Working Together with Local Governments

There are nine local government areas which are partly within the World Heritage Area. The Authority relies on cooperative partnerships with local governments in a variety of ways. Local governments are responsible for planning and development within each Shire. This is particularly important in areas around the boundaries of the World Heritage Area where wildlife and vegetation may be affected. Local governments are also resonsible for on ground management of some places in the Area. They must maintain roads and look after weeds and feral animals on road reserves and other council lands. The nine local governments which help to manage parts of the World Heritage Area are listed below:

• Cairns Regional Council
• Cassowary Coast Regional Council
• Charters Towers Regional Council
• Cook Shire Council
• Hinchinbrook Shire Council
• Tablelands Regional Council
• Townsville City Council
• Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Community Council
• Yarrabah Aboriginal Community Council

You can find out more about local governments from the Local Government section of the Department of Local Government and Planning website.

FNQROC

The Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (FNQROC) is made up of membership of Councils from Ingham north to Cooktown and west to Croydon in Far North Queensland. The region's population is approximately 250,000 with 50% of this population being based in Cairns.

The role of FNQROC is to:

• address cross boundary issues
• take forward the collective interest of Councils in the region and influence senior decision makers within
  Government and agencies
• communication and information sharing
• facilitate regional economic development and co-operation of mutual benefit to member councils,
  communities and businesses
• strategies for doing more with less
• build effective partnerships with State and Federal agencies which make decisions that affect our region

See the map of shires with land within the World Heritage Area below. It can be downloaded from the maps section.