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

Monday April 16, 2001 10th Edition

The Easter break ends a week that has seen traffic blitzes both on the road and on the water, a tragic light aircraft crash, two taxi attacks and a visit to Cairns by pop diva, Kylie Minogue. Ongoing disruptions with Ansett flights appears to be here to stay at least in the short term as the airline continues to fight with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority over the airworthiness of the company's ten Boeing 767-200 aircraft. All in all another busy week in Cairns.

Light plan crash kills four
A light aircraft has crashed into Thornton's Peak killing the pilot and three passengers. The remoteness of the site and bad weather conditions hampered finding the wreckage and the recovery of the bodies. The twin engined Aerocommander was on its way to Hicks Island, east of Cape Grenville where the passengers were to conduct some routine telecommunications maintenance.

Taxi drivers attacked and robbed in two separate incidents
Cairns cabbies are pleading for help with increased security measures following two attacks on drivers in two nights. In one attack the driver was put in a "strangle hold" until he handed over some money. In the other attack the driver was threatened with a knife before handing over cash. Whilst both drivers were not badly physically injured they are both traumatised and unable to return to work at present. Two men were involved in each incident and at present the police are not saying if the attacks are related. These recent attacks have prompted calls by the taxi industry to increase security measures for all drivers.

Kylie Minogue visits Cairns and Port Douglas
Australian pop legend Kylie Minogue has flown out of Cairns after spending some time relaxing in the region following her busy United Kingdom tour. It is believed that Ms Minogue stayed in Port Douglas as she prepared for a series of Australian concerts that start in Brisbane. The popular Australian entertainer is expected to perform 20 shows around Australia.

Banana embargo could cost up to $4 million dollars
The Far North Region is losing up to $4 million per week whilst there are embargos on sending fresh bananas out of the region as a result of the outbreak of black sigatoka. The quarantine action has stopped the movement of all plant and fruit in a 50 kilometre radius of the initial discovery site. Rapid response to the outbreak is being praised for reducing the impact and the spread of the disease, which has the potential to destroy the banana industry.

Ex-Catholic School Principal intents to plead guilty to molestation
A former Cairns Catholic School Principal is planning to submit a "guilty" plea when he faces Court later this year. This charge relates to an incident that occurred with a fifteen-year-old boy at a school camp seven years ago. Geoffrey Veness, the former Principal of Marist College and St Augustines College, has not attempted to deny the behaviour or avoid the consequences, said his legal representative, Mr Philip Bovey.

Cyclone proof power plan
Cairns is plagued with black outs during the cyclone season when high winds and torrential downpours often being responsible for the power disruptions. A multi-million dollar plan has been presented that would see the main high voltage lines being put underground where they are less likely to be damaged in extreme weather conditions. Ergon Energy are behind the project and the company is also planning to give individuals the options of having high power lines leading to their houses placed underground, for a fee. The project is due to commence shortly and it is the result of several years of planning.

Easter blitz for boaties
The annual Water Police blitz began this Easter. In a combined initiative the Water Police joined forces with Queensland Boating and Fisheries to conduct patrols up and down the coast looking for unsafe boating practises, speeding, overloaded boats, drunk driving, driving unlicensed and out of date safety equipment. Education of boat owners has been part of a major initiative of Queensland Transport in the past five years in an attempt to reduce the number of boating incidents on Queensland waterways.

City icon sold to a Brisbane buyer
Well known local shopping mall, Orchid Plaza, has been sold by the receivers to a Brisbane based company. The building was sold for half of the original price that it cost to build in the late 1980's. The new owners have extensive other property holdings in Cairns and the sale has been welcomed by tenants who have been in limbo since the property was placed into the hand of the receivers in 1998.

Ansett problems cause Easter chaos
Ongoing problems with Ansett's planes and The Civil Aviation Safety Authority have caused major disruptions for Easter travellers. Good Friday was the busiest day ever in the history of the airline with over 50,000 people expected to fly to holiday destinations around the Country. Ten Boeing 767-200's were grounded forcing the airline to find alternative transport for many of their passengers. The entire incident has been a public relations nightmare as Ansett and CASA try to resolve apparent safety issues and behind the scenes procedural problems. Ansett chartered a number of planes from other international airlines to help alleviate pressure over the Easter period. The planes came from as far afield as Canada, United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.

Traffic blitz shows far northerners not getting the message
In a pre Easter traffic blitz Cairns Police have expressed their concerns over the lack of regard for road rules by motorists and pedestrians. There were also high numbers of defective vehicles, speeding offences, drink driving charges and other offences such as not wearing seatbelts. The region's level of traffic incidents is considered at the high end of the states average. A state-wide awareness campaign, Road Safety Campaign 2001, began on Thursday morning.

Organic dairy given Government grant to branch into Tourism
An Atherton Tableland Diary has been awarded a $60,000 Federal Government grant to assist with developing the farm as a tourist attraction. The Mungalli Creek Farmhouse has been a pioneer in developing biodynamic and organic dairy products, which are sold throughout North Queensland. The success achieved to date shows the popularity of the products. The main development that will be built is a cheese tasting showroom on the Millaa Millaa property.