Rich prize to fight fat
MAYOR Val Schier wants Cairns to unite in the fight against fat for a chance to win a share of a $1 million prize.
Queensland towns and cities will compete against each other to come up with the best idea for combating obesity in a new program announced yesterday by Premier Anna Bligh.
The winner will be named the state's healthiest community, sharing in a $1 million prize to build healthy infrastructure such as swimming pools, basketball courts, bicycle tracks and walking paths.
Cr Schier said Cairns was a great place for healthy living and hoped residents would come forward with suggestions.
"One thing we could do is encourage people to eat healthily by shopping at Rusty's rather than eating greasy take away food," she said.
"I'd like to make it easier for people to ride their bikes, particularly kids going to school."
Cr Schier used the example of the schools at Redlynch, where traffic jams were a problem and children were unable to ride to school safely.
"We currently run public exercise classes but it would be great to increase the numbers," she said.
"I would encourage people to come forward with their ideas, the more input the better."
People who spoke to The Cairns Post yesterday said they would like to see more space for playing sport and better road planning.
There were also suggestions Cairns should do more to promote its assets.
"We've got a huge YMCA at Smithfield but I didn't know it was there until recently," Kerrod Agnew from Redlynch said.
Ms Bligh said the annual healthiest community competition would be run by Keep Australia Beautiful Queensland.
"Our natural environment is the best in the country but while our elite athletes are the envy of the world, the figures show the rest of us are falling behind," she said.
"This is about encouraging Queensland communities to become healthier across the board."
Ms Bligh said award guidelines and assessment criteria would be announced in late October.
According to Government figures, Queensland is ranked worst in Australia for the percentage of men who are overweight or obese.
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