A weekly re-cap of the events that have made news in Cairns over the past week.

Monday June 24, 2002 71st Edition

The two main themes of news for Cairns in the last week have been either sport or budget orientated. The Cairns City Council and the State Government have both handed down their budgets, with few surprises. The sporting events around the world have attracted large teams of supporters in Cairns with a plethora of sporting events due over the next week, not the least of which is the State of Origin Rugby League clash.

Premier and Cabinet visit Cairns
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has joined his Cabinet in Cairns as part of an ongoing plan to have more Government forums outside of Brisbane. Member of the Cairns public were invited to attend the forum, and over 100 individuals had canvassed the Premiers office to have meetings with various State Members. The Beattie Government has come under fire in recent months for not spending enough time in regional areas and business leaders in Cairns welcomed this visit.

Cairns gears up for deciding State of Origin Rugby League match
The State of Origin is the premier sporting event of the year with Queensland facing New South Wales in a rugby league series. Three rugby league games are played over a two-month period and at present both States have had a victory making the Wednesday nights match the decider. The deciding State of Origin match is expected to be watched by over 3 million people on Wednesday night, 26th of June.

World Cup Soccer fever hits Cairns
In what is shaping up to be a very high profile sporting week, visitors to Cairns have turned out in force to watch the quarter finals in the Soccer World Cup. As Cairns is a major holiday destination for tourists from around the world there were no shortages of supporters for virtually every team making the quarter finals. A large English contingent watched in horror as their beloved David Beckam and the English team lost to Brazil. The semi finals and the grand final match are both expected to see all sporting facilities, bars and clubs packed to capacity.

Rusty's Markets set for a face lift
Rusty's Markets is an icon in Cairns. The markets are the main fresh produce outlet in Cairns, with over 10,000 people buying their fruit and vegetables at Rusty's every Friday and Saturday. The current site is being redeveloped to provide better facilities for the stallholders and to incorporate a youth hostel in the same building. The new Rusty's Markets will provide more parking for customers, cool room storage, lock up facilities for stallholders and air conditioning. The redevelopment is expected to take about six months, which should see the new look Rusty's open prior to Christmas.

Cairns City Council budget holds no surprises
The Cairns City Council handed down the 2002/03 budget last week. There were no real surprises in the budget which reflected a return to a more positive cash position than the last budget which had to rein in a large debt ratio. Considerable funds have been allocated to the ongoing beautification of the city, completion of major works in the city and the suburbs and the ongoing development of the new waste treatment plant.

State budget reflects local budget
The State Government has also handed down their 2002/03 budget with no real surprises here either. The main budget features are:

• $100 million to upgrade the main rail line through to Cairns
• $25.5 million for Ergon Energy Yalkula to Lakeland power line
• $46 million for Cityport and Seaport works
• $9 million for the competition of Cairns - Brisbane tilt train
• $7.8 million for Australian Tropical Forest Institute at JCU
• $7.5 million for Bentley Park College
• $6.12 million for equipment upgrades at Cairns Airport
• $5.8 million to expand drug courts trial
• $5 million to upgrade Peninsula Development Rd.
• $4.6 million in response to Cape York Justice Study
• $3.6 million to increase Cairns District Health Services
• $3.5 million to upgrade Barron Gorge power station
• $3.1 million to install mosquito screens in public housing
• $3.1 million to complete construction of Government offices
• $2.7 million to complete Cairns Esplanade redevelopment