Works on Douglas Shire infrastructure damaged during Tropical Cyclone Ita will start in 'weeks not months' Local Government Minister David Crisafulli says.

Mr Crisafulli was in Mossman Gorge on Tuesday to introduce Disaster Recovery Coordinator Inspector Kevin Guteridge to Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.

Work on the $20 million damage bill will focus primarily on road repairs Insp Guteridge said with the Douglas Shire Council prioritising what infrastructure is fixed first. 

"Queensland Reconstruction Authority had assessors on the ground before Tropical Cyclone passed and were able to get a good idea of what had occured fairly quickly," Insp Guteridge said.

Mr Crisafulli said the state government was eager to get 'mud under its fingernails' and start work in the Douglas Shire as soon as possible. 

"It's important that work doesn't just sit there for years and we've seen that before," he said.

"An example I use often is in 2011 it took the Bundaberg Council 18 months to get work $25 million worth of work out to market. 

"In 2013 it took four months to get $40 million worth of work out.

"We want to use those processes here to approve those permanent contracts and get them rolling quickly." 

Insp Guteridge said he admired the resilience of Douglas communities' during and after the cyclone. 

"I'm nothing if not full of praise for far north Queensland communities that pull together and deal with these situations and accept these events as part and parcel of life," he said. 

"It's vital that community recovery is led by the community itself."

Emergency Management Queensland Local Controller Bob Taylor said the clean up north of Cape Tribulation following TC Ita was still ongoing. 

"Parts of the place have recovered pretty well but there are still areas that need work done," he said.

"There are spots that still have trees down but they're getting it done. 

"A lot of it now is self-help. It's on private property and we get called in to help ... it's expensive to do that sort of thing if you get people to come in but we're here to provide assistance as well."

Mr Crisafulli said during TC Ita the recently deamalgamated Douglas Shire Council had shown it could handle managing a natural disaster.  

"If people are passionate about their brand, that helps," he said. 

"The early signs are ... that [the Douglas Shire Council] is putting their shoulder to the wheel. 

"They have some financial challenges. There's no question about that but people knew that going into the vote."