QUESTIONS FROM DOUGLAS TO the CAIRNS UNITY PARTY, Hi Guys…

G’day and Hi to Bill Phillips Turner and Kevin Byrne, from Rod Davis in Port Douglas.

Thanks guys for uploading some of your Unity policies, and please don’t be offended by the questions below, as hopefully some friendly local debate can benefit those we aim to serve in Division 10, through online discussion and not just point scoring grabs. If you are interested, some web links are provided to my alternate view, for your kind consideration. For others reading, please feel free to add your own questions via this blog, for myself or Bill/ Kevin.

From the UNITY web site :”All Douglas Shire residents on the electoral roll who live north of the Daintree, and landholders and workers who have to commute via the Daintree Barge, will have their existing concessions retained for the life of the next Council.”

QUESTION 1. Why not let the 9 out of 10 Douglas locals who do not live or work north of the Daintree river, and who for years have been given close to free concessional prices to cross the Daintree River, to be allowed to keep their concession price? When most full fare paying users of the ferry are interstate or overseas tourists anyway, (who don’t seem to mind the near $20 fare for the experience, and who make up the bulk of users and who already pay the vast majority of the ferry running costs), why change? Why not consider offering concessional fares for Cairns residents who apply?

(Another view at http://roddavis.org/rodsblog/daintree-ferry-and-the-gateway/

Tourism Levy and the PDDT.

QUESTION 2: Will Unity maintain Douglas’s tourism levy, and the rates levy from the commercial and overnight accom sector, that provides the PDDT with around $400K income each year? Will Unity support PDDT’s continued autonomy from TTQ?
Instead of dumping the Douglas levy, will Unity consider introducing a tourism levy in Cairns?

(Another view at http://roddavis.org/rodsblog/tourism/ )

From Cairns Unity Web Site: “Provide substantial rate rebates for those property owners who engage in heritage enhancement activities on listed properties;”

QUESTION 3.

Will this rates rebate also apply, as in does in Douglas, to properties undertaking voluntary conservation guardianship on their properties?

From Unity, “Commence and complete a waterfront development of Port Douglas”.

QUESTION 4 : Is it OK to ask for a little more detail on Port Douglas single biggest local project please?

(another view at http://roddavis.org/rodsblog/the-port-douglas-waterfront/ )

From Unity, “Continue the roll out of CCTV monitoring cameras throughout the city.”

QUESTION 5: Does this mean CCTV in Macrossan or Front Street eventually?

From Bill’s quote o the Unity web site, “our future water supply needs must be sourced, secured and developed.”

QUESTION 6, Hi Bill, what do you mean here in terms of how you will go about getting more water? Will Unity guarantee to stick with micro filtration, and therefore add no chlorine to Douglas water? Do you support fluoridation of Douglas’s water?

(Another view at http://roddavis.org/rodsblog/water-and-sewer/ )

From Unity: “We need to address the housing needs of those who work within our community; be it long term or short term.”

QUESTION 7. Do you have a policy on how housing needs will be expanded, and how to address the staff accom issues?

From Unity: “Implement a recycled water strategy to provide for potable substitution and fit-for-purpose alternate supplies.

QUESTION 8, Does Unity support using recycled sewerage or stormwater as drinking water?

From Unity’s web site, “Public Council Meeting Agendas, Reports and Meeting Minutes will continue to be available via the website, with hard copies being available at cost price through Council’s Customer Service section. Hard copies will also be provided for residents to read, at all Council public offices and libraries.”

QUESTION 9: Will Cairns Unity support maintaining all unedited minutes online for say the last 2 terms? Will Unity support the press and publics’ free take home access to agenda’s papers, on a similar basis to Douglas, for those few who attend Council meetings? Would Cairns Unity support audio recording of council meetings, with podcast or live streaming of Council meeting’s audio being made available to the public?

(another view http://roddavis.org/rodsblog/corporate-structure%E2%80%A6administering-division-10/ )

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.