Golf club swings into new agreement
The Mossman Golf Club’s future has been secured for the next two decades.
It has been offered two new concurrent 20-year leases over land that they occupy at the intersection of Newell Road and Mossman-Daintree Road.
As part of the lease conditions, Council will hand over the ground maintenance assets to the club.
Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said she was pleased to confirm the club’s ongoing future.
“The Mossman Golf Club occupies a popular venue that provides recreational and social opportunities for the community,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
“These new leases will mean that responsibility for asset maintenance, as is typical for these types of tenure arrangements, now rests with the Mossman Golf Club. This will also afford them a greater sense of ownership of the facility for the benefit of the local golfing fraternity.”
Have your say on new waste and recycling plan
We’ll be asking for your thoughts on a Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan draft.
The five-year plan (2025-30) was endorsed at this week’s Ordinary Council Meeting, with public consultation to begin in the coming weeks.
It focuses on addressing the shire’s current resource recovery and waste management challenges and looks ahead to shape the region’s future direction in the management of waste as a resource.
Douglas Shire Council Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said it was an important document.
“Before I was elected to Council I had no idea about the processing of waste and the costs associated with waste reduction and recycling,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
“The wheelie bin man comes each week, empties the bins and takes the waste to the transfer stations and we think that’s it. But that’s only the start of it all.
“I hope moving forward that the Federal Government will continue to assist councils in providing a financial, sustainable future for waste and recycling commitments.
“I think documents like this will help us to advocate more for our local councils.”
Jasper’s damage to shire economy revealed
Some sobering business statistics have been released in a post-Jasper economic report.
Key findings of the economic impact assessment (made possible by survey data provided by Cairns Regional Council) include:
• The Shire’s Gross Regional Product is estimated to have decreased by $56.3 million
• 67.6 per cent of businesses reported that their employment was impacted
• Nearly a third lost between $100,000 and $500,000 in earnings and 20% lost more than $500,000 • 100 per cent of businesses were impacted
• The decline in gross tourism expenditure is estimated to be between $92 and $105 million and losses in agriculture were estimated to be approximately $5 million.
Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said Council engaged a consultant to create the report.
“We already knew Tropical Cyclone Jasper had a significant impact on our shire but to see that impact shared statistically is sobering,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
“It is significant to note that more than half of businesses found it difficult to fill out paperwork for support while only one in five businesses went on to receive that financial assistance they desperately needed.
“While confronting, the Economic Impact Assessment will help support advocacy activities and resilience planning for businesses.”
Small business friendship continues
A program which aims to help the shire’s 1400 small businesses thrive, has received ongoing support from Council.
The Small Business Friendly Program is designed to:
• Streamline services and support
• Uplift economic development across 51 councils
• Be a trusted network sharing ideas and supporting small businesses across Queensland
• Host regular roundtables to share learnings and reduce duplication of effort
• Grow connections between government and industry
Council has been a member of the Small Business Friendly program since 2021
Shoring up our coastal future – Mayor to attend conference
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon and Councillor Damian Meadows will be attending the Australian Coastal Councils Conference on the Sunshine Coast in late July.
The conference will explore the theme of “A Sustainable Coastal Future”, and will address numerous topics including:
• The need to focus on long-term resilience following events such as cyclones
• Climate change risks facing coastal communities
• Managing increasing numbers of tourists
• Short-term rentals in coastal regions
