Friday 25 February 2011

De-amalgamation denied for Douglas

: Premier Anna Bligh said her Government has no intention of de-amalgamating Douglas.

by Mat Churchill

For some, the opportunity to raise the issue of de-amalgamation with Premier Anna Bligh was too good to pass up as she visited Port Douglas yesterday.

Ever since the Douglas shire was amalgamated to become part of Cairns Regional Council there has been a vocal movement to reverse the move.

During the Premier's question and answer session at the Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Sheraton Mirage Resort, Pam Willis-Burden queried Ms Bligh on the issue to rapturous applause from the parochial audience.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE CROWD REACTION AND PREMIER'S RESPONSE

Earlier in the day at a press conference at the Combined Clubs a similar question was asked of the Premier to which she replied:

"I know how hotly contested this issue was in the Port Douglas area. The Government has made its decision on amalgamation, and frankly what I saw right throughout all of the disaster affected areas was that the larger Council's. . . made it easier for them to deal with these terrible disasters so we won't be revisiting this issue."

What are your thoughts on the Premier's response? Let us know below.

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