JUNGLE DRUM: Do decision makers want to know what the community thinks?
LAWRENCE MASON COLUMN
It's the little things in life that matter. Often the big things just can't happen for a multitude of reasons, so most of us really appreciate the little stuff.
I can't fix the decades-old traffic jams coming into Cairns for example, but I can let people in from side roads. I don't always like the ideas my staff have, but on occasion I will let them have a win; lest they think I never listen. People do notice kindness, and they definitely notice when you listen. It is hard to get the balance right at times though. But you get points for trying.
That's why I was so pleased that after a couple of phone calls; to Owen from FNQ Traffic Control and George from HEH that Noah Range lights are back to manual control during the day. Yeah, it was only a couple of minutes wait but for those of us who go through multiple times a day, it made a big difference. Thank you gentlemen. It isn't just me that is happy.
But it is not always so. How long since the Member for Cook held or attended a public meeting here? (not picking on the incumbent, regardless the answer is years). Last time National Parks sought our opinion? When has WTMA bothered to check in? DSC? Nup.
I do understand that some issues just come down to good governance. Even in towns and cities there are so many different opinions that leaders have to make decisions based on what is best. And with the winning party getting only 35 per cent or so of the vote in the last Federal Election, you can see that not everyone is going to be happy. But you would think that at least some attempt to gauge public opinion would be made.
The 2015 plans to close boardwalks and remove toilets galvanised people of all political colours and forced National Parks to backtrack. It would have been easier to consult first.
Tourism bodies wrote to DSC well before the budget and asked for a hold on ferry fares. DSC responded with a significant increase. At the very least an explanation would have been nice. $70 bucks to go camping in the Daintree BEFORE you get to the campground. OUCH.
The last DSC forum held was during Mark Stoermer's term as CEO under Julia Leu. It was mostly about the ferry, and the mood of the meeting (two ferries) was later ignored.
Now we have plans set in stone for the ferry loading that the community has had no input in. I don't want to rewrite them, in fact the little bit that we have seen looks pretty good. But surely a bit of public input would have been prudent?
And, given that there will be a significant closure, there must be some sort of consultation on how the closure will work, mustn't there? Because my memory is that the last ones were not very well organised transport wise.
The Leu Council established the Daintree Joint Management Group which, while not perfect, helped a great deal. The Kerr Council killed it. Imagine having a reference group with the Member for Cook, senior NPWS and WTMA staff, Jabalbina, senior TMR staff, senior DSC staff, TPDD EO, the Mayor and say six to eight community members on it. Add DRFA while they are here. Add any stakeholder that I may have forgotten.
I think it should be re-invigorated as the DOUGLAS Joint Management Group as soon as possible. It should meet quarterly with decision makers from all stakeholder groups and community members included. This would firstly give valuable feedback, and secondly with nowhere to hide because the speedy advancement of projects allegedly held up one or the other agency.
Given the loss of cane, the disaster, and low tourism numbers, it boggles my mind that no attempts to analyse past decisions or workshop future paths have been made.
I respectfully challenge Douglas Shire councillors to make things better in this regard.
*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.
The opinions and views in this column are those of the author and author only and do not reflect the Newsport editor or staff.