Review of natural areas to improve safety

A review of natural areas and waterways in the Cairns Regional Council area will aim to identity potentials ways to improve safety.

Several tragic incidents that have resulted in death have occurred recently at local waterways, including at Isabella Falls in December 2023 and on 7 April 2024, and at Crystal Cascades on 10 March 2024.

Council’s audit, which will include Crustal Cascades and Isabella Falls, will reference learnings from a comprehensive review of safety at The Boulders, Babinda, in 2022, which was adopted by Council in January 2023.

The audit and review will involve:

Site identification and inspectionsIdentification and assessment of current risks at each site and severityInvestigation of potential mitigation and/or control measures for each risk at each siteOutline of the residual risks if control measures were implementedDetails of costs associated with proposed control and mitigation measuresDetailing an inspection regime for each siteIdentify necessary considerations and requirements for seasonal closures if applicable, andEstablishing an assessment framework for sites across Council where safety may be an issue.

The audit and review will be included as a component of the Aquatic Strategy that will be presented to Council at a workshop in mid-2024.

In the interim, Council will actively monitor these sites and undertaking necessary actions where possible to improve public safety.