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Elder says cultural centre could give youth hope
THE King of Cairns Ye-i-nie’s ceremonial regalia sits on display in a foreign museum thousands of kilometres from home for a simple reason.
Even if the British Museum returns the artefact, Cairns has nowhere to display it or so many other remnants of Far North indigenous history.
Ye-i-nie’s great-granddaughter Henrietta Marrie is leading a push for the State Government to abandon its plan to build such a vital centre in Brisbane instead of Cairns.
The CQ-University lecturer, Yidinji elder and Order of Australia Medal recipient said it was a matter of survival – not just in a cultural sense.
“If our young people are given an opportunity to express and understand who they are, maybe we won’t see so many youth suicides,” she said.
DEPUTY Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad took the podium at a packed Advance Cairns business luncheon yesterday – but not before addressing some of the region’s key issues with the Cairns Post.
“We really are acutely aware to the economic conditions everywhere around the nation,” she said. “We need to keep these investments happening so there’s jobs in the economy.”
So far, so good.
NULLINGA DAM
Ms Trad brushed off the suggestion Labor had no appetite for building dams, arguing the record spoke for itself.
“The last dam constructed and operated in Queensland was under a former Labor government,” she said.
She confirmed a summary of Building Queensland’s business case for Nullinga Dam would be published as soon as it was finalised – but whether it went ahead would come down to dollars.
“They fundamentally have to stack up or have some sort of rate of return, otherwise they’re not commercially viable,” she said.
CONVENTION CENTRE
The $176 million expansion and upgrade of the Cairns Convention Centre has been fraught with delays which Ms Trad attributed to needing to coincide construction with normal operations.
She said those issues had been ironed out. “I’m informed that it is on track to get under way and to be opened by the end of 2020,” she said.
DIVERSIONARY CENTRE
Cairns MP Michael Healy’s push for $10 million to extend an existing sobering-up facility in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour in the CBD did not get a nod in the State Budget.
It is a case of getting the proposal right – and a comprehensive response is near.
“I’m acutely aware of it and I believe there’s a way through this,” Ms Trad said.
“Whether that’s money on the diversionary centre or rehabilitation centre in Cairns, or whether it’s about more person-centred case management to get people into suitable accommodation – or both.”
GLOBAL TOURISM HUB
Noting the confusion and scepticism surrounding the new-look integrated casino resort proposal for the Cairns waterfront, Ms Trad said patience was required to discover what shape it would take.
“(Competing proponents) have to get all of their proposals refined and detailed to present to government by the end of the year, then government will make a decision based on the more detailed information that’s provided,” she said.
STATE SEPARATION
Watching Queenslanders pull together during a disaster was all the evidence Ms Trad needed against calls for a separate North Queensland state.
“It’s really easy to fall into a really parochial and polarising argument, but at the end of the day when we look at how we come together during times of adversity, we know we’re better together,” she said.