With the wet season approaching and wild summer storms on the way, boaties in the Gulf region could be in strife if they need help, following the collapse of Aurukun's Volunteer Marine Rescue.
Aurukun Shire Council chief executive Bernie McCarthy said he understood the local VMR boat was being relocated to Weipa, about 80 kilometres north.
"From a council point of view, there's not a lot of concern at this stage because there hasn't been a lot of activity with VMR over recent years," he said.
"They have hardly been called out to any rescues … over a number of years they haven't been called out, so I can understand why VMR are undertaking this action.
"If any incidents were to occur in the future, we would very much lobby the boat be returned, but … over numerous years there's been little activity with the VMR boat."
Push for Cairns trainer
The weather bureau's outlook suggests a 66 per cent chance of more cyclones than average for the Australian region this season — and they are expected to form earlier than normal.
In a normal year there are between nine and 11 cyclones, with four crossing the coast.
At least one cyclone has crossed the coast every year on record.
But with North Queensland's VMR numbers dwindling, the Gulf zone is pushing for a trainer to be permanently based in Cairns.
Zone president Peter Graham said with a third of Queensland's zones situated in the north, it was a "fair ask".
"We find that these remote units … they need reinforcing because some of them, like Mornington [Island], only have three or four people," he said.
"And it's the same three or four people that have been doing everything that a unit of 150 people find difficult to maintain, and they've been doing that for 25 years as the three same guys."
Services lost in north
Mr Graham said without a trainer based in the north, units had been "falling over".
"Twelve months ago I would say there was Mornington Island, Burketown, Karumba, Aurukun and Weipa — Aurukun is gone, this week the boat and tractor trailer equipment is coming out," he said.
"Mornington Island is teetering, St Pauls has gone from the Torres Strait, Thursday Island is hanging on like grim death.
"By having one person going to these units on a continual basis, the beauty of it … it gives them a feeling of belonging to something — because they don't see each other, they don't see another boat like they do down south."
Mr Graham said two members from the Gulf zone attended state meetings in Brisbane and were hoping the matter would go on the agenda in December.
The state body responded to the ABC's request for an interview and said "we have no comment on your query as the matter is one of policy that is yet to be discussed by the state council".
