Spilling
Brett Olds Division 9 Councillor Cairns Regional Council
President Rovers Cricket Club
Paul Conway Real Estate Agent @ Realty
At this time of year , the conversation always seems to lead to daylight savings . Are you a fan ?
BRETT : I love daylight savings … when I ’ m down south and on the coast ! I also have fond memories of summer evenings in Europe , where the days last forever and the fun never seems to end . But daylight savings for a State that ’ s as vast as Queensland just doesn ’ t work . With the humidity up here , it ’ s just not convenient , because you can ’ t get your kids to bed and asleep before 9-10pm , and most workers are getting up and going to work in the dark . And it ’ s even worse for those out west , it ’ s just throws everything out of whack .
MARK : Cricket is our national sport and having daylight saving would allow for more hours of cricket matches , cricket training and most importantly backyard cricket . To be against daylight savings is simply Un-Australian . If the English can deal with daylight saving surely us resilient Queenslanders can do the same .
PAUL : Daylight saving as a theory is a good idea for small area states . For Queensland , and especially us in FNQ , it is a bad , bad , bad . At 5.30am during a Brisbane summer , it ’ s broad daylight , yet still dark in Cairns . Do we want to be even more in the dark than southern politicians keep us at 6.30am with daylight saving .
It ’ s the most Australian thing to do in summer , but lately , going to the beach has become a little scaly . What are your thoughts on the apparently increasing number of crocodile sight-ings at our local beaches ?
BRETT : The Crocodile Management issue is a simple one . We have Traffic Management systems for our streets ;
we have a De-nutting Plan for coconut trees ; and when someone has a snake in their yard , they call a snake catcher to remove it . We already have a decent Croc Management Plan in place - it just needs to be implemented more efficiently , and in the right areas . The State should be targeting local swimming beaches and tourist spots , to do their best to prevent interaction . Because when crocs and people play in the same sandbox , it doesn ’ t end well ! There has to be perspective though . The current plan only includes urban areas , not national parks . And rightly so . Right now , they catch crocodiles and move them to a crocodile farm to live out their days , fat and happy . This is good for conservation of crocs and decent for human safety . In the NT , they ’ ve made an industry from crocs - souvenirs of croc skins , teeth , feet and skulls , and the croc meat served at local restaurants . “ I ’ d like a croc burger please … and make it snappy !”
This isn ’ t good for conservation of crocs , but is good for human safety .
We basically have two options – remove to a farm , or cull . I think option one can work , so let ’ s get it done !
MARK : Imagine someone comes into your home , takes your food , cuts down your living space and then gets upset if you get a little snappy . Maybe we should leave the crocs alone . Plus look at it this way , we ‘ re doing better than Townsville , they couldn ’ t keep their Crocs alive .
PAUL : Crocodiles are awesome - until they eat one of your kids . The logic of supermarkets having an Emergency Action Plan for spilt orange juice in case a customer slips , but under-funding Crocodile Management Planning
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