General News
1 September, 2026
Weekend a no go for Babinda pool users
THE FUTURE of the Babinda Pool remains under a dark cloud, sparking growing frustration among local residents as Cairns Regional Council continues to resist calls for weekend operating hours ahead of its scheduled spring reopening.
Set to open its doors on Monday 7 September following annual winter maintenance, the pool will operate strictly on a weekday schedule from 6am to 11am and 1pm to 6pm.
The decision leaves families, workers, and weekend recreation seekers shut out – forcing many to travel long distances or miss out entirely.
Local campaigner and surf lifesaver Fergus Darveniza, who earlier this year completed a 32-kilometre charity swim to raise funds for the Starlight Foundation and draw attention to the pool’s plight, believes the current operating model sets the facility up to fail.
“Opening the pool on weekends is important because it increases the opportunity for people to actually use the facility,” Mr Darveniza told The Observer.
“A lot of families and people who work during the week simply don’t have the same opportunity to access the pool during weekday operating hours,” he said.
Mr Darveniza pointed out the flaw in assessing the pool’s viability based on suppressed usage figures.
“You can’t take a service away from a community and then judge the level of demand once that service is gone,” Mr Darveniza said.
“If other pools in the district are open on weekends and public holidays, naturally they’re going to have more opportunities to attract users.
“Babinda needs to be given a similar opportunity before we make assumptions about how well utilised the facility can be.”
Beyond weekend recreation, water safety remains the core issue for a township flanked by natural hazards.
