A weekly re-cap of the events that have made news in Cairns over the past week.

Monday March, 3 2003 105th Edition

Unemployment falls in Far North
Unemployment has decreased to 5.9 per cent in the Far North region last month, displaying an ongoing down ward trend from 8 per cent last June, according to a recent survey. The January figures released by Cairns property advisers Herron Todd White, also was down from the 6.5 per cent of January 2002. Herron Todd White research chief Rick Carr said the average number of job ads published in The Cairns Post in January exceeded 300, giving a rating of “strongly – and possibly unsustainably – rising market.”

Health expo for Lotus Glen staff
Lotus Glen Correctional Centre was opened to select members of the public recently as health and lifestyle professionals walked through the gates for a Health Expo held for the centre’s 300 staff. The 520 prisoners of the Lotus Glen centre were confined to their units while staff discussed issues from finance to the dangers of alcohol and drugs. The expo was attended by about 40 health and lifestyle organisations who held sessions on topics such as dispute resolution, spiritual wellbeing with aromatherapy, nutrition and dental care.

Beach home most expensive in Cairns
The finishing touches are finally being added to the most expensive home built in the Far North. Situated at Kewarra Beach, the home is located on 3300sqm of absolute beachfront land and is predicted to have cost Sydney developer Christian Ainsworth $11 million. The multi storey house has been in construction for three years, and is believed to have at least 10 bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a movie theatre and spacious games room. The property also features a $1 million mosaic-bottomed and glass-walled internal lap pool in addition to an out door pool.

Library to move into shopping centre
A public library will be developed by Cairns City Council at Stockland Shopping Centre, to replace the existing library situated in Woree, which is to be closed shortly. Division 4 councillor Paul Freebody said the 28 year old library at Woree would be closed soon and the building turned into a community centre for the people of Woree and Bayview Heights. The new library will be bigger, brighter and better stocked, and will also allow people to pay their rates and perform other basic council transactions, as well as borrowing books.

Natural medicine discovered in rainforest
A Yungaburra company has uncovered rainforest organic compounds which international drug companies could develop into high powered antibiotics and anit cancer treaments. EcoBiotics Ltd are negotiating with a pharmaceutical company to further develop a rainforest extract that could possibly be used to eradicate golden staph from hospitals. EcoBiotics has also found a natural chemical that could fight breast and ovarian cancers in initial tests and may provide a cure after further development, EcoBiotics managing director Dr Victoria Gordon said recently.

Far North home attracts investors
A southern investor who last week paid a record price for a beachfront property at Trinity Beach has been approached for offers to onsell it. The Sydeny man paid $836, 000 for the two storey Vasey Esplanade home with views of the beach and Coral Sea. However, selling agent Ray White Trinity Beach has received several calls from investors asking the buyer to resell it for quick profit. The Sydney man plans to keep the property, which is being rented as two flats, before eventually moving north to live there.