General News
9 September, 2025
Wangetti Trail back on track
THE $47.1 million Wangetti Trail is to be managed by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service after years of delays and budget blow outs.
The government has also appointed a project director and a community and stakeholder engagement officer to streamline procedural and approval delays by delivering at the source and removing unnecessary extra steps.
Environment and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said the first step was moving the project team from Brisbane to Cairns, where it always should have been and getting the right people in the right roles to deliver locally.
“Many locals have voiced their frustrations to me about the Wangetti Trail and we are getting on with the job of ensuring we have the right foundations in place to deliver a world class project,” he said.
“We’ve already appointed a highly qualified, local project director to oversee planning, approvals and works and we’re currently recruiting a community and stakeholder engagement officer to make sure we’re listening to and addressing local feedback.”
Member for Barron River and assistant tourism minister Bree James said the changes would make all the difference in delivering a world-class trail for Cairns.
“We’re taking Wangetti from an epic fail to an epic trail,” she said.
“The Crisafulli government is getting this project back on track and will deliver it for Cairns and all of Queensland.
“Having this project managed out of Cairns and cutting red tape will finally make this trail what it needs to be – exactly what locals expect and deserve.”
Member for Cook David Kempton said he wanted to see a project the residents of the Far North could finally be proud of.
“Locals have told us they want a better track,” he said.
“We’re working through their suggestions and making design changes now.
“This highly designed and engineered track suffered significant damage following the 2023 flooding and will be costly to repair.
“The Wangetti Trail has the potential to be a significant tourism drawcard to the region and Minister Powell and the department must get stage two right from the start to ensure we do not see another debacle.”
Mr Kempton said a development application would be lodged with Douglas Shire Council at the appropriate time.
