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

Monday October 1, 2001 34th Edition

Following the terrorist attack in the USA, there was always some doubt regarding the future of CHOGM and the Queen's visit to Cairns later this month. Now both have been cancelled, reinforcing the world wide impact that the attack has had. There are mixed reports coming in from tourism operators following the collapse of ANSETT, with some stating that the effect has been devastating whilst others have indicated that the impact has been minimal. Another uncertain week in Cairns, like many other places around the globe.

CHOGM called off - Queen cancels visit
As concern continues to grow regarding safety of the delegates attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, a joint decision has been made to cancel the event. Due to start in Brisbane this weekend, CHOGM has been postponed until March 2002.

The Queen has also postponed her journey to Australia. Queen Elizabeth II was due to visit Cairns on October 9 when she was scheduled to visit Skyrail Cablecar, Tjapukai Aboriginal Dance Theatre and the Royal Flying Doctor Hangar at the Cairns Airport. The visit was expected to provide a boost for Cairns and the region, in what has been a very traumatic few weeks.

ANSETT planes back in the sky buy not over Cairns
As the receiver manages to get some ANSETT planes back in the sky, Cairns has been left out of the routing, at least in the short term. Overall there has been widespread support for new version of ANSETT with 7000 tickets sold in the first day of trading following a Federal Government commitment to underwrite any tickets purchased for the next 12 weeks of trading. The main aim in getting the aircraft off the tarmac was to increase the chances of selling the airline as a going concern.

It is unlikely that Cairns will be included in the new, limited route version of ANSETT, particularly as QANTAS has already picked up most of the seats formerly filled by ANSETT.

The tourism industry in Cairns is still reeling in the face of the uncertainty regarding airline travel in general and the collapse of ANSETT. The future is unclear with very mixed reports from across the industry. Some industry sectors, including the back packer market, have reported minimal impact whereas the five star end of the market are reporting widespread cancellations, totalling thousands of room nights.

New trading hours for inner city shops
Cairns retailers have been given the green light to open from 9am to 6pm on Sundays, as of the 15th of October. The retailing industry had been negotiating the extended trading hours for a number of years, citing the fact that as a major tourist destination, Cairns retial outlets needed to be able to cater for tourists with reasonable trading hours every day of the week. As a large proportion of the workforce are engaged in the tourism industry, the convenience of being able to shop outside of the traditional shopping periods will be a welcome decision.

Crazy Ants under control
Earlier this year the discovery of colonies of Crazy Ants in and around Cairns sparked widespread panic that the intruders could cause millions of dollars of damage, particularly to cane and banana farms throughout North Queensland. An eradication programme was instigated by the Department of Primary Industries, which appears to have virtually wiped out the Crazy Ants.

Fourty traps were set in and around Portsmith, with only one Crazy Ant being caught. Whilst it is likely that there are other Crazy Ants still in the area, eradication procedures will be continued to ensure that the success rate continues. Crazy Ants cause widespread damage by burrowing through soil beneath buildings and crops.

Cityport Project to go ahead
Due to the recent problems and the uncertain future of the tourism industry in Cairns, there has been some concern over the whether the Cairns Esplanade and Cityport development projects would go ahead. The $70 million Cityport project is definitely going ahead according the Cairns Port Authority Chairman, Mr Clive Skarott who stated "I don't think that this will have any impact on the scope or the timing of the project. As far as I am concerned it is all systems go".

The Cairns City acting Mayor, Margaret Gill has also confirmed that any major works projects currently underway, including the Esplanade and City Place Redevelopment will continue as planned.

Innisfail's oldest citizen
Last week the town of Innisfail had a birthday party for their oldest citizen. Nellie Kettle celebrated her 103 birthday, with fourty family and friends. Mrs Kettle moved to Australia in the 1920's from England, where she married and moved to Innisfail in 1949.

Brisbane Lions the toast of the state
The Brisbane Lions will be celebrating with the rest of Queensland for the next few weeks after a their AFL team won the Grand Final against Essendon on the weekend. In what was a close game until the final quarter, the Lions made history with their first premiership victory since being introduced into competition.