Your daily local news briefing // Thursday 11 May 2017

WEATHER FORECAST
Cairns: 20-28C max, 40% chance of rain
Port Douglas: 22-27C max, 40% chance of rain
Mareeba: 17-27C max, 10% chance of rain
Innisfail: 19-26C max, 40% rain


TODAY'S TOP STORIES

MAN ACCUSED OF BRUTAL CBD MURDER TO APPEAL
The 22-year-old man convicted of the death of a young New Zealand chef will appeal the ruling.

Lawyers for Jake Livingstone, who received a life sentence last month for punching and strangling Philip Quayle to death in the CBD in 2015, say they will appeal the conviction on three grounds, including what they called the “miscarriage of justice” in playing a phone call during court proceedings in which Livingstone boasted of killing someone.

The defence team says the phone call – in which Livingstone allegedly mentioned being on parole – should not have been part of court proceedings, as it implied he had a prior criminal history.
A date for the appeal is yet to be set.

POWERBROKERS RAMP UP EFFORTS TO SAVE ELDERLY MAN FROM DEPORTATION
Federal MPs Warren Entsch and George Christensen have called for the quashing of the deportation order of an ill, elderly Julatten man, lobbying Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in Canberra this week.

Patton Eidson, also known as Mike McGoldrick, was arrested in his Julatten home by police and immigration officers last week and held under armed guard in Cairns. Mr Eidson is accused of illegally entering Australia in 1986 to avoid a drug investigation in the USA.

Member for Kennedy Bob Katter, who has also been calling for the deportation ruling to be reversed, has been releasing statements from Julatten community members speaking in favour of Mr Eidson, promising a steady stream of support still to come.

CBD TREES FELLED AFTER FEDERAL APPROVAL
Several large trees have been removed from the site of a future $120 million hotel development following approval from the Federal Department of Environment.

Work on the site, which is being guarded by police and security guards, has caused consternation among environmentalists but Crystalbrook Collection CEO Mark Davie says the project had been through all the relevant processes to ensure the flying fox population is handled correctly.

Work on the group's three projects in the Cairns CBD are in full swing, including the former Rydges Tradewinds site and the Belleview Hotel on the Esplanade.

BUDGET 2017: HOW WILL YOUR SCHOOL BE AFFECTED?
Local parents, teachers, principals and school communities can see how they will be affected by Budget changes to educational funding with a new interactive online estimator.

Schools in Leichhardt have been allocated more than $510 million as a result of a new needs-based schools funding plan, part of the $18.6 billion Australia-wide education plan.

The $510,192,200 will be distributed among Leichhardt schools over the next ten years.

Try the estimator here.