for dredging work in front of the Newell Beach boat ramp. Again QT engaged a contractor and funded the work. They did the area out in front of the boat ramp to the deeper water in the Mossman River.

At the actual mouth of the river coastal processes change the depths throughout the year. While that may require boats to take care when leaving the river, by far the worst problem, the area in front of the ramp now has a good depth of water. About 3,000m3 of sand and silt was dredged from that area. The work was completed in October 2011.

The reasons the two jobs weren't done together were because of QT budget constraints, and the fact that water depths at the Newell Beach boat ramp were too shallow for the larger dredge that did the work in Dickson Inlet.

2. I support the protection of the Barrier Reef and I also support reef fishing.

3. I have concerns about the proposed Coral Sea closure. 

Response
Ian Thomas, candidate for Mayor of Cairns Regional Council

Thanks for the email and questions. In relation to to the dredging works I must admit I do not at this stage have a clue about this.

At this point I am not even aware whether this is a local, state or federal responsibility, however I will make enquiries.

In relation to the fishing and reef closures I am basically totally against both proposals. Australians are really having democracy torn from us by a minority of individuals who have never been democratically elected by a majority.

We are constantly being pushed around and having decisions made by southern based politicians that threaten and destroy our livelihoods and lifestyles. I do not intend to go on about this with facts and figures as it is not necessary.

These are my responses and if some people believe these responses to be those of a "redneck" so be it. 

Response
Warren Entsch, Federal Member for Leichhardt

I really can't answer that but I recommended you contact Jason O'Brien in the first instance, he'd have to know that. If he (Glenn) doesn't get a response in a timely manner from Jason I would encourage Glenn to put it through to Kempton (LNP candidate David Kempton).

While he may or may not be able to give information on the history he may be able to give some comment on future action.

The second one (ban on reef fishing) absolutely not. I'm of the view that there should be one criteria alone in regards to fishing whether it be recreational, sport, or commercial, that is called sustainability.

If it is not totally sustainable it does not happen. But a blanket ban just for the sake of shutting it down, in my view, anywhere where you just close it off is the most lazy and inappropriate form of management.

In relation to Pew (Charitable Trusts) it is interesting to note that they're focussing their efforts on Australian fisheries. Why haven't they gone to the Gulf of Mexico?

Why are they focussing on a sustainable fishery when in the Gulf of Mexico in their own home country is absolutely unsustainable and you don't hear a whisper?

Why aren't they targeting the American license holders or the tuna boats that are working in PNG and along the Coral Sea boundary?

Politically it's too hard for them so they go to the lowest common denominator so they come to Australia where unfortunately we have a State and Federal Government they is beholding to the Greens and they are doing their bidding.