Welcome!

Welcome to the The Jungle Drum, a bi-monthly column compiled by well known Douglas Shire resident and Daintree advocate Lawrence Mason. The column will touch on the issues, matters and topics poignant to the Shire and will no doubt inspire conversation, debate and good hearted banter.

The column won't shy away from covering the harder issues either - Lawrence is passionate about the Shire; whether it's commentary around the future of the Daintree ferry, rates, rainforest issues, Council matters, or anything inbetween you can be sure Lawrence will have it covered in his column.

Welcome, we're glad to have you on board Lawrence. - Michael (Ed)

Daintree locals concerned over ferry inaction

Daintree Ferry mismanagement dates back to the 2006 Douglas Shire Council purchase of Andreassen’s Ferry which was sold at a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars because the Sirron ferry wasn’t ready.

As it stands it continues with the $4.5M purchase of the ferry we see today with evaluation now below approximately $1M - this time because the new contract fell over.

Daintree and other Douglas Shire residents are now concerned at the lack of progress towards a new ferry and the recent timeline blowouts presented to Councillors.

While we understand why Councillors voted to bring the ferry back to private ownership, we worry that six or more months will now be lost in the process due to the change of direction.

One thing is for sure, if there is no new ferry by 2028 when this one must go to Cairns for drydocking, the community both locals and tourism, will left high and dry.

There are no suitable replacements nearby and we know how disastrous it is with no ferry from our experience with previous short out-of-water inspections. It is about time Council staff were directed toward strict timelines for completion of necessary works so a new ferry is ready in plenty of time.

We also question how a Council can make the same mistake twice without anyone taking responsibility for the millions of dollars of ratepayer’s money lost. So much could have been achieved with those millions.
 

Concern over Cass-a-Jams

With Cassowary numbers very healthy north of the river, it is not unusual to find large traffic jam on the road with occupants enjoying the views. One of the former owners of Black Palm, Tess Turner, coined the term 'Cass-a-Jam' and we love it!

However, in recent times there have been disturbing numbers of people exiting cars to get that perfect picture, and sadly some of these people are off tour buses.

Some locals think it is only a matter of time before someone is kicked by a Cassowary, or run over. It is perhaps time for relevant agencies to be reminding bus companies of acceptable protocols and maybe engaging with rental car companies in the interest of safety for humans and birds alike.

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*Lawrence Mason has lived at Cape Tribulation all his life, and has been involved in farming, timber and tourism. He is a former board member of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree, founding Chair of Daintree Marketing Co-operative, and has been a member of both Alexandra Bay and Mossman State High School P&C. He is also a member of the Douglas Chamber of Commerce and has a keen interest in local issues.