Another candidate in the running as Councillor in the upcoming 19 March election is Mossman born resident Roy Zammataro who has lived in the region most of his life.

Calling Newell Beach home for the past 25 years, Mr Zammataro and Wife Nadia raised their three children Talia, Amina and Karl, in the region.

Zammataro has a diverse background covering a cross section of different industries in the Shire including construction, road building, bridge building and supermarket and hotel management together with his current position as a supervisor and trainer of a number of local indigenous youth.

Apart from rolling up his sleeves ready to be in the running as Councillor, he has for many years been involved with numerous volunteer organisations in the Shire.

“I was a member of the Mossman State Primary School Parents and Citizens committee for 11 years, five years of those as president. In my time in this role, along with the rest of the committee, we successfully engineered the planning and subsequent staging of the Centenary Celebrations in 1998. I was also part of the committee that organised and ran the Mossman High School 50th Anniversary in 2005,” he said.

With a passion for the prosperity of the Douglas Shire, he said living in a safe and happy community is another asset to add to the already natural beauty of the region.

Committed to maintaining that natural beauty, he sees the importance of sensible sustainable growth.

“I support the need for sensible and sustainable economic growth while ensuring that our two largest employers, agriculture and tourism, continue to flourish,” he said.

While noting there are various needs within the Daintree region, one issue that he said stands out is mains power.

“The main focus of residents opposed to mains power is the concern that it could result in development that would spoil the natural beauty of this area.“Access to new forms of renewable energy, available for private use, could be an answer to this debate,” he said.

With the continued debate and slow progression of the waterfront development of The Reef Marina in Port Douglas, Zammataro believes collaboration amongst all key stakeholders is what is required.

“The waterfront and marina development discussion will only be finalised when it is clear that all industry concerned will be accommodated to fit into this project.”

As the Mossman Botanic Gardens project continues to progress, Zammataro believes it will be a positive addition to Mossman.

“The Mossman Botanic Gardens would be an added bonus to the Mossman Streetscape upgrade.

“It will also serve as a research centre and tourist attraction, the latter hopefully being a means to contributing to the funding of the running costs.”

Zammataro said the Mossman aged care facility is a step in the right direction as well, for the elderly residents of Mossman.

“The announcement of the aged care facility, to be built in Mossman, is due to the perseverance of a group of dedicated locals who have fought hard for 20 years.

“Many of Mossman’s elderly have had to move to Ozcare Port Douglas, even though it is still in the Shire, it has always been a problem when one partner cannot drive.

“From personal experience, my parents lived their final years at Ozcare in Port Douglas. Even though Ozcare staff were very caring and professional it would have been nice for my parents to have been in familiar surroundings,” said Zammataro.

The issue of sourcing a new site to relocate the existing Paws and Claws facility has been on Council’s agenda and while previous recommended locations have been unsuccessful, Council has continued the search.  Zammataro said the new location is a must.

“The preservation of Paws and Claws is a must, as they play an important role in the caring of domestic pets and the placing of unwanted animals.

“The relocation should be in an area that will not cause any ill will amongst residents of the Shire, thus resulting in the creation of a permanent facility.”

Another visible issue to tourists and locals is the continued turnaround of empty shops both in Port Douglas and Mossman.  Zammataro said it’s the nature of transient populations.

“As Mossman and Port Douglas have a transient population, reduced trade in the summer months means that some shops will close.

“Small business has a huge bearing on employment in the Shire, so means of keeping these businesses afloat in the quiet times need to be addressed,” he said.

Another issue that effects businesses in the region as well as most residents, is the intermittent internet connectivity.  While Douglas Chamber of Commerce and Douglas Shire Council are collaborating with Telstra on the issue, they are also actively engaging with representatives on behalf of the NBN.  Zammataro believes that strong advocacy from Council is needed in this instance.

“NBN is active in parts of the shire, to the benefit of the users, so Council should rally government to provide for the whole of the shire,” he said.