Those of us, who chose to live along the beautiful coast from Clifton Beach to the Bloomfield River, have done so for a reason. Much of why we live here is about beaches, beautiful backdrops and a rich tapestry of biodiversity in our backyards and beyond. The million and more guests we entertain in Division 10 each year are not coming here for the Gold Coast experience. Our visitation is nature based.
Beyond business, the beautiful coastal and mountainous strip now within Division 10 contains the oldest and best stocked living museum of botany on earth.
It’s not a minor passing issue. The biological importance of endemic species in and around the Daintree cannot be understated. In simpler terms, all the ancient plants that were once dinosaur fodder and which were once spread across the great continent of Gondwanaland, all retreated, through many fierce climate changes and over millions of years to now reside in but a few little ‘end of the road’ pockets. And the world’s best pocket of these ancient plants is in the Daintree.
You cannot responsibly lead this community without a deep connection this disarmingly beautiful and valuable china cabinet.

There is no question that the move to stop, then compensate future development in Daintree enviro hot spots north of the Kimberly Range was a tough one. It was a tough decision. I supported the decision, copped the flak and undertook the shuttle of diplomacy to come up with the Alternative Planning Strategy that was the eventual compromise that today defines the conservation, no build zones in the Daintree lowlands. The aggressive political polarity around the development ban created havoc within the political ranks of the Douglas Shire, which when coupled to the dispute over the former CEO’s tenure, just about brought the DSC to its knees and once weakened, the act of disenfranchisement by Andrew Fraser to disband the DSC after 103 years was treachery at its worst, coming hard on the heals of the DSC sweeping the podium of planning awards just months before. Indeed it was a bitter sweet experience. But at the core, passing politics aside, today if you drive through the ancient forests of the Daintree there is a pretty good chance that the one place in the region that will look the same today as it will in 30 years, will be the Daintree. Millions of years of biodiversity concentration now sees a bigger diversity of plant species, on one prime hectare of the Daintree than in all of Europe combined.

The natural environment is part of our neighborhood in this area. And its about preserving and maintaining our green centers within the urban environment. Research in Brisbane proves that a tree lined street will add 10% to the value of the houses in that street, when compared to an identical nearby street without trees. As denser development in fills our communities, its important to maintain care and sympathy for what we still have left. It’s no longer a chain saw mentality in Palm Cove, Clifton Beach and Douglas. Times have changed. Any candidate for Division 10 cannot be a ‘green wash’ advocate. This area has beautiful green assets well worth preserving and anyone from this seat should be entitled to ask prospective candidates whether they would have been willing to stop more new housing being built in the Daintree or not. Their answer will sort the ‘green wash’ from those who understand and value of these local green assets.

The Great Barrier Reef basin faces a grim climate change future and to protect it we need to keep it as resilient as possible. This means not feeding the coral’s competitors with excess nutrient runoff such that the GBR has to battle both temperature rise and algal infusion at the one time. Accordingly, we as a community must be willing to support the measures that keep the seas clean and in the northern beaches of Douglas, like in Cairns, this means continued commitment to expensive projects like the $40 million sewering of the beach suburbs north of Mossman and the upgrading on the Mossman sewerage plant to tertiary grade. This commitment extends to the continued support of the research and recommendations of the Water Quality team who have been cradled within Douglas for many years.

CONTACT ROD DAVIS: vote@roddavis.org

MOBILE: 0418 235561 or HOME: 0740 994434

MAIL PO BOX 714, Port Douglas, 4877.