General News
23 October, 2025
River needs dredging
MAJOR dredging of the Johnstone River over several kilometres from its mouth towards the Innisfail foreshore is the target of a revitalised campaign by business and industry groups.
Spearheaded by former business chamber president Suzanne Russell, the group ‘Activ8 Innisfail’ says recreational boating and the region’s remaining marine industries face a “crisis” unless the silt-choked river is extensively dredged.
They say 50 years or more of inaction to keep the river town as a viable port has meant a massive buildup of siltation.
“The economy of the town in terms of water-based industries is getting very seriously close to ending,” Mrs Russell said.
“Every person in this region who owns a boat knows the reality of what’s going on.
“They’re about to lose the public wharf at Port Mourilyan and, once that’s done, there’s nowhere, nowhere you can dock your boat.”
The funding commitment for such a major project would be, Activ8 believes, in the vicinity of at least $65 million and would have to be put forward by the state and/or federal governments.
Mrs Russell said it was high time there was significant investment – especially by the state – in Innisfail and the Cassowary Coast region’s economic future.
“Have you seen how much they’re spending on the Olympics? If anybody studies the state government budgets for this region, the ‘Katter’ region as we know it is, in one year, Cairns got $1500 per head of population in their budget. We got 32 cents.”
Innisfail-based live coral wholesaler and supplier Aus Fish Coral is part of the group pushing for the dredging project.
Using echo sounders, its proprietor Dean Pease has done highly detailed, extensive mapping of the Johnstone River where the dredging is proposed, the red showing ‘extremely shallow’ areas from the river mouth inwards.
Mr Pease told The Observer that it was difficult to make Innisfail a working port with the current limited tidal access.
“It really depends on the vessel,” Mr Pease said.
“Myself and a couple of the other commercial operators were talking amongst ourselves about what we’d like to see, and three metres of depth at the lowest tide and a channel of 30 metres wide would be enough to get almost all vessels in and out.”
Mrs Russell said ships over 90m once came up the Johnstone River.
“Today, even 4m boats struggle to get in or out,” she said.
“Businesses are being forced to travel to southeast Queensland for servicing and fit-outs.
“Here on the Cassowary Coast, nearly all boating has been pushed out of the Johnstone River and down to the Port of Mourilyan – but now Ports North plans to close the last public wharf there, kicking the can further south.”
While securing funding for dredging the river might still be a way off, Mrs Russell believes the state government doesn’t have any of its own major hurdles to prevent a major dredging operation to go ahead.
“There are no legislative restrictions on capital works and dredging on the river,” Mrs Russell said.
“For decades the community has been advised that ‘you’ll never dredge the river, it’s too hard, the (Great Barrier Reef) Marine Park Authority will say no, Department of Environment will say no, it has to be a port if it wants to have any proper dredging works.’
“All of that is bullshit. Every single one of those beliefs I have researched myself and have satisfied myself that there’s nothing to stop us.”
They’re seeking a meeting with the deputy premier and other ministers and department heads to hopefully present a strong case – including putting an economic value on the sand and minerals that would be taken out of the river for use elsewhere.
Read More: Innisfail