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AUGUST 16, 2024
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People give a fig
Resident pleads with council to save suburb’s iconic tree
Freshwater resident Dr Paul Matthews is urging Cairns Regional Council to save an 80-year-old fig tree in Le Grande Park. Picture: Nick Dalton
l FRESHWATER | Nick Dalton A LAST-minute plea to save a large fig tree at Freshwater has been made to Cairns Regional Council (CRC). Freshwater vet, resident and selfprofessed 'tree man' Dr Paul Matthews is urging the council to do everything it can to keep the tree in Le Grande
Park. “As a result of Cyclone Jasper – and CRC’s lack of a proper tree maintenance program – the fig shed some of its large boughs,” he said. “This prompted the council’s arborist to declare the tree affected by a fungus and to have some structural damage, both of which are manageable. “If CRC had a tree care and
maintenance program, involving regular pruning and mulching, this would not have happened. “A longstanding complaint to CRC from a neighbour about the roots of the fig invading her property was enough to give the council the excuse to raze this beautiful shade tree.” Dr Matthews said medical research showed that in the world’s increasingly
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heated environment, mature shade trees were critical in providing cooling and mitigating the adverse health effects of rising temperatures. “It is counter-intuitive to be cutting down large shade trees in our parks, at a time when rising temperatures are having increasingly negative effects on our health and wellbeing,” he said. CONTINUED PAGE 3
Parking fines rise by 30% l PARRAMATTA PARK | Nick Dalton PARKING fines across Cairns are to increase by 30 per cent despite a sole councillor’s unsuccessful bid to stop the rises. Failing to pay for parking or staying longer than the permitted time will be nearly $100 ($96) from September 2. But Cr Matthew Tickner at Wednesday’s council meeting argued that the current fines were adequate deterrents for motorists. “What I don’t agree with is utilising fines to plug holes in budgets,” he said. Cr Tickner said the increases were not an exercise in discouragement but “a budget item”. He said he had spent five years on the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and parking was one of the most significant and regular issues raised. “Businesses don’t want an increase in fines,” Cr Tickner said. He said the CBD was “struggling” and the council should be encouraging customers, not deterring them with higher fines. Deputy mayor Cr Brett Olds said benchmarking showed Cairns had some of the cheapest parking in Queensland. He said with the council’s parking app there was no excuse for parkers who were sent reminders when their ticket was due to expire. “We don’t want to be the bad guys,” he said. CONTINUED PAGE 3
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