John MacKenzie chats with Councillor Kristy Vallely, CRC Representative for Division 6, to wrap up the high times from the 2022 Cairns Festival [Fun in the Sun]!

The highly anticipated Skywhales were viewed to a full crowd on Saturday morning, with the Carnival on Collins event taking place on Sunday with beautiful weather enjoyed by all.

These final events wrap up the Cairns Festival for 2022, with organisers already making plans for next year, including amending the official name to include the phrase "fun in the sun".

John MacKenzie chats with Amanda Macor, Racing Fashion Icon and 2012 Winner of Melbourne Cup Spring Carnival, about the Cairns Amateurs Carnival Fashions on the Field (Friday and Saturday, September 9th and 10th).

Eight categories for fashion will be running in 2022 with over $30,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!

Bold and bright colours with vibrant prints are trending this year. Don't miss the Cairns Amateurs Carnival at Cannon Park.

John MacKenzie chats with David Nye, Manager of Aviation & Business Development at Cairns Airport, about the recent changes made in Japan in regard to Covid-19 and international tourism.

The recent announcement was made by Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and will see the number of permits to travel from Japan increase from 20,000 to 50,000. The requirement to provide a negative PCR test has also been scrapped.

Whilst entry into Japan for individual travelers remains closed, non-guided package tours can now operate from September 7th.

This is exciting news for Cairns and Tropical North Queensland needing to recover lost international tourism markets.

John MacKenzie chats with Dr. Rebecca Elliot, Co-Owner of West Medical Centre, about their new approach to operating a medical clinic as general practitioners.

Dr. Elliot's practice recently moved to 1/70 Anderson Street Manunda, and is offering a new operating model in an effort to ensure patients can make same-day bookings to see a GP.

This is a much-need and fresh approach to addressing the GP shortage facing Cairns and regional areas.

John Mackenzie chats with Sean Lord, Director of Lord Insurance Services, about the impact and insurance stresses involved in car thefts for Cairns.

As Cairns faces yet another year of record-breaking car theft statistics, victims of such crimes are being left with anxiety over insurance woes and long wait times for mechanical repairs.

Insurance prices are increasing, with many victims of crime being forced to pay the premiums for their stolen vehicles because the offending child's name is protected and can't be given out to insurers.

It seems yet again that offenders' rights trump the rights of innocent citizens, including women and the elderly.

John MacKenzie chats with Paul Bidwell, Chief Executive Master Builder's Queensland, about national construction codes that will require new homes to meet a seven-star energy rating and at least one step-free access point.

The changes in the law will come into effect from October 2023 and are estimated to increase the cost of building a new home by approximately $30,000.

However, the new national codes will not be adopted by all states, with New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia all indicating they will be opting out.

The news comes as the building industry suffers with construction companies going bust all around the nation.

John MacKenzie chats with Linda Cooper, Former CRC Councilor and General Manager of Study Cairns, about the Cairns Festival 2022 event.

Cairns Festival, formerly known as "Fun in the Sun" is back in 2022 celebrating its 60-year Diamond Jubilee! With fun for all ages from August 26th till September 4th 2022.

Look out for the Reef Light and City Lights each night of the festival. Don't forget the Grand Parade on Saturday 27th, the giant Skywhales on Saturday 3rd, and other fun and entertaining events all throughout the fortnight.

Don't Miss Out!

John MacKenzie chats with Cr. Cathy Zeiger, CRC Representative for Division 3, about the council's objection to proposed changes to state laws that would decriminalise certain anti-social behaviour.

In a regressive step, the Queensland government is proposing controversial legal changes that would encourage public urination, drunkenness, and fear-inducing begging.

Cairns Regional Council gained special permission to make a formal submission to a parliamentary inquiry being held to discuss the proposed changes in the law.

John MacKenzie chats with Dr. Ken Chapman, Chair of Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Chair of Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, about the controversial "bed tax" proposal to assist with destination marketing costs.

Cairns Regional Council will take the proposal to the Local Government Association of Queensland in an effort to charge short-term accommodation providers a 2.5% levy.

Predictions report that the bed tax should inject an additional $16 million annually to be used to market Cairns and the tropical North.

John and Ken also spoke about the 290-metre-long cruise ship, "Pacific Encounter", currently docked in Cairns with its passenger capacity of over 2500!

John MacKenzie chats with Michael Kerr, Mayor of Douglas Shire, about the decision to replace the Daintree River ferry.

Douglas Shire Councillors recently voted for a motion in favour of replacing and upgrading the existing ferry used to transport vehicles across the Daintree River.

Recommendations show that a wider, four-lane ferry would increase transport capacity by up to 90% per hour. Michael provided his valuable update on this ongoing news story.