On November 10th 2015 a public meeting about planning issues was held in Kuranda.
The meeting was in two parts; in the first half, members of the public questioned Concil representatives about the Mareeba Shire’s latest draft plan and explained what we see as its deficiencies.
After a break meeting for refreshments, Councillors and Council staff departed and remaining attendees sat down to plan a course of action.
We eventually resolved:
- To set up a ‘Friends of the Kuranda region Planning Group’
- To note that Councillors and Council Officers who attended the meeting affirmed that they would regard the new Shire Plan, if and when approved by the State Government, as a “living document” open to amendment, including revision of maps in the plan.
- To develop a proposal to the State Government incorporating a request that any approval given to the latest MSC Draft Plan is conditional on systematic, high-quality remapping of conservation/biodiversity values, especially within (but not necessarily limited to) the Kuranda region. This process should be carried out with the participation of scientists with relevant expertise, local conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts and other interested participants. Acknowledging the limited resources available to the recently de-amalgamated Mareeba Shire Council, we believe it should be resourced and overseen by the State and/or Federal Government.
- That our aspiration for this region’s planning process is state-of-the-art, quality planning, that truly lays the foundations for genuine sustainability and biodiversity conservation.
Several people at the meeting agreed to help prepare correspondence to government and other similar tasks.
This ‘drafting group’ subsequently sent a letter to Deputy Premier Jackie Trad (Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning).
We have asked for a meeting with the Minister and have also invited the MP for Barron River, Craig Crawford, to visit Kuranda and meet us as soon as possible.
