Report from today's
Cairns Post....perhaps some of you guys up north could give a non-newspaper view of the world up there for those intending to travel shortly.
“The
Cape York town of
Coen will run out of fuel for its power supply by Tuesday unless Ergon Energy finds a way to supply the flood-bound community,
police have warned.
With unrelenting rainfall dampening hopes of access by road, Defence Minister Brendan
Nelson has asked the Australian Defence Force chief to see if the army can fix the destroyed Peninsula Development Rd.
Two weeks after record floods from Cyclone Monica destroyed
Cape York’s lifeblood dirt highway, residents remain cut off from food and
services, stations are reporting up to 90 percent calf losses, tourists are abandoning their travel plans and businesses from Thursday Island to
Weipa are feeling the pinch.
Emergency food was being dropped from aircraft across the region yesterday and today,
Cook MP Jason O’Brien said.
“We are still struggling to get
services on the ground to these people,” he said. “The aftermath has lingered longer than what anyone expected.”
But
Coen Sen-Constable Chris Vines said the food would be no good unless there was power to keep it fresh.
He said Ergon hand now abandoned its hopes of trucking fuel by road from
Weipa or
Cairns and was considering enlisting the help of emergency
services to deliver it by air.
Federal member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said he had written to Prime Minister
John Howard about the lack of support for the Peninsula.
“The businesses up here are dying, they’re in ver serious trouble.” Mr Entsch said.
Cook Shire CEO Mark Pitt said the shire was looking at “total
Breakdown of our road network alone”, with conservative damage estimates of up to $10 million.
“There’s not as many people affected (as with Cyclone Larry) but they’re suffering equally as much. We desperately need all the people up here to be given access to (assistance) programs.”
A senior ADF figure would meet with Mr Entsch to discuss enlisting army personnel to fix the roads, a spokesman for the Defence Minister said yesterday."