Far North Queensland local news briefing: Thursday, November 12, 2026

Detailed summary

The Cairns and Far North Environment Centre is calling on the state government to withdraw a proposed mining bill. The centre said the bill gave the resources minister, rather…

A 35-year-old Cairns man is due to face court today after allegedly stealing a tip truck and repeatedly ramming a four-wheel drive that was stopped at traffic lights.

He allegedly stole the truck from Mount Peter on Tuesday night, then rammed the vehicle on Gillies Range Road about 11:30pm.

Police said they unsuccessfully tried to intercept the truck at the top of the range before it crashed through a Wongabel property's gate about 1am.

The driver allegedly stole a utility there before rolling it at Rocky Creek Bridge about an hour later, and suffered minor head injuries.

He was charged with several vehicle theft, driving and property-related offences and is due to appear in the Atherton Magistrates Court.

A new Productivity Commission report has found regional airfares were 13 per cent more expensive per kilometre on average than major city routes.

The interim report examined the cost of flights in regional and remote Australia.

It found that despite the high fares, airlines were not making big profits, with some remote routes barely breaking even and profit margins below 5 per cent.

The commission recommended governments help passengers who relied on air travel, rather than providing support to individual airlines.

Opening of the article, excerpted from ABC Environment. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.