$1.5m plan for marina
Creek dredge option welcomed
COAST Guard volunteers are cautiously optimistic that one of the Far North’s most bogged marinas may finally be dredged.
The Federal Government is expected to announce today it will deliver $1.5 million to dredge One Mile Creek at Port Hinchinbrook, to improve water access to Cardwell.
Townsville-based LNP Senator Susan McDonald said locals had been desperate, for many years, for help to make the creek navigable in all tides.
“Many people — not just the residents of Port Hinchinbrook — use One Mile Creek, including the Cardwell Coast Guard,” she said.
“This is not just about improving a community asset.
“It is of paramount importance that the Coast Guard vessel can respond to calls for assistance at any time, and in any tide.”
She said the investment would have flow-on benefits to Cardwell businesses supplying fuel, food, accommodation, fishing supplies, and another access point for Hinchinbrook Island.
The Cassowary Coast Regional Council will be the proponent for the project.
It is understood the council has all the necessary approvals in place to carry out the work after the wet season.
No one from the council, however, was available yesterday to say exactly how much sediment would be removed from the creek, or when.
A Cardwell Coast Guard spokeswoman said having the creek dredged would be a lifesaver for the community.
“We’re not going to be restricted to tides,” she said.
“At the moment, if we’ve got a rescue, that’s fine getting out. But if we’re out there, we’ve got to either wait for enough water to get back in, or fluke it, and have the right tide to get back in.
“This wasn’t just threatening lives, it was getting to a state of affairs where a tragedy was going to happen.”
While the organisation’s spokeswoman welcomed the announcement, she said the volunteers would not be happy until mud was actually being dredged.
“We’ll believe that place is being dredged when we see it happen,” she said.
“Actions speak louder than words: we’ve heard this all before.”
The State Opposition’s northern Queensland spokesman, Dale Last, said he was pleased to work with the Federal Government to secure funding that would allow the project to go ahead. POLICE are considering whether two large scale cigarette thefts around Cairns are linked as they put out a public call to help find the culprits.
More than $70,000 worth of cigarettes were stolen during break-ins at supermarkets at Manoora and Smithfield.
A heavy tool was used to force entry to a cigarette storage area at the Pease St IGA about 1am on July 30.
The SPAR supermarket on Faculty Close, Smithfield, was also broken into on September 30 about 10pm with entry being forced to a cabinet door which contained cigarettes.
Earlier that day a power tool was used to try to break in to a Charlotte St business at Woree and a door and metal gate were damaged but there was no entry.
Cigarette brands stolen during the break-ins include Alpine, Bond Street, Rothmans, Winfield, JPS, Craftsman, Euro, Longbeach, Horizon and Pall Mall.
Smithfield police detective Sgt Gary Hall said these were clearly planned offences with a sheet or pillowcase used to carry the cigarettes from the store.
“If people know anyone who has come into possession of a large amount of cigarettes or anyone offering to sell them under suspicious circumstances, please come forward,” he said.