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

Monday June 3, 2002 68th Edition

Cairns continues to rug up for winter with the first of the below average temperatures being felt across the region. Whilst many other parts of the world would scoff at people complaining about temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius during the day and 14 degrees Celsius at night, Cairns residents are running for hot water bottles and jumpers.

Cairns community raises over $275,000 for Cancer
Cairns held the inaugural Relay for Life over the weekend. The event was a huge success with thousands of people turning out in teams prepared to walk for 18 hours to raise money for the Queensland Cancer Fund. The Relay for Life is held in other areas around the world however no other first time event held in Australia has raised as much money as the Cairns Relay for Life. Event Co-Ordinator, Ms Sandy Astil, said "we have been completely overwhelmed by the response and the support from the people of Cairns. Cancer is a terrible disease that has affected us all in one way or another and the money that we have raised will be spent to help find a cure". Next years Relay for Life is already being planned and the second event is expected to be even bigger than the first.

Chinese vote Australia as their number one holiday destination
Beijing residents have ranked Australia as their number one ideal holiday destination according to recently released survey results. The Australian Tourist Commission has welcomed the survey results as a major vote of confidence from what will one day be a major source of inbound tourists for Australia.

The Australian Tourist Commission General Manager, Mr Richard Beere explained the importance of the results "Importantly, Australia was ranked the number 1 ideal destination, as well as the destination travellers from Beijing were most likely to travel to on their next overseas holiday".

Cairns joins the rest of Queensland with tough new anti smoking laws
From the 31st of May, smoking has been banned in restaurants around the state. The tough new laws have been introduced in light of passive smoking liability issues from staff working in smoking environments. The new non-smoking rules also apply to work places and virtually any enclosed area.

Virgin Airlines announces more flights to Cairns
Virgin Airlines has continued its expansion into regional areas with the introduction of a daily, non-stop flight from Cairns to Sydney. The new flights will commence in July and forward bookings are already very promising, reinforcing Virgins decision to support Cairns. The new airline has also introduced the new flights in anticipation of the introduction of Australian Airlines and the expected demand for domestic seats between Cairns and all other southern capitals.

US Navy visits Cairns
Cairns continues to welcome the US Navy with visits from USS Niagara Falls and USS Pearl Harbour and USS Ogden in recent weeks. In total over 3000 armed forces personnel have visited Cairns for some well-deserved rest and recreation. The visits have gone off well with the visitors visiting the Great Barrier Reef and other attractions in the region. The vessels have been in the area in anticipation of East Timor's official independence.

Crocodiles to be tracked
Trouble crocodiles will be fitted with tracking devices as part of a new initiative in the Endeavour River at Cooktown, north of Cairns. The project aims to answer many of the unanswered questions about salt water crocodiles such as the size of their home range, speed and general movement patterns. The project is being highlighted as a part of World Environment Day.