State Heritage funding boost welcomed
The recent announcement of a $5 million heritage conservation fund by the Heritage Minister Lindy Nelson- Carr, may be  great news for the Heritage Listed Jimna Fire Tower which is threatened with demolition, due to lack of money available for maintenance. Remember the main reason given by Forestry Plantations Queensland FPQ for terminating the towers maintenance program, was that money spent on upkeep was considered to be a waste, because fire surveillance is now performed by camera.
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It is worth noting that this funding is provided to give struggling owners of heritage listed places some relief from maintenance costs, which places the Jimna fire tower in the untenable position where the current owners, FPQ ,who have repeatedly stated that their core business does not include maintenance of the heritage listed Jimna fire tower, appears to be prevented from accessing this welcome heritage funding.
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Many letters, faxes, phone calls, meetings, media releases, petitions, appeals by email and website information over the past six months, involving the Queensland State Government, the National Trust of Qld, the Qld Heritage Council, Forestry Plantations Qld, and the Qld Parks & Wildlife Service, appears to have resulted in the future fate of the Jimna fire tower being determined by the Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries the Honourable Tim Mulherin MP.
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The Jimna Fire Tower Action Group JFTAG unreservedly appeals to Mr Mulherin to consolidate his Governments commitment to the preservation of Queensland Heritage Culture, by ruling to ensure that all options to the demolition of the Jimna fire tower be evaluated without further delay. This popular tourist icon with such undeniable tourism potential, surely deserves better treatment than what it has received thus far.