General News
24 April, 2026
Sneaky move
THE Department of Main Roads and Transport (DTMR) has sneakily installed speed cameras (pictured left) on the Kuranda Range near Rainforestation.
After “traffic monitoring cameras” were installed on the Kennedy Highway in early 2024, DTMR always maintained they were for keeping an eye on transport volumes and were not for detecting speed.
Now the police and a local MP have confirmed the fixed devices are to pick up speeders and issue fines, with DTMR not prepared to elaborate about the move.
Rumours of speed cameras on the range have been confirmed by officer-in-charge at the Mareeba Police Station, Senior Sergeant Derek Garner, who said the cameras were being used by the department.
He believes the speed cameras have been operating for two months and had forced changes to police operations.
“To our knowledge, the TMR cameras located near Rainforestation on the Kuranda Range have been operating as speed cameras for about two months,” he said.
“I’m not aware of any other cameras on the range road being used as speed cameras, however, I’ve forwarded a request for information to the Cairns TMR office.”
Senior Sergeant Garner said the site at Rainforestation was previously used by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) for “static speed detection” or roadside cameras.
“However, once local officers became aware that the TMR cameras were being utilised as speed cameras, the QPS ceased using the site due to the risk of double jeopardy for drivers.
“As part of my query with TMR, I’ve asked for information around the effectiveness of the cameras in that area.”
Member for Barron River Bree James addressed rumours that existing traffic monitoring cameras had now been turned into speed cameras.
“The Kuranda Range Road traffic monitoring cameras have not been replaced. A new fixed speed camera has been co-located near the Rainforestation nature park,” she said.
Cairns Local News’ sister paper The Express asked TMR to confirm how long the cameras had been operating and if there had been any public consultation that had taken place.
After a week, it said: “The department has nothing additional to add to what was provided” (by Ms James).
The Kuranda Range road (Kennedy Highway) features a $30 million Intelligent Transport System (ITS) upgrade, featuring traffic monitoring cameras, weather stations and variable speed limit signs.
The cameras, which were fully operational in early 2024, are used by the Cairns Traffic Management Centre (TMC) to detect incidents, monitor traffic flow in real-time and remotely adjust speed limits.
