Community
8 December, 2023
Climate crisis ‘stark reality’
CAIRNS regional councillor Rob Pyne is again urging the council to acknowledge a climate emergency and play a role in warning residents of the dangers of ‘extreme heat’.
In August Cr Pyne moved a motion that “Cairns Regional Council declare a climate emergency and investigate ways to alert and assist elderly and other vulnerable residents to the dangers of extreme heat in preparation for the upcoming summer months”.
Cr Pyne said he moved the resolution following unprecedented fires and loss of life during the heatwave conditions in the northern hemisphere, where over 60,000 heat related fatalities took place. It also followed United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning the world was now facing “global boiling”.
“So, I was dumbfounded when my resolution was not supported by council,” he said.
“When I asked questions about how the council planned to prepare for and respond to the coming summer forecast to be a very hot El Nino year, the chairman of the Local Disaster Management Group, Cr Terry James, was inaccurate in referring to the Cairns Evacuation and Recovery Register as a means of supporting elderly people in the heat.
“The register is for evacuation purposes in events such as cyclones and flooding. It does not cover heatwave events which are not classified as a disaster under Queensland legislation.
“Climate change is urgent and is without doubt the biggest threat to human survival and prosperity.”
His call comes as a “Turn Up the Heat on Decision Makers” climate rally is being held on Sunday from 9am-10.30am at the Cairns Esplanade beach volleyball courts.
The peaceful demonstration will be hosted by the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), with guest speakers including Doctors for the Environment’s Nicole Sleeman, Gimuy Walubara Yidinji elder Henrietta Marrie, and retired Anglican priest Neil Forgie.
CAFNEC director Lucy Graham said “fires are already tearing through the Atherton Tablelands and Cape York, and now we have a cyclone on the horizon too. Nature and people are suffering climate impacts right now and the federal government is still approving fossil fuel projects. It’s simply not good enough”.
