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Karumba had a thrice weekly air service to and from Cairns. Problem was, it could only operate for 10 months of the year. Because of the dirt strip it was too dodgy for the old Bush Pilots DC3 to land in the wet season.
40 years on, and at a cost of 6 million dollars Karumba now has an all weather strip.Problem is, it is only used for 2 months of the year. (The Wet season!) There is no service for the other 10 months as Skytrans no longer services Karumba. 2 months service as opposed to 10 months service at a cost of $6 million. THIS IS PROGRESS?
Then there's the Heritage Track and all the you beaut signs contributed to by the Qld Government. Great to educate the tourists about Karumbas history. No earthly use to the LOCALS who already know Karumbas history!
And of course there's the HIGH school.OOPS, SORRY, THERE IS NO HIGH SCHOOL! Back in the '70s, Premier Joh Bjelke Petersen visited Karumba around election time and promised to build a high school. We're still waiting! Too late now, not enough students to warrant the expense of a high school say the Powers That Be.
40 years ago there were plenty of students, as can be attested to by the locals who went through Primary school at the time. Many of these kids went to boarding school back then (and still do today) but for every family using this option, 2 families elected to leave town to be with their kids. Thus, over the years Karumba's population has declined to a point where next year Karumba State School will be reduced to 26 students with the real possibility that it will close in the foreseeable future owing to lack of enrolments.
When you see people in their 30's and 40's who were born here leaving town with their kids owing to the lack of schooling, one must question the Government's priorities.
I recently wrote to the Minister for Transport requesting a school bus service to enable locals (who chose) to send their children to Normanto High School (70km away). My letter was accompanied by a support letter from the head mistress of KSS. His reply was in the negative, stating numbers would be insufficient to warrant the cost of a bus service.
They can afford to spend $6 million on a bitumen airstrip that is only used by FIFO mine workers and the occasional private aircraft, but can't afford a bus for our kids to get an education without leaving home!
Karumba has only one problem, it is in the Gulf of Carpentaria and NOT in SOUTH EAST QLD.
With the area contributing millions of dollars annually into the economy through the fishing and beef industry, not to mention the tourist industry, the Government seems to consider us to be insignificant.
Appears to be a case of out of sight, out of mind.
This once great place to live is slowly becoming a ghost town, as evidenced by the number of houses (and businesses) currently for sale.
Despite continued promises (from both sides of Parliament) that ALL children will have the opportunity of a sound education, the Government's performance in delivering these ongoing promises is ABYSMAL.
The Government wants to get more people to relocate to rural areas (You can't get more rural than Karumba) yet provides no incentives to do so.
Without a High school there is no point young families moving here.
Will the politicians EVER wake up, or really care? I seriously doubt it!