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

Monday May 7, 2001 13th Edition

Cairns had everything from "crazy ants" to drunken bus drivers to contend with this week. As the official end of the Cyclone Season is announced and public holidays continue to appear, it is the start to the mild season when living in Cairns is perfect.

Five million dollar drug crop ends in ashes
A sophisticated cannabis plantation discovered at Canyon Station, approximately 200 km south of Atherton, has been destroyed by police. This plantation consisted of over 5000 plants that police described as very high quality. The resultant drug haul was almost half a tonne with an estimated street value of $5 million dollars. A tip off from the public led to the discovery and two men found on the site have been arrested.

Bus driver caught drink driving on duty
A Cairns bus driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Thursday, 3rd May. The on duty driver recorded an alcohol level three times the allowed limit of 0.05 percent blood alcohol. All bus drivers are required by law to have zero alcohol readings when on duty. As a result of this incident, the main bus operator, Sunbus, has proposed the extending of a trail campaign where all drivers are required to submit to a breath test before they start their shift. This has been successfully trialed in other parts of Queensland.

Investment scam hits Cairns
Investors are being conned out of thousands of dollars in get rich quick schemes being targeted at Cairns residents and business operators. The schemes originate with a call from a company situated outside of Australia. The caller represents an investment company (fake) that is looking to raise offshore funds for huge projects that have equally high returns. The entire front is very convincing and the companies running the scams have highly professional web sites and stationary to support their story. Investors are encouraged to hand over thousands of dollars with promises of quick returns set to double the investor's money. Of course no return is ever forthcoming. All residents are being warned to be aware of these scams and if uncertain, contact the Department of Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs to verify the credentials of an organisation.

African "Crazy Ant" discovered in Cairns
A colony of "Crazy Ants" have been discovered in Cairns, sparking fears that the exotic pest will cause millions of dollars damage to the regions sugar industry. Anoplolepis gracilipes or the Crazy Ant as the species is commonly known was named because of the erratic movements of the ant. The main concern with the discovery of this insect is that they do considerable damage with tunnelling, causing general instability over large tracts of land.

River guide dies in rafting tragedy
A white water river guide has drowned whilst on a trip in the Tully River area on Monday, 30th April. John Curtis, a 32 year old resident of Mission Beach, is believed to have gotten his foot stuck under a rock and subsequently drowned whilst rescuers attempted to free him. Cairns based company, Raging Thunder, who were the operators on the day, have begun a full investigation into the accident.

Cassowaries being killed on roads
The rare Cassowary is facing continual pressure as three of the large, flightless birds have been killed on far northern roads in the past week. Cassowaries live in particularly dense patches of rainforest that in many instances are close to roads. Typically they are found in Mission Beach, Tully, Lake Eacham, Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. As a species they are considered under threat especially from road kills and dogs. Cassowary conservation parks are being established and it is hoped that these are completed sooner rather than later to provide safe environments for these impressive birds. All motorists in the region are urged to take particular care when they see Cassowary warning signs.

Cowboy airlifted to hospital during Mt Garnet Rodeo
A cowboy was injured during the annual Mt Garnet Rodeo on Sunday, 6th May. The extent of the mans injuries was unknown, however his condition was considered bad enough for him to be airlifted from Mt Garnet to the Cairns Base Hospital. The cowboy was participating in the calf roping event of the Rodeo. Up until this injury the entire weekend long festival has been going exceptionally well, with organisers claiming that excellent weather had been a contributing factor to the large crowds of locals and tourists who had turned up for the event.

Deputy Mayor has a swipe at local tourism promotion group
Cairns Deputy Mayor, Margaret Gill, has claimed that the regions key tourism promotion body, Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) has made fundamental errors in marketing and promoting the region. She felt that the group had "lost the plot" and become too diversified in what they were promoting. The fact that Cairns was no longer included in the name of the organisation or the term promotion or bureau does mean that TTNQ is something of an unknown. Deputy Mayor Gill believes that there is a strong following of people who feel that the organisation should change its name to reflect that Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. She believes that people know about the Great Barrier Reef but no one knows about Tropical North Queensland.

Nightclub limit proposed
Cairns nightclub operators have banded together to try to limit the number of evening entertainment venues in the region in an attempt to ensure that there is a degree of sustainablility with existing operators. Associate member, Shane Trimby has outlined the groups concerns that increased competition lowers the overall price of alcohol and encourages binge drinking in attempt to attract customers. It is felt that for these venues to operate profitably and responsibly there needs to be ceiling on the number of operators allowed into the marketplace.

One of the quietest cyclone seasons on record
Cairns has managed to escape this cyclone season unscathed. Only three cyclones hit the Queensland coast, two of which were in the Gulf of Carpentaria and all were considered low grade cyclones. This has surprised meteorologists who predicted above average cyclone activity this season. A spokeswoman from the Department of Meteorology stated that weather patterns and sea surface temperatures indicated that the cyclone season was officially over.

State of origin wipeout
Queensland rugby league supporters enjoyed watching the first game in this annual clash. Their team outplayed New South Wales in an impressive game, winning 34-16 at Lang Park in Brisbane. The State of Origin is a series of three games played between the two states, with the best players from each state making up the teams.

Extra police to stay in Cairns CBD
Following a month long crackdown by police on alcohol related offences in the CBD at night, an announcement has been made that the extra police presence will stay. Extra police will be permanently assigned to the city centre to specifically target alcohol related crime. During the crackdown which was conducted in March and April 300 people were arrested for various offences and the incident of street crimes in the CDB dropped dramatically with the increased police presence.