General News
4 February, 2026
Fight to save pool ramps up
BABINDA residents have slammed Cairns Regional Council’s handling of a so-called ‘strategy’ which singles out the town’s historic Olympic-length swimming pool to be retired as soon as this year.
Ahead of a meeting this evening in Babinda to discuss the potential closure, they’ve let Mayor Amy Eden know in no uncertain terms, and sent submissions through a council portal, about why they believe the pool should be saved and improved rather than abandoned.
Residents were outraged when shortly before the Christmas holidays, council released a draft ‘aquatic facilities strategy’ which appeared to seal the pool’s fate.
In the strategy the 50m, six-lane Babinda Pool was the only one earmarked for “retirement” rather than improvement, out of the entire council network of facilities like it.
The town immediately started a strong campaign to save the iconic facility.
Babinda District Community Association president Dalitta Wright wrote a strongly worded, comprehensive submission to council, saying proper consultation was not conducted in Babinda before the strategy was released – as council had claimed.
In response to the Observer’s inquiries, council says that initial community engagement began in mid-2024, “with the first consultation phase including a widely promoted survey that received 578 responses, along with targeted consultation with schools, aquatic operators, sporting bodies and swim clubs,” a council spokeswoman said.
But in her email, Ms Wright said that council’s survey was far from being locally focused, because it was conducted across the whole Cairns region, not just in Babinda and its surrounds.
“The Cairns LGA has a population of approximately 170,000 people, a survey response of 578 participants (or 0.3%) cannot be considered a ‘strong response’ nor does it offer a ‘substantial sample size for effective analysis’,” Ms Wright wrote a few days before a December council meeting debated the issue.
“A quick ring around the six schools located in the Babinda and surrounds area this morning confirmed they were not engaged with despite the report advising ‘consultation with schools’ had occurred,” she said.
The strategy, she said, also identified that aquatic opportunities were offered through a “diverse range of facilities and that residents in our region (Babinda and surrounds) will continue to have access at Babinda Boulders, Josephine Falls and Bramston Beach.”
Mayor Amy Eden has publicly said she will attend this evening’s meeting at the Babinda RSL Hall and is prepared to answer residents’ questions.
“I don’t have all the answers, but what I can say is I agree that saying ‘you can go swim in Josephine Falls or the Boulders’. It’s not laughable, it’s insulting,” she told ABC Far North Radio last week.
“I know that the demographic of Babinda is a lot of elderly people and that’s really not appropriate in that regard,” Cr Eden said. I also understand the importance of having somewhere safe to swim, not only for physical and mental health but also that community well-being.”
Local resident and community advocate Kerin Smith said she, like many others, believed the pool had been neglected and left to run down, with no effort to improve the facility or extend its life since it was built by the community more than 50 years ago.
“I’ve looked at all the pools from Gordonvale upwards and they all have the most lovely pools and they are getting further upgrades as part of this new aquatic strategy,” she said.
“Looking at it (Babinda Pool) today, the kiddie play area is disgusting. You can’t even use it. It’s closed off. There are cracks everywhere. There’s mould everywhere. The pool’s in desperate need of a whole refurbish. Even the buildings need washing down,” she said.
“They say people don’t use it but it’s not open on public holidays. It’s not open on weekends. And honestly, why would you want to come here without a kiddie pool? You know, it’s one excuse after the other.
“We’re going to fight to get it back up where it should be. We pay our rates here in the Cairns community, Cairns shire. It’s time that they gave us exactly what Cairns and everyone else gets, instead of just trying to keep throwing at us – we have no growth, we have no growth, well I ask Amy, ‘why do we have no growth?’.”
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