BUSINESS FEATURE

Matt Smith, Federal Member for Leichhardt, shares an update with Newsport readers on key issues and developments across the region.

Wet Season

The tail end of this year’s wet season has had one last sting for the Far North as we endured Tropical Low 29U at the beginning of March and then Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle two weeks later.  Whilst 29U thankfully didn’t form into a cyclone, it still brought devastating amounts of flood water to the Douglas Shire, Daintree and Wujal Wujal. 

The most significant challenge to the Daintree community in particular has been the temporary loss of the ferry services.  Thankfully, Douglas Shire Council are working hard to make the relevant repairs and install a northern anchor point on the Daintree river, with a staged return to normal ferry services expected in time for the Easter long weekend.

Further North, and the Cape braced for what had been predicted to be a devastating Cat 5 cyclone. By the time Narelle made landfall on Friday 20^th March, she had downgraded overnight to a Cat 4.  Still a devastating amount of power, but a welcome reprieve for the communities of Cooktown, Hopevale and Weipa. 

As soon as it was safe to do so, I travelled up to the Cape, joining Mayor Robyn Holmes from Cook Shire Council for a tour of Coen and then Weipa Town Authority Chairwoman Jaime Gane to assess the damage and check in on the welfare of the Weipa and Naprunum locals. 

It’s an absolute testament to the hard work, preparation, and resilience of those communities that there appears to be minimal damage and everyone managed to stay safe.  Inevitably some phone and power lines were down, but Ergon and Telstra have put every effort into restoring their services as quickly as possible.   

While the majority of population centres survived infrastructure damage the same cannot be said for some of the Stations in the direct path, and there were some people who had to be winched to safety form their roof, our thoughts are with those on the Stations who are having to rebuild infrastructure and clean up the mess left by Narelle.

Every year, we all know that wet season is coming.  This is certainly not our first rodeo and it definitely won’t be our last.  As the clouds part and the skies clear for the rest of the year, I want to thank everyone in Leichhardt and the Far North for following the advice, making necessary preparations and most importantly staying safe. 

Our unifying strength is our community.  When adversity strikes, I’m proud to witness that Far Northerners all band together to help their neighbours and mates through the tough times.  I would like to sincerely thank the SES crews who were already on the ground when I arrived in Coen and Weipa. Your preparedness and dedication were evident from the outset. 

I also extend my gratitude to the paramedics, police, and all other emergency services who were deployed in anticipation of the event. Your professionalism, coordination, and commitment to community safety are deeply appreciated.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

Cairns is the first regional city in Australia to have two Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.  The Cairns North Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is now officially open at 7-11 Mt Milman Drive in Smithfield, open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. 

The Cairns South UCC at 5 Walker Road, Edmonton has been open since December 2023 and now includes X-ray and Ultrasound diagnostic services. This is part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to deliver more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) across the country with 4 out of 5 Australians to live within a 20-minute drive from their local clinic.

No appointment is needed, patients can walk in and all services are bulk billed. Medicare UCCs provide care for illnesses and injuries that are urgent, but not life-threatening.

This new UCC is a game changer for people on the north side of Cairns and will help ease pressure on the emergency department at Cairns Base Hospital and free up staff at the hospital to provide care to people with more serious conditions. 

If you’re in Port Douglas, Mossman or even Kuranda the new Cairns North location will save you an additional 20 minute drive into town to get you the help that you urgently need.

All you need is your Medicare card.