Mareeba is our beautiful town in Far North Queensland, and it belongs to all who live here. Over the past 24 months the main street has been radically altered.

• First, we lost all the greenery where the traffic lights are now, at the entrance to our CBD.
• Then the trees for wombat crossings.
• And now the council has begun removing the last of the beautiful trees and green median strips for MORE parking. And yet the town has an abundance of parking. All it needed was some signs directing people to the huge parking lots behind the shops.

My family and I are angry and upset watching the relentless destruction. The cooling effect of green spaces, the effect on people's well-being, and the draw of the town's beauty for tourism cannot be ignored any longer.

My business has offices on Byrnes Street, I am a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a community member.  I ask for support to demand that Mareeba Shire Council develop a vision, co-designed with the community, for a CBD that reflects our heritage, our tropical climate, and encourages commerce. Let us create a beautiful CBD that encourages people to stay longer, gives us shade and makes us smile.

We must stand up and be heard. We demand that modern town planning practices be adopted and that a community-driven vision for Mareeba's CBD be developed. Creating a beautiful CBD just requires imagination!