General News
18 September, 2026
Residents oppose waste plant
RESIDENTS from several northern Cairns suburbs have formed a new community group amid growing concern about a proposed waste-processing and renewable energy facility at Barron.
The newly formed Barron Community Alliance brings together residents from Barron, Caravonica, Kamerunga, Smithfield and surrounding areas who are concerned about the proposed development at 1L Kamerunga Road. The group held a community launch at Old Smithfield Cemetery yesterday.
Bioplant NQWTE Cairns Pty Ltd has applied for a material change of use for a special industry – waste processing facility and a renewable energy facility. The application describes a thermal waste-processing facility using pyrolysis and related processes to convert waste into fuels and energy, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Stony Creek Community Association Incorporated president Tony Gordon said there was significant community concern regarding the proposal.
“There’s a huge amount of community sentiment in relation to this proposal. Yeah, I’m just one individual, but I represent the interests of the residents of Stony Creek,” he said.
Mr Gordon said residents wanted the Cairns Regional Council to reject the proposal and consider an alternative location.
“We want it rejected, but we want Cairns Regional Council to also consider putting the facility at where the Bedminster plant was,” he said.
The alliance said its principal concerns included flooding, air and odour emissions, noise, traffic, proximity to sensitive land uses and whether environmental matters had been adequately resolved.
On 1 September, the State Assessment and Referral Agency advised the applicant that the development application had “not adequately demonstrated compliance with the State Development Assessment Provisions”. SARA identified matters requiring further attention, including stormwater, flooding, wastewater, environmental risk, air emissions, odour and associated infrastructure.
Council confirmed that development application 13861/2025 remained under assessment, with public notification open until Friday 18 September.
A council spokeswoman said SARA had identified “a number of matters requiring further information and consideration” and a response from the applicant was pending.
“Following the close of public notification, council will consider all properly made submissions, together with the technical information provided by the applicant and matters raised by SARA and other referral agencies, as part of its assessment,” the spokeswoman said.
Bioplant NQWTE Cairns Pty Ltd, proponent Daniel Hannagan, was contacted for comment but had not responded by our deadline.
