General News
11 June, 2026
Marina gives hope
THE Queensland Government is funding a Douglas Shire Council scoping study into the Port Douglas Marine Industry Precinct, a world-class maintenance facility for ships, boats and other vessels.
The $300,000 is part of the council’s push to drive regional growth and employment in the wake of the Mossman sugar mill closure. The Mossman Advisory Committee has thrown its support behind the investment.
The precinct would service maritime tourism, fishing fleets, cruising yachts and recreational vessels, some of which currently need to travel as far as Townsville or even Brisbane for regular servicing and maintenance.
The funding will be provided through the Mossman Transition Plan which was set up to support the community’s shift away from sugar following the mill’ s closure in 2024.
In 2024, the state government promised more than $12 million to help the region after the mill went into liquidation and has been working closely with the community to ensure a needs-based approach is delivered.
Of the $12m, $6m was used to help industry transport the 2025 crop to Gordonvale and $6 m remained for investment into the regional industry and the community.
Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett said the Mossman community had made it clear they were keen to get behind the marine industry precinct and the state government was backing them.
“It wasn’t only farmers that were hit when the mill closed, workers lost their jobs and this partnership with the Douglas Shire Council is expected to create employment opportunities for locals and drive further investment to the region,” Mr Perrett said.
“We promised the Mossman region we would support them to find a future beyond the mill’s closure and we continue to deliver on that promise. Sugar remains a vital and important part of the Far North, but we need to embrace opportunities for diversification and develop concepts like this that offer jobs and security.”
Member for Cook and Mossman Advisory Committee chairman David Kempton said the project was catalytic to economic growth, employment opportunity and a driver to reinvigorate the Douglas Shire.
“This funding announcement supports the regional economy to transition away from sugar cane after 130 years. The proposed marine facility, whilst not directly related to agriculture, will provide employment opportunities for many workers precisely engaged in the cane industry,” he said.
“This is going to be a catalytic project that will, not only bring an opportunity to bring vessels up to 250,000 tonnes instead of going to Townsville and Brisbane, but it will also open up this whole region for opportunities around tourism, economic development and most importantly will bring a lot of those farmers home that have had to leave the area and find work somewhere else.”
Douglas Shire Council Mayor Lisa Scamazzon has welcomed the state government’s support as an important step toward unlocking new economic opportunities for the region.
“Our region has long been powered by tourism and agriculture and expanding into new industries is essential for the Douglas Shire’s economy to evolve and grow,” she said.
“Once fully investigated, I’m confident Port Douglas will prove to be an ideal location for a vibrant, multi-use waterfront precinct and a hub for marine enterprise and new employment pathways for our community. This is fantastic news for Douglas Shire. We are so excited and thank the state government for giving us the funding that will be needed to enable us to introduce the new industry in this area. After events like Mossman mill closure, this will bring employment to our Shire.”
Tourism Port Douglas Daintree executive officer Emma Tunnock can also see the project’s potential saying, “We are excited to be looking at this new project for the region. Look at where we are, we’re in such a spectacular place where the reef meets the rainforest, there’s absolutely nowhere like this in the world.”
Ms Tunnock said the investment was “a signal of confidence, not only to existing operators and the marine industry, but to new investors looking at Port Douglas and Daintree”.
