General News
18 February, 2026
Pub under seige
A POPULAR hotel in Mossman providing affordable accommodation during Australia’s current housing crisis is under siege with itinerants intimidating all and sundry.
Their anti-social behaviour, drinking, drug use and public urinating has pushed the community to the brink.
Hotel owner Nathan Bonneau-Plassa said it was out-of-towners causing the problems.
“Ongoing antisocial behaviour has been a problem since I started here some three years ago. We’ve had a lot of issues with non-locals coming and destroying property,” he said.
“Now we have young gangs graffitiing the buildings, smashing windows and kicking in doors to try to get inside the building. The loitering under our balconies is terrible.
“We are trying to provide affordable housing for the community and this ongoing trouble just isn’t good enough.
“Calling the police seems to be ineffective and the CCTV cameras that were approved and we were promised in the town have yet to be installed.
“The time consumed writing reports is frustrating and, overall, it just isn’t a good look for Mossman,” Mr Bonneau-Plassa said.
One Douglas Shire social media site has received more than 200 comments as a result of a post from a concerned individual.
“I’m so sick of the people drinking and living on the street at the Exchange Hotel (Mossman). Kids are back to school and feel intimidated to walk to school that way,” the post said.
She said she called the police every day to report it.
“The area needs to be cleaned up. They are living there, drinking alcohol and openly doing drugs and it smells like urine. Not good enough,” she said.
Concerns were also expressed online for the nearby gymnastics club, based along Mill Street, Mossman, as it will be reopening soon.
Club manager Vanessa Carey said the club would “like to voice our concerns of the continuous loitering and littering outside, not only our building, but also the Exchange Hotel’s site and council buildings along Mill Street”.
“We are a fitness centre and, most importantly, a kids’ club, providing a safe learning space in the sport and discipline of gymnastics to the children of our community, yet there’s loud and large groups of people congregating as a somewhat intimidating blockage for bypassers, including kids walking to sport or home from school,” Ms Carey said.
“We’d like the face of our club to be equally as representative on the exterior to its indoor facility, so it feels clean, safe and welcoming for our members to walk through our front doors, yet there’s intimidation in the acts of loitering, trespassing, shouting, violence, unsanitary littering and graffiti, giving our much loved space a lack of visual appeal from the streets of Mossman.”
Member for Cook David Kempton said rising antisocial behaviour on Front Street remained a concern.
“For the past year, I’ve been working closely with the Mayor (Lisa Scomazzon), local police and the Mossman community to ensure business operators and the community feel safe,” he said.
“In October last year, the Douglas Shire Council received a boost of more than $367,000 through the Secure Communities Partnership Program to expand the local CCTV. Unfortunately, there has been an increase in anti-social behaviour again on Front Street, which is unacceptable, and I will continue to hold public meetings and work with all stakeholders.
“Unfortunately, community crime has become embedded after a decade of Labor going soft on offenders and it is going to take some time to turn around. The people of Mossman and district can be assured this problem will remain front of mind for me until resolved.”
Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said she was concerned and disappointment.
“I’m aware of the recent antisocial behaviour near the Exchange Hotel and I’m disappointed to see these issues re-emerge after we saw some improvement in 2025,” she said.
“The Harmony Initiative working group was established last year to share ideas about improving safety and clarify roles and responsibilities across agencies.
“This recent behaviour suggests it’s time for the group to meet again and we’re now in the early stages of planning that. I encourage community members to come along.”
A police media spokeswoman said Mossman police “are committed to ensuring the community is and feels safe”.
“Police are conducting late night, high-visibility patrols to disrupt, deter and prevent offending,” she said. “The service takes all reports of criminal behaviour seriously and we are continuing to work closely with the local community to address any concerns.”
