Cairns Regional Council

Construction has started on the biggest infrastructure project undertaken by Cairns Regional Council. The $472 million Cairns Water Security Stage 1 Project is jointly funded by Council and the Australian and Queensland Governments. The project will secure Cairns’ future water supply and includes a new water intake at the Mulgrave River, a new water treatment plant and water reservoirs at Gordonvale and supporting infrastructure to connect to the existing water network. More than 50 people attended a launch ceremony today to mark the start of construction. Mayor Amy Eden was joined by Premier Steven Miles; the Federal Minister for Emergency Management and Minister for Cities, Sen. Jenny McAllister; the Queensland Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing and Minister for Water Glenn Butcher; and Rob Evans, Executive General Manager, Infrastructure for our construction partner, John Holland, in signing a large pipe which will be displayed outside the new water treatment plant as a symbol of their collective commitment. The State Government has committed $195 million to the project, with the Federal Government having pledged $107.5 million. The project is expected to support more than 1,600 jobs during construction and support the region’s population growth. In December 2023, Council awarded the design and construction contract to John Holland Queensland after a rigorous 12-month procurement process. The new Mulgrave River intake will draw water from the riverbank, filtering it through sand and gravel before it is delivered to the new water treatment plant. “This is a vital project for the Cairns community, and I am buoyed by the support across the board to get to this point”, Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said. 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥: 𝘙𝘰𝘣 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥; 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘺; 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘮𝘺 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘕𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘯 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳.

♿+🚲 New all-access e-brike available for hire! The Cairns Esplanade is now even more accessible with the introduction of the new Brike, a battery-powered wheelchair bike designed for people with mobility impairments. This bright yellow, three-wheeled cycle allows riders and their families or carers to explore the waterfront together. The Brike will be officially launched at the Cairns Disability Expo on Tuesday, August 27th, at the Pier Marketplace Shopping Centre. It will be available for hire from Spinal Life Australia at the Cairns Health Living Centre. The Brike is part of the Active Lifestyle & Cycling for All Program, funded by the Queensland Government and supported by Cairns Regional Council. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲 For more information about how to hire the brike and hire fees, please contact the Spinal Life Healthy Living Centre on 4047 7600

There’s just one day to go until 𝗖𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 ignites the imagination of residents with an exciting 10-day program of arts, culture and family fun. The 63rd Festival kicks off on Friday (23 August) with A Cultural Rising, featuring headline act Christine Anu on stage on the Court House Gallery front lawn, followed by a packed opening weekend including the much-loved Grand Parade and seven-hours of live music and family fun! Festival favourite Reef Lights, the spectacular light and laser display over the Cairns Lagoon returns every night, along with imaginative installations, HEXADECA, a musical playground using sensor technology to trigger light and sound, The Bubble Station, generating a magical world with 12,000 bubbles per minute, and Bloom by Bonemap, an outdoor projection that transforms in response to the audience. A diverse offering of free and ticketed events guaranteed to delight attendees of all ages, the program covers exhibitions, performance, dance, theatre, food and plenty of live music, before concluding with Carnival on Collins on Father’s Day (1 September). 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 Mayor Eden encouraged residents to venture into the city on Saturday for one of the biggest events on the Cairns event calendar – the Grand Parade. With around 60 floats from community groups, businesses, sporting clubs and schools, the Esplanade will come alive with community spirit. 𝗖𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 For the full Cairns Festival program of music, theatre, film, dance and more, go to: 👉 www.cairnsfest.com.au. 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥: 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘮𝘺 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘯 (𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦) 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 , 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘻𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘦𝘷, 𝘕𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘖’𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘞𝘦𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘒𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘚𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘺𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪.

⌛ There are still a few seats available for Cairns Regional Council's 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴 on August 30. The event gives local businesses an overview of the Directorate’s Capital Works Program for FY2024-25 and provides an opportunity to network with key Council decision makers. 𝗧𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gHJ9JXGA ⚠️ Registrations are essential and spaces are limited. EVENT PROGRAM 10:00am - 10:30am: Check in + tea and coffee 10:30am - 11:40am: Presentations 11:40am - 12:15pm: Light lunch 12:15am - 1:30pm: Networking

Around 40 students from high schools across Cairns gathered today to explore the challenges of our region’s future population growth, at the Towards 2050 Shaping Cairns Youth Summit. The Summit gave local youth a voice in the big issues affecting their futures – including the environment, housing choice, density, neighbourhoods, employment, amenities and infrastructure. Students explored what’s driving population increase and urban change, and worked together to consider how we can best plan for this future growth, in order to leave a positive legacy for generations to come. Council will use the information heard from the students today, along with input from tomorrow’s Community Summit, to draft the Towards 2050 Growth Strategy. We anticipate releasing the draft Growth Strategy for community feedback in early to mid 2025.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴 📅 30 August 📍 Cairns Regional Council (119-145 Spence Street, Portsmith) The event gives local businesses an overview of the Directorate’s Capital Works Program for FY2024-25 and an opportunity to network with key Council decision makers. Find out about upcoming Council works and projects to help your business plan ahead. The services Council requires from local businesses are wide-ranging, from consultancies to construction. The program provides information on the procurement process and upcoming opportunities. EVENT PROGRAM 10:00am - 10:30am: Check in + tea and coffee 10:30am - 11:40am: Presentations 11:40am - 12:15pm: Light lunch 12:15am - 1:30pm: Networking 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹! 👉 https://lnkd.in/gHJ9JXGA

An opportunity for local businesses to get an overview of our Capital Works Program for FY2024-25 and to network with key Council decision makers

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 With bipartisan support for additional State funding for Cairns Water Security Stage 1 (QWSS1) secured, Council will now advocate for other important community projects as the State election on 16 October approaches. At today’s meeting, there was unanimous support for the following Council-led advocacy priorities: ✔️ Cairns Community and Multicultural Centre in White Rock ✔️ Establishment of a high-performance sporting facility adjacent to Barlow Park ✔️ Expansion of the Smithfield Mountain Bike Park trail network ✔️ TC Jasper recovery funding ✔️ Declaration of Priority Development Area (PDA) for Mt Peter Southern Growth Corridor ✔️ Palm Cove entrance statement Find out more on our website: 👉 https://bit.ly/3Wg6BbQ

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 More than $3,800 in donations collected during Council’s two most recent free green waste disposal periods have been presented to FNQ Youth Assistance Fund. Residents taking advantage of Council’s free green waste disposal periods in February and May were encouraged to make a voluntary gold coin donation to support the organisation. Established in 1972, the fund assists disadvantaged Far North Queensland children and youth in their education, sporting and cultural activities. Since its inception, the fund has provided $4.4 million in financial assistance, helping many young people from across the region pursue their dreams. Deputy Mayor Brett Olds was yesterday joined by Division 7 Councillor Anna Middleton and Division 8 Councillor Rhonda Coghlan to present a cheque for $3,826.25 to FNQ Youth Assistance Fund. 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 (𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵): 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘖𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘍𝘕𝘘 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘮𝘢𝘯 (𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯), 𝘓𝘰𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 (𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴 (𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵).

As we mark the end of NAIDOC Week 2024, we extend our thanks to those who have gathered to celebrate, learn and appreciate the unique stories and rich histories of Australia’s First Peoples. Special thank you to Neville Reys, Senior GIMUY WALUBARA YIDINJI Elder, for conducting the Welcome to Country at the Ordinary Council meeting.