Paying price for blackout

Call for thieves to foot bill for chaos

THIEVES who caused a communications blackout in Port Douglas and Mossman by cutting phone lines in a shopping centre should be made to compensate for thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Douglas Shire Council mayor Julia Leu said it was lucky no one died during the outage which lasted throughout last Wednesday as heavy rains fell across the area.

She said some businesses had to close during busy trading times in the Christmas lead up, while council staff at the water and sewerage plant had to sleep on site to ensure it continued to work properly.

Police are continuing their hunt for the offenders who cut the Telstra lines at the Mossman shopping centre then broke into the Town & Country complex on Front St via the roof. It is believed fibre cables may have been cut to disable the alarm system.

They have not confirmed whether it may be linked to a series of roof break-ins to businesses around the region which began in September.

“When these thieves are caught and prosecuted I hope they have to pay a penalty for the loss of trade that Douglas business owners had to suffer,” Cr Leu said.

“It could have resulted in loss of life or injury because someone couldn’t get the assistance they need.

“To put people’s lives in danger is absolutely appalling.”

Cr Leu said she had heard reports the two towns began to resemble financially plagued Greece as people rushed to ATMs to withdraw cash.

She said small retailers had been the worst affected and it came after a successful campaign encouraging residents to shop locally over the festive season.

“That’s why it’s incredibly disappointing and certainly not fair on business owners who have worked really hard at this time of year,” she said.

Cairns property crime squad Sgt Barry Karamujic said they were continuing to appeal for witnesses who may have seen unusual behaviour at Town & Country between 9pm Tuesday and Wednesday morning to come forward.