FNQ’s 150 most influential people: part 4, 75 – 51
A pub baron, business moguls and an Insta star with 1m followers — see who made the list of the most influential people in the Far North.
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A pub baron, business moguls and an Insta star with 1m followers — see who made the list of the most influential people in the Far North.
Part five will be published online Wednesday.
To read the list, from 150-76, click these links:
75: Stephen Devenish
Stephen Devenish is the principal at Devenish law and chairman of the LNP’s Cairns chapter.
His branch was the first of the Far North’s six to put forward a LNP candidate for the 2024 Queensland election; Yolonde Entsch was the branch’s pick.
Party insiders say Mr Devenish is held in high regard among LNP circles, and senior politicians in the region have sought his counsel in the past.
He is also a board member of Northern Pride Rugby League.
74: Michael Trout
Michael Trout is the regional chairman of the LNP and one of the most politically connected people in the region.
As the most recent LNP member elected to the seat of Barron River, he’s one of the few Far North political powerbrokers who have served time as an MP.
He is also influential within Cairns’ Unity Team; his daughter, Heidi, will contest Division 3 in 2024.
Mr Trout also operated tourism businesses in the Atherton Tablelands and Koah for two decades.
73: Gina Hogan
Gina Hogan is the CEO of the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
The organisation has garnered record donations during her tenure, and she’s been in the role less than two years.
In the past 12 months the Foundation set a record by earning more than $6m from its fundraising initiatives, which went on to support equipment purchases at various health facilities in the region.
Her foundation could raise another $300,000 from key events in the coming months, including the Trinity Advisory Fundraiser.
72: Mark Wuth
Mark Wuth is the director of infrastructure and assets at Cairns Regional Council.
Simply put, if you live in the Cairns Local Government Area, the water runs through your taps and the sewage flows away from your house because of this bloke and his team.
He is also responsible for the council’s capital works budget and projects, including roads and other infrastructure.
In June, the council approved a $164.8m capital works program.
His team is also responsible for the delivery of the council’s water security project, which is shaping up to be the most expensive and consequential projects ever undertaken in the region.
71: Carlo Amerio
It’s difficult to walk around Cairns City and not see the legacy of Carlo Amerio’s firm CA Architects.
The firm was behind the design of Crystalbrook Riley, CPAC, Munro Marton Parklands and Cairns Foreshore Redevelopment.
More recently, Mr Amerio’s team has been engaged by Cairns Regional Council and the Queensland Government to complete design works for the Cairns Gallery Precinct and Barlow Park upgrade.
70: Callum Koppen
The Koppen family has completed development and construction works in Cairns since the 1930s.
Callum Koppen, the general manager of the octogenarian civil engineering company, continues that legacy; his company has secured contracts with numerous councils across the Far North as well as the Queensland Government’s Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Since August 2022, the company has received contracts worth about $13m from Cairns Regional Council alone.
69: Nick Loukas
Nick Loukas has been in recent headlines as a speculated mayoral candidate for 2024, but his enduring influence in the health industry is what has landed him in a Cairns Post influential people list for the fifth time.
Mr Loukas is the managing director of the Loukas Group and Vitality Pharmacy Warehouse chain which comprises four outlets.
When federal health minister Mark Butler announced changes to drug dispensing laws in March, Mr Loukas was quick to spell out the potential impact on pharmacies and small businesses in the Far North.
In November 2022 he stepped down from his role as chair of the North Queensland Primary Health Network after two and a half years in the role.
Plenty of people are waiting for an announcement on his mayoral candidacy.
Some have even nudged him in the ribs and told him to have a go.
68: Murray Moule
Murray Moule leads another heavyweight construction company in Cairns: FGF Developments and its subsidiaries, such as FGF Bitumen.
The company has had an enduring commercial relationship with Cairns Regional Council and has been awarded more than $1.5m in contracts since July 2022.
The company has also completed major works for Mareeba Shire Council – it has been awarded contracts worth about $10.4m over the past six months.
It also completed $1.97m of reseal works for Tablelands Shire Council in August.
67: Rod Marti
Rod Marti is the mayor of Tablelands Regional Council, career farmer and a former primary health care worker.
He has served on the council since 2012 and is passionate about sustainable development in his community, which has the third-largest population of all LGAs across the Far North.
He has been a vocal backer of the $20m Prior’s Creek Precinct development in Atherton, for which his council successfully received a $1.5m grant in October to give the project a boost.
66: Shane Knuth
Shane Knuth is the Hill MP and the longest serving state MP in the Far North.
Mr Knuth has safely held various state seats since 2004, trouncing opponents by massive margins, including those the LNP tried to replace him with after he marched to Camp Katter.
He currently occupies the sixth safest seat in Queensland with a 22.5-point margin.
With a predicted 5.2 per cent swing against the ALP on the cards for next year, his position isn’t looking tenuous.
65: Nathan Lee Long
Nathan Lee Long the Jacobs civil infrastructure team leader for Northern Australia, and a man who doesn’t mind wearing many hats all on the one head.
Until August he was the Cairns branch president of the UDIA, an influential developer lobby group.
He was also an event manager for the Cairns and District Chinese Association.
Most recently, after months of speculation, he was announced as a candidate for Division 5 at the Cairns Regional Council elections in March 2024.
64: Angela Toppin
Angela Toppin has brought the immovable and no-nonsense attitude of an old-school educator to the office of Mareeba Shire mayor.
Ms Toppin has brought innovative and ambitious proposals before the Local Government Association of Queensland’s conferences.
She continues to advocate for her community’s economy as it chugs along in a tough employment climate.
For her service to education and local government, she was honoured with a Kings Birthday Award in 2023.
63: Rod and Sue Sherrington
Rod and Sue Sherrington lead Trinity Advisory Group, one of the largest local-grown accounting and business advisory firms in the city.
Their business has expanded its operations to the Sunshine Coast, and they are regular recipients of top industry awards.
They are also tremendous philanthropists.
Their annual fundraiser has generated more than $450,000 for the FNQ Hospital Foundation, and is expected to raise another $300,000 this year.
62: Mark Nolan
Mark Nolan is the mayor of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council who will have served on the council for two decades come the March 2024 elections.
Prior to his time in local government he wore a deep blue collar, working as a boilermaker for four decades while representing workers rights as an Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union state councillor.
As the Cassowary Coast mayor, he governs for the second largest LGA population in the Far North.
He has recently moved part of the council’s focus to addressing health service shortages in his region, a shift he said contained risk but was worth it for the health benefits to the region.
61: Richie Bates
Richie Bates is an adviser to Cairns MP Michael Healy and a leading influence in Cairns’ ALP right faction.
The former two-term councillor has previously sought preselection for the ALP Leichhardt nomination and is widely expected to make another run for a council position in 2024.
He has also previously been tipped as a possible successor to Mr Healy.
Cairns’ lagoon will freeze over before the Far North finds an electoral campaign without Mr Bates’ participation or influence.
60: Frank Russo, 7 News
The crew at 7 News Cairns dominate local TV ratings with the voices of journalists such as Frank Russo.
Mr Russo is a regular host at high-profile events in the city.
Channel 7 is also sponsors local events, such as the Cairns marathon.
59: Michael Kerr
The Douglas Shire mayor has the confidence of other politicians in the region, if not his own council.
In August a majority of Douglas Shire councillors moved a motion of no confidence against him – the vote was later deemed to have no legal standing.
But Mr Kerr has had more breathing room in his role as chairman of Far North Queensland’s Regional Organisation of Councils.
He has led a delegation to Canberra and has been influential in formulating advocacy priorities and budget submissions among the region’s advocacy groups.
He is one of two councillors who sit on the Douglas Shire Council’s audit committee.
The rumour mill about Mr Kerr’s political future is in full swing – he will not contest the 2024 Douglas Shire election, and has confirmed interest in the LNP nomination for Cook.
58: Russell Beer
Russell Beer is the chairman of Ports North and member of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
He has played an influential role in the state and federal governments’ continued investment into the Cairns Marine Precinct, which will be a key economic driver for the region over the next decade.
This year Mr Beer also oversaw the promotion of new CEO Richard Stevenson.
He is also a partner at MacDonnells Law, where he practises commercial, company and tax law and has advised business and government clients.
57: Libby Powell
Libby Powell has one of Cairns’ top Instagram accounts with 1.1m followers.
The pro bikini model’s earnings per social media post have been previously estimated at between $2300 and $4000.
As well as her substantial online following, the fitness mum has proven to be a gun on the bodybuilding stage, boasting a WBFF Australian Pro Champion title.
56: Alex Sekler
Alex Sekler is a property developer in Far North Queensland and a big political donor.
His large donations to the LNP in the past two federal election campaigns have been the subject of parliamentary debate this year.
But the political noise hasn’t disturbed the ambitious developer from continuing his acquisition and rejuvenation of iconic Cairns properties, including the old Cairns Post building.
He is also involved in local philanthropy and has donated $650,000 to the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
55: Garreth Smith and Chey Bird
Garreth Smith and Chey Bird lead the region’s rugby league organisations.
Mr Bird is the chairman of FNQRL, a league that brings in teams and players from a wide base in the Far North.
While supporting rivalries and the spirit of the game, Mr Bird has also demonstrated sound leadership in 2023 by denouncing poor behaviour from fans, promising bans if disrespect at games continued.
Mr Smith is the CEO of Northern Pride Rugby League, one of the region’s most loved teams, which competes in the state’s top competition.
Mr Smith has focused a lot of energy in the past 12 months to include the team’s remote fan base by hosting Northern Pride games in remote towns such as Weipa.
He is a proponent of a strong grassroots footy base to ensure the longevity of innovations such as the addition of a Far North women's team in an expanded Queensland competition.
54: Tom Hedley
Mr Hedley is one of the region’s best known developers and businessmen.
Even at age 71, the property baron is still gaining momentum.
In the past three years he has snapped up a handful of pubs and breathed new life into them – the latest of which is Ellis Beach Bar and Grill.
He has also bought the Carrington at Atherton, the Tolga Pub, the Imperial Tavern at Innisfail and pubs in Gordonvale, all of which have undergone makeovers.
Other projects include the newly-approved 158-lot Malanda Valley Views, Panorama Estate at Tolga, which is well advanced and will total 148 lots, and the 72-lot Yungaburra Lakeside Views development.
His name is synonymous with thoroughbred racing in Cairns; he is the president of the Jockey Club.
53: Ed Johnson
Ed Johnson is Cairns Regional Council’s director of planning, growth and strategy.
Watching Mr Johnson receive questions from councillors every fortnight is like watching an opening test batsman guard his wicket – he quotes the council’s planning scheme, officers’ reports and the finer points of a development application while barely checking his notes.
Councillors clearly trust Mr Johnson’s judgement on planning matters; if his team isn’t impressed by a DA, it almost certainly won’t have hands raised in council’s chamber.
Mr Johnson was the council spokesman for the Future Cairns event in 2022.
Recently, he’s played an influential role in a review of local laws.
He is also linked with the UDIA.
52: Alex Srhoj
Alex Srhoj is the Football Queensland Far North and Gulf manager.
He leads a league with probably the greatest participation numbers in the Far North.
The man clearly knows how to run a comp, and how it can play its role in the bigger picture.
After the mighty Matildas run at the 2023 World Cup, Mr Srhoj let the region have a peak at his ambitious mind when he laid out exactly what is required to turn the Far North into a football talent generator that can get more Mary Fowlers onto the world stage.
51: Bob Katter
A political journeyman, Bob Katter can stand on his feat, megaphone in hand, belting out zingers all day.
Next year marks his 50 years of service in Australian parliaments, and it appears Mr Katter will never be unseated as Kennedy MP; one day, he’ll hang up his akubra on his own terms.
Despite his 80th birthday being 18 months away, its hard to see him ever losing any of the Katter-esque zeal that has made him the official Father of the Australian House of Representatives.
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