General News
5 April, 2026
Campaign to dredge river
AN Innisfail-based business group fears state government bureaucracy will continue to get in the way of any plans to dredge Innisfail’s Johnstone River.
Activ8 Innisfail says recreational boating and the region’s remaining marine industries will face a crisis unless the silt-choked river is extensively dredged between the Innisfail CBD and the river mouth at Flying Fish Point.
Led by its president Suzanne Russell, Activ8 Innisfail has over the past several months been trying to secure meetings with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) in an effort to further the proposal.
But now the group says it’s being stonewalled.
“Activ8 Innisfail has challenged the transport department over a ruling on river dredging that undermines the state government’s support for regional growth and development and could spell the end of river and estuary dredging for every community along Queensland’s reef coast,” Ms Russell told The Observer.
She said the group had spent a year in discussions with the TMR to get the Johnstone River dredged, by activating Innisfail Harbour as an official state boat harbour.
“We begged for a meeting with the minister but were constantly stonewalled by the department,” Ms Russell said.
“Only to be gobsmacked when TMR sidestepped the issue and instead exerted unprecedented bureaucratic overreach over river dredging.”
The business group says rather than support a regional centre such as Innisfail, the department appears to be now wanting to add another bureaucratic hurdle, by placing any proposed dredging under the state Ports Act.
“In a nutshell, previously where essential dredging was needed to keep rivers and estuaries open, councils and communities had only to apply to the Department of Environment for a permit, find the money and hire a dredge”, said Ms Russell.
“But TMR has made it clear it can look at any dredging project anywhere and say ‘oh you have too much silt’, ‘oh that is too much work to deal with and we reckon that isn’t small infrastructure at all’. ‘So we can use the Ports Act to prohibit your essential works from happening’”, said Ms. Russell.
“That is an appalling catch-22 for regional and coastal towns dealing with decades of silt build up in their rivers and needing to ensure local quality of life and economies.
“We weren’t asking them (TMR) to pay to dredge our silt choked Johnstone River.
“But that was all they were concerned about.
“I am sure the minister will take a grave view of the department’s lack of support for regional communities, like Innisfail, which face the need for essential dredging where silt has gotten out of control.”
“Innisfail is critical to Far North Queensland as an alternative maritime precinct and dredging is just one part of that puzzle.”
The Observer has approached the offices of both the minister – Brent Mickelberg – and the TMR for a response to Activ8’s claims and concerns but the newspaper has yet to hear anything back from either.
“We urge Minister Mickelberg to review the department’s ruling which completely contradicts his keynote speech in Cairns recently,” Ms Russell said.
Read More: Innisfail