Cape York Weekly FREE – #119 | Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Editor: Matt Nicholls 0477 450 558 | editor@capeyorkweekly.com.au
INSIDE TODAY
SCHOOL PLANS FOR FUTURE Page 5
MUD RALLY IN THE NPA Page 7
HONOUR FOR JOHN
Cape York’s longest serving police officer John McArthur was last week honoured with a Police Service Medal as part of the federal government’s Australia Day honours. Turn to Page 6 to hear from Cooktown’s officer in charge
AUSTRALIA DAY CELEBRATIONS Pages 8 & 9
Communities angry after Telstra fail
Backup needed By MATT NICHOLLS
MEMBER for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says it’s time for Telstra to put together a plan to protect the Cape and Torres Strait from phone outages in the wet season. Last week, residents in the NPA
and most of the Torres Strait were without mobile phone coverage for the best part of four days. It caused havoc in the business community, with many unable to access cash or make emergency calls to Triple Zero. The problem, which was first re-
ported on Tuesday morning, was a result of a malfunction at the Sailor Creek Crossing exchange. It took a Telstra technician two trips with a helicopter to identify and fix the problem. With just one main phone cable servicing the entire Peninsula, Mr
Entsch said Telstra should come up with a proposal to safeguard the region from future outages. “It’s something that would need government support, no doubt, but we can’t be having outages every wet season,” the MP said. Continued – Page 2
GET READY TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...
Y A D S E N D E W IS H T S RETURN FROM 7.30PM E VER Y T HURSDAY 5 – 7.30PM JAG THE
JOKER
JACKPOTS $100 EVERY WEEK UNTIL THE JOKER IS FOUND! T&C apply ~ one ticket per transaction between 5 – 7.30pm
AUSTRALIA DAY CELEBRATIONS Pages 8 to 11
BARREL RACER MAKES FINAL Page 18