Mornings With John Mackenzie

John MacKenzie chats with Jason Christopher, Pharmacist and Managing Director of Cairns Doctors and Whole Life Pharmacy, about the ongoing vandalism, break-ins, and crime suffered by him at the hands of young people. A spate of attacks against businesses at the Barr St Markets has hindered trading and highlighted concerns for the safety and well-being of customers, staff, and residents nearby. A group of young offenders can allegedly be seen on security video destroying property and leaving behind graffiti that references the Cleveland Youth Detention Facility. Exacerbating youth crime and justice in Cairns and FNQ has been a controversial concern for the Queensland state government.

John MacKenzie chats with a talkback caller, Michelle from Speewah, about her witnessing itinerants loitering and hurling abuse at onlooking tourists who stood filming the saga with their phones. Michelle feared for her own safety as she entered her local bank branch while these "grubs" shouted threats. She reminded everyone that this is not a good look for our tourist city.

John MacKenzie chats with Bry Penfold, Owner of QuickCoast Xpeditions, about his business idea called Coastal Xpeditions which will ferry passengers in luxury between Cairns, Mission Beach, and Townsville. The service, based in Mission Beach, plans to "island hop" along the stunning coastline of Far North Queensland and will include the Hinchinbrook channel on its course. Mr. Penfold expects high visitation from the international markets but also indicated that there is local enthusiasm and support.

John MacKenzie chats State of Origin Game 1 with Chris "Choppy" Close, Rugby League Legend and player for the first State of Origin match in 1980. Choppy spoke about this year's Maroons team under coach Billy Slater. Don't miss SOO Game 1 tonight at 8 pm AEST to be held at Adelaide Oval, South Australia!

John MacKenzie chats with talkback caller Bob, who operates a business in Cairns, about the state of tourism and CBD security. Following the repeated assaults on innocent people and vandalism of more businesses in Cairns, Bob spoke out demanding urgent action from our elected officials before all the tourists are scared away. Bob also touched on a rumour that Cathay Pacific airlines have potentially floated the idea of Cairns being an international hub.

John MacKenzie chats with Robbie Katter, State Member for Traeger and Queensland Leader of Katter's Australian Party, to gauge his reaction to an interview with a 17-year-old reformed criminal who is trying to turn his life around. The teenage offender was interviewed by Gavin King at 4CA last week and explained how the state ultimately set him up for a life of recidivism. Robbie Katter has long called for relocating repeat offenders to remote facilities to develop respect and real-world skills in efforts to rehabilitate them into a life of civility.

John MacKenzie chats with Cr. Brett Olds, CRC Representative for Division 9, about a myriad of local issues, including bike path links, crime and CCTV amplification systems, and Double Island. The latest part of the Northern Beaches Leisure Trail will join Kewarra Beach to Clifton Beach and will include the construction of a bridge to cross Deep Creek. Double Island has landed in the news again after its former owner, John Pallister, has stated that he would like to purchase the lease from Benny Wu, who has passed all state government deadlines to rejuvenate the resort and facilities. Listeners to the John Mackenzie Show had previously been told that privacy concerns were the reason that speakers cannot be used by the city's CCTV system, but it was then revealed that Brisbane City already use an "amplification" system to deter crime. Cr. Olds agreed that any speaker system needs to be immediately considered.

John MacKenzie chats with talkback caller, Michael from Gordonvale, about tangible solutions to deal with the growing crime problems, particularly in regard to troubled youth. Michael suggested rural facilities that teach real-world skills are one of the answers to curb the trend of exacerbating youth crime.

John MacKenzie chats with Joanne Borg, Former Child Safety Executive & Co-Founder of Changing Cairns Crime Problems, about government institutions designed to help troubled youths. Joanne spoke about the high cost to taxpayers needed to keep children in youth facilities and programs (such as Resicare). The failures of such institutions were also discussed.  A Queensland parliamentary Inquiry into the support required for victims of crime is being held in Cairns today and moves on to Townsville tomorrow.

Winning Streak: John MacKenzie chats with Cr. Cathy Zeiger, CRC Representative for Division 3, about how the Cairns Council will back down from introducing the controversial tenant tax. The tax proposal was aimed at investment properties (non-principle places of residency) within the Cairns Regional Council electorate. An increase in rates would only see landlords struggle with increased bureaucracy, and tenants would suffer as rents rise to reflect such changes.  Cr. Zeiger was outspoken against the rates increase from its inception.

John MacKenzie chats with Cr. Cathy Zeiger, CRC Representative for Division 3, about the tenant tax, crime and vandalism, and dog attack responsibility.  The Cairns Regional Council has dropped its proposed "tenant tax", which would have seen a rate increase for investment properties or non-principle places of residencies. Councillor Zeiger, from the beginning, was outspoken against the proposal and feels this is a win for the community. On another note, Cr. Zeiger visited a local park site this morning that was vandalised overnight, and touched on dog ownership's rules and responsibilities.

Cash is King!  John MacKenzie chats with Cr. Brett Olds, CRC Rep for Division 9, about the unanimous vote to keep or return cash payment options at CRC facilities. Around 60 people crammed themselves into the 50-seat gallery, with another 70 watching the livestream downstairs to watch over the Cairns Regional Council vote. Cr. Terry James produced an amended motion for Agenda item 1 Council Facilities - Payment Options that stated CRC would bring cash back to its facilities. Loud cheers echoed the council chambers and hugs ensued as Cr. James's motion was passed. A happy win for residents.

John MacKenzie chats with Kevin Byrne, Executive Manager of Enterprise North and Former Mayor of Cairns, about victims of crime and abuse following the story of people being targeted at shopping malls and centres. The ever-increasing crime trends now weems to have expanded north to the once quiet area of Smithfield with shoppers being the target of theft, abuse, harassment, assaults, and racial language. Mr. Byrne shared his sentiments on what is seemingly a losing battle against young offenders who claim to "own this city" and have no fear or respect for their community.

John MacKenzie chats with Jimmy Floyd about his efforts to create a youth program that aims to divert young offenders in the right direction in life.  But Jimmy needs your help and support! Mr. Floyd faces a massive challenge to turn the idea into a reality. Listen to the interview to find out more.

John MacKenzie chats with Ian Leavers, President and CEO of the Queensland Police Union about the successful expansion of metal detection wands being used in safe night precincts. Cairns will soon follow Townsville in its use of "wanding" powers by state police. Townsville saw 66 individuals scanned over the weekend, out of the state total of 530. Queensland Police charged 15 people and detected eight weapons. The expansion of police wanding powers is known as "Jack's Law", which was in response to the murder of 17-year-old Jack Beasley who was stabbed to death in 2019.

John MacKenzie chats with talkback caller, Elvis from Edmonton, about a group of International Tour Agents who were abused by a group of drunks in Kuranda Village. These are the very agents who encourage tourists to visit Cairns, Kuranda and Far North Queensland.  Some arguements are made that crime shouldn't be reported on as it scares off the tourists, however, it seems that the criminals are doing a good enough job at already scaring the tourists away. We cannot pretend crime doesn't occur in FNQ! To pretend so, is much like the fictional Mayor in the film JAWS wanting to keep the tourists coming by claiming that there are "no sharks". First impressions last a lifetime; we don't want to see our city and surrounding towns turn into places of danger and lawlessness.

Step in Right Direction:  John MacKenzie chats with Dr. Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminology at Bond University, for his perspective on crime reduction in relation to the expansion of metal detectors used by Queensland Police, in order to curb knife crime. Trial periods at the Gold Coast saw a decrease in the number of knife-related crimes, and metal detectors are being expanded to other safe night precincts across the state.

No More Living in Fear! John MacKenzie chats with Villa Romana Owner, Helen Papagelou, about being threatened, accosted and robbed repeatedly by a growing crime problem in our once beautiful city of Cairns. Mrs Papagelou spoke of being threatened with one of her own dining knives by odious itinerants who plague the Esplanade and streets of Cairns. The city of Cairns is building a reputation of lawlessness and danger, at a cost to the health and welbeing of local residents and tourists. The state government should owe a duty of care to its citizens.

John MacKenzie chats with Division 9 Councillor Brett Olds about the deadline to meet lease conditions for Double Island. Leaseholder Benny Wu was given until March 31 2023 by the Queensland Depatment of Resources to have the resort open and to provide day-use facilities for public visitors. Many are calling for the state goverment to strip Mr. Wu of the lease, considering that the conditions of the contract have not yet been met, even after considerable time was provided. IMAGE: Sheba_Also 43,000 photos, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Cairns_Palm_Cove_Double_Island-1_%2823535535935%29.jpg