Aged care has emerged as a key issue for the Douglas Shire at a futures forum held in Port Douglas by Member for Cook David Kempton last week. 

Almost 100 people attended the event held at the Port Douglas Community Hall on Thursday.

The event featured presentations from Queensland Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey, Douglas Shire Mayor Julia Leu, tourism leader Sam Cullen, R&R Group CEO Leigh Ratcliffe and renowned architect Gary Hunt.

Following the presentations, Mr Kempton facilitated an open community priority session to identify the most important issues 

that needed to be addressed to take the Shire forward. 

"Without a doubt, aged care was the hot topic," he said. 

"With an aging population and a dire lack of appropriate facilities to cater for palliative care and respite and yet the need is growing by the day." 

Marj Norris of the Mossman District Nursing Association said the need for more aged care bed allocations in the Mossman region was crucial. 

"We have been working on this for 18 years, we need support from the Government and the wider community to ensure our 

elderly population get the quality of life and care they deserve," she said.  

Another key priority highlighted was the need for better infrastructure including roads, public transport and communications access. 

"I will now collate this information into a report that will be submitted to the State Government," Mr Kempton said. 

"It will provide me with an extremely powerful tool when lobbying on behalf of the Douglas Shire community." 

Mr Kempton said he had been impressed by the diversity and ingenuity that came out of the session. 

"The people of Douglas are proactive and they understand it is not just up to Government to ensure the prosperity of their region and I applaud them for that," he said. 

Port Douglas Event Management Managing Director Sam Cullen said the shire needed a “successful events strategy” to drive the economy. 

"Our economy relies on tourism to the staggering tune of over 90 per cent," he said. 

"It's the long term partnerships provided by the State and local Government, corporate partners and the community that 

enables visions such as the Great Barrier Reef Marathon and the new Run for the Reef to be realised. 

"Creating and maintaining these partnerships is what makes truly significant events stand the test of time and creates a legacy for everyone involved."  

The Douglas Shire Future’s Forum follows on from a string of community engagement exercises run by Mr Kempton 

including the Mareeba Community Priority Forum, the Cape York Draft Regional Plan Forum and the Queensland Plan forum in Weipa. 

"I am committed to real and extensive community engagement and consultation, that is how I can be 

confident I am best representing my constituents no matter how diverse and unique the issues may be," he said.