Wednesday 11 May 2011

Evac centre back on agenda

: The Rockhampton evacuation centre. Photo by Red Cross Australia.

by Mat Churchill

With the recent announcement of a generous $30 million donation from the United Arab Emirates state of Abu Dhabi to help fund new evacuation centres in the Far North, Councils and State MP's are scrambling to put their case forward on behalf of their communities.

With the State Government matching the donation, Cairns has been touted as a possible site along with Townsville, the Cassowary Coast, Proserpine/Airlie Beach, Mackay/Sarina, Yeppoon/Rockhampton and Weipa.

Cairns Regional Council Mayor Val Schier said that she will push for more than one centre to be built in the Cairns region.

"I'll be going into bat for more than one centre for our region. Because of the concentration we have of vulnerable communities it would be great to have more than one.

Mayor Schier said that the evacuation centres did not necessarily need to be shared equally among coastal councils.

"If you look at last time around (Cyclone Yasi) we evacuated people from Port Douglas, from the northern beaches of Cairns, and also from Cairns city and Bramston Beach.

"We need to look at and assess the other areas and certainly Port Douglas will be one of the ones that's really looked at."

Mayor Schier added that the result of a The Newsport Poll which showed that 94% of respondents thought that evacuation facilities in Douglas were inadequate "would be true for probably the entire Cairns Regional Council area except for Babinda."

"What we need to do is look at where the gaps are in our community infrastructure, so where do we also need youth centres or indoor sporting centres."

Member for Cook, Jason O'Brien said Port Douglas fits that bill and has written to Public Works Minister Simon Finn asking him to consider our region.

In the letter he wrote "An indoor sports centre of this nature would also be a great asset to the community (of Port Douglas) who do not have facilities of this kind."

Mr O'Brien said that a case for an evacuation centre in Lockhart could be made, "but you get bigger bang for your buck in a place like Douglas."

Have your say!

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dani moran, 09-06-11 19:56:

This center would be such a relief.. in more ways than one..as a family of 4 having the plan B to go in an emergency.. also having the indoor sports covered too.. excellent. ;]

Sue Lawrence, 01-06-11 19:47:

The time to act is now, not after the event when it is too late. With the threat of a Cyclone many people are forced to leave their homes, not to mention tourists at Resorts & Holiday Houses. Unfortunately not everyone has the option to stay safe with family & friends. As a mother of 4 sport orientated children, I believe an indoor sports centre would be a huge asset to our community all year round....

Colin Cameron, 17-05-11 18:38:

There is no time like the present. This has been thrown around for years and as we all know the shire has grown. With the opportunity presented I hope our council and representatives have already drafted a submission. What were the number of residents/tourists and elderly evacuated during yasi in this shire? Were the shelters cyclone rated? This shelter would be utilised throughout the year just ask the kids around town....... Lets not let this slide.

Sam Cullen , 15-05-11 13:26:

There are many reasons to support this centre being built in Port. We cannot walk into another cyclone season without an emergency evacuation centre. Please call or email your local representatives and voice your support. Julia Leu 4099 9444 or J.Leu@cairns.qld.gov.au & Jason O'Brien 4051 3849 or jason.obrien@queenslandlabor.org

nick g, 15-05-11 11:40:

Nice work. It is one of those things where if a cyclone does one day hit us, this will save lives! As a family with 3 kids it would be great to have somewhere for them to play indoors & a variety of sports to play all year round.

Ray Tooth, 12-05-11 15:25:

I agree with Steve that this could be a great assett to this community, Not to mention the added benifit of sports being able to be played during wet season.

steve hull, 12-05-11 10:55:

this is exactly what our community needs and we all need to get behind this push to get it across the line.
the benefits of a center like this will spread right through our community.