Cairns 2024 state election priorities by Advance Cairns, Chamber of Commerce and TTNQ
Relocating a “vulnerable” heath service and investment in skills and training are shaping as critical state election priorities as Cairns’ major advocacy organisations reveal their wishlists.
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Relocating the Cairns Hospital emergency department and investment in skills and training are shaping as critical state election priorities as Cairns’ major advocacy organisations reveal their wishlists.
Advance Cairns has presented a 30-page document outlining what the peak advocacy organisation believes is required to propel the Far North’s economy and industry.
Topping its list is funding pitches for the Cairns Health and Innovation project with a push to move the “vulnerable” emergency department into a new acute services building — which has been flagged as a linchpin to the service achieving university hospital status.
Building its case, Advance Cairns pointed towards a growing ageing population with one in five residents expected to be over 60 by 2032 and the need for climate resilience, in its push for a commitment of $6m to fund a business case into a new acute services building.
“This vulnerability was highlighted during the recent flooding event caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, requiring CHHHS to prepare for possible patient relocation,” the advocacy body stated.
“A new acute services building would significantly enhance resilience allowing for the relocation of vital infrastructure including the emergency department, medical imaging department and pharmacy, all of which are currently located on the ground floor of the hospital.
“A new ASB would also see the relocation and construction of a new helipad on the ASB roof, from its current location on the heavily pedestrianised Esplanade foreshore.”
Last week Premier Steven Miles committed $45m to build a common user hangar at the Cairns Eastern Aviation Precinct, and on Friday Liberal National Party shadow minister for education and arts Christian Rowan, while at Whitfield said “further announcements would be made” as shadow ministers visited the city over coming weeks.
With the latest polls tipping an LNP “whitewash” Advance Cairns chief executive Jacinta Reddan said she was hoping to see bipartisan support for the common user hangar, but would also be pushing for funds to build a Cessna Caravan training simulator.
Ms Reddan said the common user hangar, which would offer aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul.
Meanwhile, the training simulator for entry-level aircraft would help pose Cairns as a “global competitor” for providing key skills, as aviation company Boeing predicted 674,000 new pilots and 716,000 new maintenance technicians would be required in the next 20 years.
“This additional capacity would also provide Far North Queensland with the opportunity to capitalise on the significant demand for regional jet maintenance with about half of the fleet currently maintained overseas,” she said.
“As the only regional airport in Australia with international capacity to attract new customers, Cairns possesses two highly capable MRO operators currently working at capacity, but willing and able to expand if maintenance infrastructure were available. As a direct result of the constrained infrastructure, an estimated $15m in business was lost to the region in the past 12 months alone.”
Cairns Chamber of Commerce chief executive Patricia O’Neill backed the employment theme and called for the reinstatement of incentives for employers to take on trainees and apprentices.
“This was available in the past however has been removed since the introduction of the new Queensland Skills Strategy,” she said.
“It takes an incredible amount of time and lost productivity to train apprentices and there is no compensation for employers to address the rapid decline.
“This would be welcomed especially given we have such a decline in vocational education and such an increased demand for trades people given the volume of infrastructure we need to build.”
Doubling down on lost productivity and time for employers, Ms O’Neill called for less red tape for small business grants to “make the process simpler” and “breaking down large government procurement opportunities to smaller packages to enable more regional businesses to win this business”.
Ms O’Neill businesses were also calling for “greater powers” to be provided to police and courts to address crime, with shops frustrated by the cost of repairs and lost time to clean up efforts.
She highlighted infrastructure at Palm Cove as immediate funding priorities including additional car parks at the popular beach and safety investments into the local jetty.
Ms O’Neill also called for stamp duty to be abolished from insurance premiums to alleviate rising costs.
Looking at the next term of government, Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Officer Mark Olsen said the region would have a huge opportunity globally “through our tourism and trade connections over the next four years”.
“Tourism Tropical North Queensland is seeking bipartisan support for a $10 million investment to drive our region’s recovery, aviation connections, and the future growth of tourism in Queensland,” he said.
“TTNQ has a proven track-record, generating more than $130 million in sales in the past 12 months through the Federal Government’s $15 million investment in destination marketing over two years helping to restart international tourism for Queensland.
“Mountain bike tourism could inject an extra $100 million a year into our region, but we need more trails. The LNP have put their support behind the Smithfield mountain bike tracks and we fully support that and want to see that commitment be bipartisan.
“Getting visitors back to the Great Barrier Reef is vital as it is getting 500,000 visitors less today than it did in 2016 which means less visitor monitoring of key sites and less money for reef management.
“Both parties have made commitments with $4 million for the GBR education subsidy from Labor and $600,000 for the Green Island Turtle Hospital from the LNP, both of which are great.”
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Originally published as Cairns 2024 state election priorities by Advance Cairns, Chamber of Commerce and TTNQ
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