6 minute read
A long, narrow trench made in
Mayor slams minister MSC Mayor Tom Gilmore (pictured), who only has weeks left of his tenure, has come out swinging against the Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning after he placed restrictions on the council's ability to subdivide rural blocks.
THE Mayor of the Mareeba Shire Council (MSC) Tom Gil more has sent a letter to the Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, and Industry Cameron Dick, in relation to the temporary local planning instru ment (TLPI) that was imposed on the MSC last year.
The involuntary TLPI was placed upon the MSC, making it nearly impossible for the council to subdivide land that is less than 60 hectares.
In the letter to the Minister, Mayor Tom Gilmore wrote.
“I write to express my, and my community's disappointment and exasperation at your unfor tunate action in respect of the capacity of my Council to func tion according to the needs and wants of our community, whilst always respecting the integrity and potential of our rural land and landscape.”
The current TLPI will last for 2 years, meaning it will be in herited by the next council after the upcoming local elections on March 28. Mayor Gilmore also addresses the issue that no prior warning or consultation took place from the Ministers depart ment prior to the TLPI being gazetted.
“Your action was ill-advised and based upon a seriously flawed document unfit for the purpose of advice to a Minister of the Crown. Further, your fail ure to offer me the opportunity
to provide a contrary opinion or to refute the detail of the docu ment reinforces the view that the decision was rushed and that you may well have had an ulterior motive – that being the restric tion of any development west of the range, which may have an impact on the carrying capacity of the Kuranda Range Road.”
The letter ends with “By way of interest, both Douglas Shire and Cairns Regional Council ar eas enjoy the privilege of 40 ha minimum lot sizes in rural areas; both of which comply with the Far North Queensland Regional Plan.”
The Ministers department has been contacted for comment.
Member for Cook to visit Mareeba
MEMBER for Cook Cynthia Lui (pictured) is holding a Ma reeba mobile office on Friday 21 February from 12.30pm to 4pm outside Cornett’s Supa IGA, 135 Byrnes St.
This will be Ms Lui’s first Mareeba Mobile office for 2020 and only the second since she controversially moved her elec torate office to Cairns in November 2019.
Ms Lui said “I’m looking forward to meeting with lots of locals at my Mobile Office on Friday 21 February,”
“I run these events at major centres across the electorate on a regular basis to allow constit uents to drop in to raise issues, provide me with ideas or just to have a chat.
“It’s a real opportunity to make your voice heard. You don’t have to make an appoint ment, just call by. Often people will just stop by to tell me something simply because they see the stall.
“However, if you would like to make a specific time, please call the office on 4223 1100” She said
Mobile offices were also held in Port Douglas and Mos man last week.
Ms Lui will also be in Ma reeba on Thursday 27 February to have a round table meeting with Mayor Tom Gilmore, to address the growing crime rate in the Mareeba Shire.
Ravenshoe inquest wraps up
AS the inquest into the June 2015 Ravenshoe tragedy continued last week, the wife of the deadly driver Mrs Scutt gave evidence, describing her husband’s stubborn attitude despite his ongoing medical issues.
Two people died in a fiery blast and a further 19 people were injured after Mr Scutt drove his four-wheel-drive into a Ravenshoe café, causing two gas containers to explode.
Mrs Scutt told the inquest she spoke to her husband several times about giving up driving, just days before the crash.
"Three days before the accident I had a sit-down talk with him and said, 'Brian, I'm concerned you might kill somebody'," Ms Scutt said.
At the time Mr Scutt had been told he was mentally unfit to drive by his doctors. Something he chose to ignore and kept driving, even after suffering a fit just days before the crash.
It’s also believed that Mr Scutt had at least five major seizures in the decade before the explosion at the cafe and that he reported that he was unwell on the day of the accident.
The inquest which started in Atherton, continued in Cairns last week.
The Inquest is examining a range of issues, including whether Mr Scutt was fit to hold a driver’s licence and whether it should be compulsory for medical practitioners to notify Queensland Transport if they believe a patient is unfit to drive. Mr Scutt died before he could stand trial in August of last year.
The inquest wrapped up on Friday and the findings are expected to be delivered before the end of the year.
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