Jarrod Bleijie excludes climate from FNQ Regional Plan

The Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) and the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) warn that the Crisafulli Government's newly released Far North Queensland Regional Plan fails to confront the region's escalating climate risks and condemns a community already on the frontlines of climate impacts to an even more disaster-prone future.

At an industry briefing in Cairns last week, the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, Minister Jarrod Bleijie, spoke with crude candour about the Crisafulli Government's 25-year vision for the far north.

The draft plan contains no references to 'climate change', a stark contrast to the 2009 plan, which mentioned climate change 137 times in its 188 pages.

Public consultation runs to 5 January 2026, but the window has been cut to 30 business days and squeezed into the Christmas and New Year period, down from 60 days.

Cairns and Far North Environment Centre's Director, Bronwyn Opie, said

It was incredibly disappointing and confronting to hear an elected representative, Minister Bleijie, say things like ‘we have removed all the bullshit’, only to find he’s removed any reference to climate change from the draft, and axed the Acknowledgement of Country.

The 2009 plan outlined projected risks for FNQ, and our understanding of those risks has only grown since then. And yet, this plan provides no updates, no new guidance, and no acknowledgment of these evolving risks.

Climate change requires action at every level and cannot be left to state-wide plans alone. Regional planning decisions on infrastructure, land use, and local government schemes determine whether communities are safe, resilient, and sustainable in the face of very real physical risks like increasing storm damage, sea-level rise, and ecosystem vulnerability.

We've been waiting for this draft Plan to be released, and we contributed to earlier consultations where stakeholders repeatedly raised climate change as a priority for the new Plan. It’s confusing to us, and to FNQ communities, that the Queensland Government’s own climate dashboard outlines serious risks for our region, yet the draft regional plan does not meaningfully address any of them.

This plan should be an opportunity to prepare our region for the decades ahead, not turn its back on the issue that is threatening our region's prosperity the most. We urge Minister Bleijie to put clear, measurable and enforceable climate considerations into this FNQ Regional Plan. Climate resilience is not optional, it is essential to safeguard FNQ’s communities and economy.

QCC Campaigner and Far North Queensland resident, Ms Charlie Cox, said

Overlooking climate resilience and strategic planning for a hotter, more disaster-prone future is insulting for a region on the frontline of climate impacts.

It’s coming on two years since Cyclone Jasper and we are still cleaning up the mess which left whole communities cut off with unprecedented flooding, landslips, and major infrastructure damage.

Global scientific consensus and the National Climate Risk Assessment warns of even more frequent heatwaves and severe coastal flooding for our region. Not to mention how this will impact major industries for our region like tourism and agriculture. Such an extreme risk for our region warrants a mention in our regional plan.

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