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

Monday August 13, 2001 27th Edition

The biggest news of the weeks has been the death of failed business entrepreneur Christopher Skase. The high flying businessman had a big effect on Cairns and in particular Port Douglas, with high profile property developments. His death has been met with mixed reactions, especially as he never faced the Australian Courts to answer police charges concerning the failure of his company, Quintex.

Mixed response to Skase's death
Failed businessman Christopher Skase, had a major impact in the development of Port Douglas. Many people attribute Skase with putting Port Douglas on the face of the international tourism scene with the building of the Sheraton Mirage and Marina Mirage. Many local businesses suffered with the collapse of Quintex, Mr Skase's company, and there are mixed emotions in the wake of his death. Some members of the community feel that he should be honoured as a visionary whilst others feel that he was a criminal who should have returned to Australia to face police charges.

It is estimated that the collapse of Quintex empire left approximately $5 million unpaid to local building subcontractors in Cairns and Port Douglas according to the National Sub Contractors Association, Queensland Vice President, Mr Ron Crew.

A lucky escape as light plan crashes at Cooktown
Four people escaped injury when the light plane they were travelling in crash landed into forest as the Cessna 182 tried to land at Cooktown Aerodrome. The cockpit of the plane was badly damaged and one wing was torn off in the crash, which saw all of the four men on board receive relatively minor injuries. The plan came to halt a few metres from the crocodile infested Endeavour River.

James Cook University tops list in research
North Queensland based James Cook University has been graded the top regional Research University in Queensland in the nationally distributed "Good Universities guide". The book is used by prospective students to help choose a place to study and it identifies the strengths and weaknesses of all Universities in the country. James Cook University has a campus in Cairns and Townsville.

Duty Free businesses set to expand
Duty free of tax free shops are traditionally only found in international airports. Following a recent trial at the Cairns domestic airport by duty free operator, Downtown Duty Free, these types of businesses will soon start to appear in domestic airports around the Country. The trial was very successful, with the large number of international tourists travelling on domestic sectors considered a key factor.

Cairns Taxi Company releases new look
Cairns local taxi company, Black and White Taxis, has unveiled new look vehicles promoting a national telephone number for ordering taxis - 131 008. The concept allows taxi customers to dial the same number anywhere in Australia to order a taxi, eliminating the need to look up taxi telephone numbers when travelling.

Ergon Energy to improve work
The leading energy provider in North Queensland, Ergon Energy, have announced plans to improve training and staff briefings before commencing any work in environmentally sensitive areas following a number of problems associated with land clearing in the area. Ergon Energy Regional Operations Manager, Geoff Bowes, said the briefings would be based on information contained in new environmental management plans developed for fifty locations where electricity infrastructure was located in Wet Tropic land.

Cairns Cup kicks of the racing season
The Cairns Cup, held on Friday and Saturday (11th and 12th of July) marks the official launch of the spring racing festival in Cairns. This is the premier horse racing carnival in the Tropical North and it also begins a festive period for Cairns with the Reef Festival, which is held in September.

Dry, cooler weather has its problems
Cairns has had an excellent winter, even if it has been a bit cool for the locals. The down side to the cool days and clear nights has been the increased risk of bush fires in the area. Back burning has commenced in some of the more high risk areas, particularly on the hill slopes. The bureau of meteorology has warned that the clear weather is set to continue and they have encouraged home owners to take extra precautions by clearing any vegetation that could pose a fire risk.