Young people love our natural assets

Young people rank the region’s natural assets as the top reason they love living in Cairns, followed by the relaxed lifestyle and the great weather.

That’s according to the inaugural Our Cairns Youth Survey, which was one of two community surveys undertaken by Council from 28 August to 16 October.

Overall, 8065 people responded to both surveys – 6786 completed the Our Cairns Survey, while 1279 people responded to the Youth Survey.

Almost 80 per cent of respondents to the Youth Survey said exploring the region’s natural outdoor areas (beaches, creeks and waterfalls) was their favourite reason for living in Cairns.

This reflected in their responses to what facilities they frequented, with beaches (83%) top of the list, followed by the Esplanade (80%), parks and sporting facilities (67%), walking tracks (58%) and the Lagoon (46%).

When it came to their future, getting a job (61%) and having enough money (60%) were the two greatest concerns for young people, along with while mental health (50%), getting into university (43%) and climate change (30%).

Notably, half of the respondents in the Youth Survey planned to leave Cairns once they completed school, with 62% intending to return to the city in the future.

The main reason for leaving was for study (48%), followed by the allure of a bigger city (26%).

Almost three-quarters of the young people who responded to the survey (74%) have not been a victim of crime over the past two years.

Most young people indicated they feel safe in their suburb, with 50% feeling safe all the time and 28% feeling safe during the day. Unfortunately, 4% do not feel safe anytime.

For those respondents who have been a victim of crime, they have been impacted by theft (71%), harassment (23%), assault (19%), bullying (18%) or sexual assault (12%).

Go to https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/council/have-say/closed/ourcairns for the full list of results.