The road from the Daintree Ferry to the Division 10 boundary at Wujal Wujal needs some changes. Firstly, as this road is used mostly by tourists and those heading north, it should be returned to Mains Roads for maintenance. Earlier Main Road engineering policies were so environmentally brutal, that Douglas took over the Cape Tribulation Road to manage its sensitive sealing and rebuild. But these old Main Roads rules have been changed to afford a Main Roads policy for windy, naturally sensitive areas, so the refusal of Main Roads to resume responsibility for the road to Cape Trib has gone beyond its use by date and its time the State stopped shirking its responsibilities for maintaining this road at its cost of over $200K pa.
I have traversed the road to Wujal Wujal more times than I can remember, when I was on route to my aboriginal friends at China Camp.
There are several remaining hill climbs and creek crossings that need an upgrade to give Wujal Wujal residents, if no one else, a fair go in getting to town.
These upgrades don’t mean more gravel, they mean newly sealed sections. The dust and mud runoff from the existing dirt roads are problematic, as is the issue of road kill if speeds are increased, being reciprocally problematic.
This road, along with the other 370km of dirt roads within Douglas are a now a long term problem for the new CRC and to a city council not familiar with so many dirt road issues, CRC is in for a learning curve…. and a heavy expense, hence my urging of Main Roads contribution.
The CREB track is maintained (and must continue to be maintained), after a rough fashion, from above Wujal through to China Camp and south of China Camp, where it becomes a pretty interesting challenge and it needs to be kept open to the 3 to 5 cars that use it daily, if for no other reason, for the safety access of China Camp residents, but the trail needs to adapt to walkers, in the plan to link Cape Tribulation to Daintree via China Camp. The residents of China Camp must be compensated for the work they do keeping this road open, to China Camp from Wujal, at least. They must also be compensated for the work they do managing the Meg and the gates used to keep the southern half of the CREB closed when conditions are bad. The new CRC needs to keep a compassionate eye on its most distant and remote residents at China Camp, and be aware of the spiritual and cultural significance of the Meg Falls sacred site, to the Yalanji people. Part of this care means lobbying and contributing to the construction of the walking trail from China Camp to Cape Tribulation, in strict adherence to the wishes of the new land owners at China Camp, where the recent ILUA gave freehold right to Burungu corporation. The massive land mass, as big as Cairns itself, north of Wonga, is now largely under an ILUA agreement, and the CRC must be aware that times have changed since the ILAU and the Yalanji hold the rights to more than 60% of the Douglas Shire.

CONTACT ROD DAVIS: vote@roddavis.org

MOBILE: 0418 235561 or HOME: 0740 994434

MAIL: PO BOX 714, Port Douglas, 4877.