CAFNEC (Cairns and Far North Environment Centre) has released its prescription for sustainable development in Far North Queensland.
"During this election CAFNEC urges voters and politicians alike to embrace the protection and better management of the Far North environment," Campaign Director, Steve Ryan says.
He says that good environmental management underpins economic prosperity and our way of life. "Urgent action on a range of areas is required to safeguard a sustainable future," says Ryan.
CAFNEC's roadmap has been collated from views and advice of a wide variety of community groups and individuals. Inappropriate development and its effects on our remaining habitat and wildlife remain a paramount concern, CAFNEC says, and also for many communities across the region.
"The disaster of False Cape and the current development frenzy in the Innisfail area threaten the coastal habitats of the endangered Cassowary, as well as our regional character and lifestyle," Steve Ryan says.
"For far too long successive State Governments have overseen a decline in our natural landscapes of the Far North. Long term Cairns residents can remember when Cassowaries could be seen on suburban rainforest trails. Now these great birds are gone from Cairns and we see Wallabies trapped by run-away development in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cairns."
"Across the region we see Cassowaries dying on our roads and pushed out by ongoing development of their habitat. Until State Governments place habitat protection at the centre of sustainable development we will continue to lose precious wildlife that symbolise our region in the eyes of our communities and the world," says Ryan.
CAFNEC predicts that the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef will suffer significant damage from climate change impacts, despite any measures able to be taken today.
"In order to secure a future for these two world-class pillars of our regional environment and economy we must ensure these systems remain healthy and can continue to sustain the region," Steve Ryan said.
Here's CAFNEC's policy document, and the key policy recommendations...
Climate change
"During this election CAFNEC urges voters and politicians alike to embrace the protection and better management of the Far North environment," Campaign Director, Steve Ryan says.
He says that good environmental management underpins economic prosperity and our way of life. "Urgent action on a range of areas is required to safeguard a sustainable future," says Ryan.
CAFNEC's roadmap has been collated from views and advice of a wide variety of community groups and individuals. Inappropriate development and its effects on our remaining habitat and wildlife remain a paramount concern, CAFNEC says, and also for many communities across the region.
"The disaster of False Cape and the current development frenzy in the Innisfail area threaten the coastal habitats of the endangered Cassowary, as well as our regional character and lifestyle," Steve Ryan says.
"For far too long successive State Governments have overseen a decline in our natural landscapes of the Far North. Long term Cairns residents can remember when Cassowaries could be seen on suburban rainforest trails. Now these great birds are gone from Cairns and we see Wallabies trapped by run-away development in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cairns."
"Across the region we see Cassowaries dying on our roads and pushed out by ongoing development of their habitat. Until State Governments place habitat protection at the centre of sustainable development we will continue to lose precious wildlife that symbolise our region in the eyes of our communities and the world," says Ryan.
CAFNEC predicts that the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef will suffer significant damage from climate change impacts, despite any measures able to be taken today.
"In order to secure a future for these two world-class pillars of our regional environment and economy we must ensure these systems remain healthy and can continue to sustain the region," Steve Ryan said.
Here's CAFNEC's policy document, and the key policy recommendations...
Climate change
- Commit to the inclusion of regional greenhouse gas reduction strategies and targets within an appropriate statutory instrument, such as amending the newly released FNQ Regional Plan 2009-2031 accordingly
Preserving ecological function and improving landscape scale resilience
- Provide dedicated statutory protection of wildlife corridors identified in the FNQ Regional Plan 2009-2031, triggered by development assessment and environmental planning processes.
- Implement appropriate conservation management arrangements for private land holders including conservation covenants, cooperative management and other agreements, land for wildlife, Nature Refuges.
- Local governments be proactively supported in providing rates-based incentives for voluntary conservation measures on freehold land
- A commitment to actively promote and fully resource voluntary conservation measures for all privately held tenures in the Wet Tropics, Gulf and Cape York.
Coastal protection
- Protecting local icons:
Buy back and rehabilitate Ella Bay - Support strong local government plans for coastal communities with high projected growth rates or where threatened species impacts are escalating - e.g. Daintree, Innisfail.
- Reform the Integrated Planning Act 1997:
Cancel or sunset (after a fixed period not exceeding two years) all pre-IPA approvals, re-assess under current standards of environmental and coastal protection if there is a wish to proceed with the development. - All new and uncommenced development proposals must be subject to the same current standards of regulatory controls and environmental protection, regardless of tenure, zoning or unused historic approvals.
Water
- No commitment to new dams in the FNQ Water Supply Strategy. In particular the proposed Nullinga Dam on the Walsh River.
- No dam on the Gilbert River, or other Gulf rivers.
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Mareeba Shire Planning Scheme 
