s n r i a C
Local News
APRIL 19, 2024
100% LOCALLY OWNED & INDEPENDENT
COV E R I N G M O S S M A N TO T H E C A S S OWA RY COAS T
cairnslocalnews.com.au
l News
l Time Out
l Sport
Uni design tenders about to be called
‘Then and now’ art showcased at the Tanks
AFL junior season kicks off on Sunday
Page 3
Page 28
Page 39
‘I never gave up’ Biggest battles for Vietnam vet were cancers – not war
Retired army major Ross Grant has fought cancer for 10 years and is looking forward to ANZAC Day next week. Picture: Shamrock Space Studio
l MANOORA | Nick Dalton VIETNAM veteran Ross Grant didn’t expect to live to see ANZAC Day 2024. Last year he was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer, his friends held a wake, he changed and settled his
Local family owned & operated with over 36 years experience!
will, arranged his funeral and prepared to die. Fortunately, the former officer (known affectionately as ‘The Major’), sought a second opinion, received lifesaving surgery and will attend ANZAC Day ceremonies in Cairns next Thursday. The Manoora resident served with the Australian Army in Vietnam (Nui Dat), in Malaysia and in Papua New Guinea.
He joined the Defence Force as a 16-year-old apprentice in 1961, rising to the rank of major in 1988 before resigning in 1990. But the 79-year-old’s biggest battles have been in civilian life where he has beaten three cancers in the past 10 years. First, he had prostate cancer and it was followed by lung cancer. CONTINUED PAGE 8. ANZAC DAY – PAGES 8-9, 10
Experts scrutinise great Reef l CAIRNS CBD MORE than 300 global coral reef experts have joined forces in Cairns this week sharing innovative new solutions to protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef, and other reefs around the world. In a collective effort to address the challenges threatening reef survival, the 300 local, national and international delegates have been joined by 500 others attending online. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chief executive officer Josh Thomas said the current bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef was, not only a sobering reminder of the global impacts of climate change, but the critical importance of targeted management actions on a local level. “Reef protection is a collective effort and forums like these are important to demonstrate how the reef authority and partners are continuously adapting our management to contemporary issues, as well as informing our approach,” he said. AIMS chief executive officer Professor Selina Stead said the meeting was a call to arms where experts have come to act collaboratively and share knowledge to improve the health of reefs. She said reef protection measures were growing but more needed to be done about predator control, large-scale coral aquaculture, and larval deployment onto coral reefs.