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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Sophie Mcmanus |Charlie McKillop
A father who survived an attack by a 4.5-metre saltwater crocodile is among hundreds of Queenslanders calling for the reptiles to be removed or culled from a Far North river. Marco Tiraboschi was fishing on the bank of the McIvor River, 300 kilometres north of Cairns on the Cape York Peninsula, when the crocodile lunged at him and pulled him under the water. "Both he and I were breathing heavy, with my foot in his mouth," he said of the November 2021 attack.
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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Christopher Testa |Sophie Mcmanus
A prisoner remains at large after absconding from a prison farm in rural Queensland aboard a stolen tractor. Police believe Michael Graeme Rennie, 43, left Lotus Glen Low Custody Correctional Centre, about 100 kilometres west of Cairns, during a 90-minute window on Sunday. Rennie, serving a sentence of more than six years and three months for serious assault, theft, burglary, drugs, weapons and driving offences, was last seen at 10:20am on Sunday.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Conor Byrne |Sophie Mcmanus
A jury has found Nathan Morris not guilty of murder or manslaughter after he stabbed a man five times. The judge asked the jury to consider the cumulative effects of domestic violence on Mr Morris' life. Mr Morris now walks free. A 22-year-old man has been found not guilty of murder or manslaughter despite stabbing his sister's boyfriend to death in far north Queensland.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Christopher Testa |Sophie Mcmanus
The PM arrives in the far north promising half the funds for a $490 million replacement bridge over the Barron River near Cairns. Locals say the funding is needed but governments should consider a new highway over the mountain range to the Atherton Tablelands. Neither side of politics has committed to investigating an alternative route over the Kuranda Range.
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Feb 25, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Sharnie Kim |Sophie Mcmanus
One of the few Queensland regional councils still providing fluoridated water has voted to stop adding the tooth-strengthening mineral to its water supply. The Cook Shire, which covers much of the vast Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, voted four to three on Tuesday to stop fluoridating the water of its largest centre, Cooktown, which is home to about 3,000 people. Of the state's 77 local government areas only 24 will continue to fluoridate the water.
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Feb 24, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Sophie Mcmanus |Conor Byrne
Three teenage boys accused of raping a woman at knifepoint during a home invasion in Cairns have been ordered to undergo disease testing. Two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old are facing about a dozen offences each, including rape, armed robbery and deprivation of liberty.
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Feb 21, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Jessica Black |Sophie Mcmanus
A third teenager has been charged with five counts of rape after an alleged home invasion in Cairns on Friday morning. 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732Men's Referral Service: 1300 766 491Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 131 114: 1800 819 817Full Stop Australia: 1800 385 578The 15-year-old boy was arrested on Friday afternoon and charged with 13 offences, including armed robbery, deprivation of liberty, possessing dangerous drugs and obstructing a police officer.
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Feb 12, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Conor Byrne |Sophie Mcmanus
A tour guide says warming waters in northern Queensland mean crocodiles are spending more time hiding from the heat. University of Queensland scientists agree, and say in hot years the reptiles' increased internal temperatures adversely impact their behaviour. The long-term health impacts of the warmer waters on crocodiles will be studied in the next phase of research.
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Feb 11, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Sophie Mcmanus |Holly Richardson |Conor Byrne
Cases of a deadly soil-borne bacterial disease have exploded in Queensland’s far north, including two people who have died since the start of the wet season. The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has recorded 36 cases of melioidosis since November. "It's a very big number of cases for the Cairns and Hinterland region, and we've only just started seeing the effects from the rain," Tropical Public Health Services director Jacqui Murdoch said.
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Feb 1, 2025 | 
abc.net.au | Sophie Mcmanus |Christopher Testa
One of Australia's longest running Indigenous festivals won't take place this year. The biennial Laura Quinkan Dance Festival attracts thousands of people to Cape York but costs and organisational delays have led to this year's event being ruled out. Organisers say planning is under way to revive it for 2026 with a "more homegrown feel". One of the country's longest-running Indigenous festivals won't go ahead this year but organisers say planning is underway to bring it back in 2026.
