In June it was announced that Public Hearings on KAP’s Safer Waterways Bill will be held in August in Cairns, Port Douglas, Townsville and Mackay with locations yet to be confirmed.   

This was after KAP State Member for Hill, Shane Knuth reintroduced the Safer Waterways Bill into Parliament on March 21 this year and called on the Innovation Tourism Development and Environment Committee to schedule the public hearings in North Queensland.  Unfortunately, no hearings have been scheduled in Cape York which is seeing exploding crocodile numbers posing a very serious threat to the public.

Submissions to the committee closed on 31^st May 2018. Submissions received from peak tourism bodies in North Queensland – Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) and  Tourism Port Douglas & Daintree (TPDD), highlight the reluctance of the State Government to address the issue and stresses the potential serious ramifications for the tourism industry.

The public hearings are a very positive step in allowing North Queenslanders the opportunity to address the committee and describe the problems first hand to demonstrate how big an issue crocodile numbers are to those that live and work in the region.  We strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say and support the Safer Waterways Bill.

The Bill calls for self-management of crocodiles through the establishment of the Queensland Crocodile Authority based in Far North Queensland. This is a critical part of the Bill, which enables fast response and more effective management of crocodile numbers in the region, particularly in heavily populated, tourist destinations.

To view submissions, see public hearing dates and read more about the Safer Waterways Bill 2018 visit; https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/ITDEC/inquiries/current-inquiries/7SaferWater2018

Shane Paulger
KAP President