Ranked: Far North Queensland’s most influential people, 50 – 26
A top cop, real estate tycoons and some of the largest private employers in the region – these are the most influential people in the Far North from 50 to 26.
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A top cop, real estate tycoons and some of the largest private employers in the region – these are the most influential people in the Far North from 50 to 26.
Part six, 25 to 10, will be published online Thursday.
To read the list, from 150 to 51, click these links:
50: Tony Baker
Tony Baker is the managing director of the Quicksilver Group, a conglomerate of tourism companies including Great Adventures and Green Island Resort.
The group is one of Far North Queensland’s largest private employers, with 630 employees.
Mr Baker is also the chairman of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators.
In the past 12 months, Mr Baker has advocated for revenue generated by tourism levies to be returned to the industry via promotion campaigns.
49: Curtis Pitt
The Mulgrave MP has had a rough six months, twice taking leave as speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly due to health reasons.
Mr Pitt slept through his alarm during regional parliament in May, and missed part of it. He was also heard slurring his speech during a parliamentary sitting months later before he announced he had “decided to take a further period of leave”.
Now he is back at work he can focus on keeping the seat of Mulgrave in the family, which it has been, without interruption, since 1998.
His was the only Far North Labor seat to survive the 2012 LNP landslide.
Even if the LNP gains government next year, it would take an unprecedented swing to turf him out.
48: Matthew Tickner
As Matthew Tickner ramps up his campaign for Cairns Regional Council’s Division 2 seat, his greatest challenge may be shrugging off a plenitude of other duties, including LNP Leichhardt chairman.
Mr Tickner, a civil design construction consultant, is also the vice president of the Cairns Chamber’s management committee and board member of the Urban Design Institute of Australia.
In June Mr Tickner backed local small and medium enterprises in his criticism of the state government for not using its budget surplus to address cost of business alongside cost of living.
He has also recently called for more pragmatism in the management of development and housing construction as the region begins to buckle under the strain of accommodation shortages.
47: Danny Betros
Danny Betros is the managing director of CBRE who has been in the Cairns real estate game for 26 years.
His knowledge of the commercial real estate market in the region is formidable – he has overseen some of the largest commercial real estate deals in Cairns.
As a fierce advocate for growth in the sector, Mr Betros is not known for pulling his punches when he sees government standing in the way of progress.
He laid down the gauntlet in 2022 when the Cairns Regional Council proposed its investment property tax, which was binned about six months later.
46: Dean Davidson
Dean Davidson is the interim chief executive of the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service.
Cape York and the Torres Strait region’s health sector received decent investment in the 2023/24 Queensland Government budget, which has resulted in boosts to infrastructure and services.
Data released by the Queensland Government in August showed 90 per cent of presentations at TCHHS facilities were being seen within clinical recommendations.
45: Alan Milne
Much of the Far North is accessible only because of Skytrans flights; a reality that hit hard when the airline was temporarily grounded by policy changes in 2022.
Alan Milne, the airline’s CEO, was the indomitable force that got planes back in the air.
After the nation’s airline authority prevented Skytrans’ return to outer Torres Strait communities due to new regulation technicalities, Mr Milne kept up the fight until common sense prevailed and the routes were reopened.
The organisation he leads employs 110 people from all over Far North Queensland.
44: Brett Schafferius
Assistant Commissioner Brett Schafferius is the police officer in charge of the QPS Far North region, a large employer responsible for the safety and security of more than 250,000 residents.
His priorities when coming on board as the region’s top police officer in 2021 were to reduce repeat juvenile offending and domestic violence rates.
While there have been several operations and campaigns since then targeting both, which social services leaders have given some kudos to, the Far North Assistant Commissioner still has his work cut out for him.
He has also recently pursued greater recruitment of Indigenous police officers in a partnered program with TAFE Queensland and other law enforcement services.
43: Alfonso Santos
Commander Alfonso Santos is the Commanding Officer of HMAS Cairns who was also the deputy director of operations for Maritime Border Command until January this year.
In his capacity as HMAS Cairns CO, Commander Santos is one of the nation’s most important and influential persons in the defence of Northern Australia and projection of influence into the Asia-Pacific region.
In his role with Maritime Border Command, Mr Santos directed several sensitive and high profile operations, according to the Australian Navy.
42: Ghassan Aboud
Ghassan Aboud is the billionaire owner of the Crystalbrook Collection, which operates three of the most luxurious hotels in Cairns.
He has a reputation for putting his money where his mouth is, an attribute that has become a rare commodity for developers in the Far North over the past decade – many resorts, apartment towers, tourist precincts and development masterplans have been junked or failed to launch shortly after announcements.
The city’s appreciation of Mr Aboud’s solid investment was on full display when he popped by for a visit last year; Cairns mayor Bob Manning and other dignitaries rolled out the red carpet for him.
True to form, Mr Aboud slammed lacklustre efforts by other development entities and then left the region wanting more with a suggestion he would expand his brand to Port Douglas.
41: Karl Latham
Karl Latham is a quiet achiever who continues to amass rave reviews.
He has sold 80 properties in the past 12 months at a median of $643,000 with just 26 days median advertised.
In 2022 he was a finalist for top residential agent Queensland.
Regularly among Far North Queensland’s highest selling agents, Karl consistently has five-star ratings on realestate.com.au.
40: Bill Dixon
Bill Dixon is the executive director of catholic education for the Diocese of Cairns.
In the past month Mr Dixon has played an important role in bringing the Australian Catholic Education Conference, a prestigious national conference, to the region.
In March he announced a new school for Kewarra Beach, due to open in 2025, at the same time it was revealed enrolments in the region’s Catholic schools had passed 12,000 for the first time.
39: Cameron Riches
Cameron Riches is the general manager of Cairns Jockey Club.
His organisation plays host to some of the city’s most fancied, and fancy, events during racing season.
Mr Riches is managing a planned upgrade to the clubhouse.
The events he has managed in 2023, and will lead in the years to come, have been a significant boon for the city’s economy.
38: Enver Selita
Enver Selita is the president of the Cairns Chamber and the managing director of the Optus Business Centre in Far North Queensland.
Mr Selita has used his almost three decades of experience in the IT and telecommunications sectors to develop and deliver the chamber’s key advocacy priorities for local businesses over the past 18 months.
Key personnel in the local business and advocacy sectors credit Mr Selita for securing policy and funding outcomes from the state and federal governments, including the Cairns Water Security Project and the Federal Reinsurance Pool Scheme.
37: John O’Sullivan
John O’Sullivan is the new chairman of Tourism Tropical North Queensland and the CEO of Experience Co, a multinational, ASX-listed tourism and adventure company that operates services in the Far North.
He was appointed TTNQ chairman in October after serving two-and-a-half years as a board member for the region’s official tourism marketing body.
In the past 20 years he was the chief commercial officer for Football Federation Australia, CEO of Events Queensland, COO of Fox Sports, managing director for Tourism Australia and remains a director of Netball Australia.
Such vast experience is certain to serve the Far North’s tourism industry well as he settles behind the desk of his new role.
36: Robert Downing and Olav Groot
Robert Downing and Olav Groot operate the two marine companies that constitute NORSTA, a local marine conglomerate that coordinates multi-year maritime sustainment and maintenance support on behalf of the Royal Australian Navy.
The organisation won the Defence Teaming Award at the Defence Industry Awards in December last year.
Mr Groot is the CEO of Norship, a major marine engineering and manufacturing company in Cairns that provides services throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
He is an advocate for locally owned maritime services playing in the big leagues of the marine and defence industries.
Mr Downing is the general manager of Cairns’ Tropical Reef Shipyard, which provides integral maritime services to commercial, government and defence organisations and employs more than 150 people.
He has been a strong vocal backer of upgrades to the Cairns Marine Precinct; a recent $30m commitment from the Queensland Government will fund the installation of a 5000-tonne shiplift for ship repair and maintenance.
35: Craig Lees
Craig Lees is the managing director of AFL Cairns.
In the past 12 months Mr Lees has positioned Cairns – specifically, Cazalys Stadium – as a legitimate, long-term host of top-tier sporting events.
In 2022 the venue hosted the Australian Mens Cricket team for the first time in two decades, as well as a Big Bash game that was welcomed with plenty of excitement.
Cazalys recently hosted an AFLW match between Hawthorn and Richmond.
Despite missing out on an AFL game in 2023, under Mr Lees’ leadership the absence of the biggest league in Australia won’t be felt for long.
Mr Lees’ also played an important role in bringing Gary Ablett to Cairns in 2023, which attracted the biggest crowd to a local AFL game in a long time.
34: Richard Stevenson
Richard Stevenson is the CEO of Ports North.
He was promoted into the role in August after half a decade as the organisation’s general manager of operations.
He also has two decades of experience as a maritime warfare officer in the Royal Australian Navy.
Mr Stevenson will play an important role in managing a $360m upgrade to the Cairns Marine Precinct, which includes huge upgrades to defence facilities, the Common User Facility and transport infrastructure.
The facility currently supports about 4500 jobs.
He has also recently come to the table with Cairns Regional Council and tenants of Cairns Marlin Marina dining precinct to provide greater security for landlords, guests and tourists in the face of climbing youth crime rates.
33: John Richardson
Philanthropist and astute businessman John Richardson is keen to stay out of the limelight – but his impact on development in Cairns is substantial.
As the biggest home builder in the Far North, Mr Richardson owns Kenfrost Homes among a slew of companies.
To remain the biggest developer in Cairns among a crowded field that includes Darren Halpin, Tom Hedley and Frederick Kroymans is a tall and vivid feather in his cap.
32: Kevin Byrne
The late Kevin Byrne almost became larger in death than he was in life — the entire city went into mourning when he passed in September.
But the two-time Cairns mayor will always be remembered for his titanic and enduring contribution to the region.
He had a hand in everything; after transforming the city’s image for the better during his mayoral tenure, he moved on to hold key roles in economic development and advocacy.
Many of the region’s leaders, including plenty on this list, received counsel from Mr Byrne, whether they were prepared for it or not.
And, at 74, some were confident he would have another crack at political office.
Even in the weeks before his passing, he put aside physical pain while manoeuvring candidates for council elections in 2024.
Mr Byrne’s legacy and influence will survive him for many years to come.
31: Terry James
After two decades at Cairns Regional Council, deputy mayor Terry James is on the move.
The mayoral candidate has spent three terms as loyal lieutenant to mayor Bob Manning, but in 2024 it will be his turn to lead the Unity Team at council elections.
Mr James has proved influential in key council decisions in 2024; notably, he devised an eleventh-hour solution to the petition against cashless operations at council facilities, an issue that looked certain to remain unresolved.
He’s also cast a few key tiebreaking votes as chairman of the council’s planning and environment meetings.
Mr Manning has taken leave until mid-November, and Mr James has assumed the title of “acting mayor”.
30: Dr Simon Biggs
Dr Simon Biggs is the vice chancellor and president of James Cook University and a director at Advance Cairns.
In the past 12 months Dr Biggs has played an influential role in the Cairns Hospital’s transition to university hospital status, including the development of the Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre, which is due for completion in 2025, and a business case for the Cairns Health Innovation Centre.
On campus, his tasks have been less glamorous – Dr Biggs has overseen job cuts and managed staff protests and union action, as well as handling a $49m operating deficit.
29: Robbie Katter
The KAP leader is following in his dad’s footsteps in three fundamental ways: advocacy for “the bush”, fervent opinions against the government of the day and his probable permanence as an MP.
Since assuming the party’s leadership, Mr Katter has taken the pulse of rural electorates and championed once-radical ideas, such as bush sentencing and rehabilitation, which no longer appear radical in corners of the Far North.
Many in the region, particularly Cape York and Mareeba, have turned to him for assistance.
If the LNP wins the 2024 Queensland election, as the polls predict, the Katters may stymie their ability to form majority government if they can snatch just one marginal North Queensland seat for themselves.
28: Craig Crawford
The Barron River MP is the only FNQ state politician in cabinet.
He has held four ministerial portfolios during his political tenure; currently, he’s responsible for child safety, seniors and disabilities services in Queensland.
Mr Crawford has had some local infrastructure wins recently, too – cutting the ribbon on a $22.4m boat ramp at Yorkeys Knob, for example.
Plans are also afoot to upgrade the Palm Cove jetty.
But like his peer to the south, he has faced a deluge of criticism regarding local crime rates, as well as social housing availability and stasis on Kuranda Range Road upgrades.
The LNP thinks it can turn a few Far North seats blue in 2024; Barron River is the most marginal of the four.
27: Dr Clive Skarott
Dr Clive Skarott is the chairman of the Cairns Hospital and Hinterland Health Service board, chairman of JCU Dental and president of the Cairns Historical Society and Museum.
In the past 12 months CHHHS has experienced some major expansions to infrastructure and services as it has secured significant funding from Queensland Health.
Dr Skarott has also been the chairman of Ergon Energy, chairman of Ports North and director at Advance Cairns.
He is also on the board of Selectability, a mental wellbeing and suicide prevention service that was awarded a $259,000 Queensland Government Partnerships Innovation grant to support after-hours outreach services in Cairns.
Dr Skarott is also a very influential figure within the ALP in the Far North.
26: Professor Hurriyet Babacan
Professor Hurriyet Babacan is the chairwoman of Regional Development Australia Tropical North, which is responsible for stimulating economic growth in the region through identifying and implementing infrastructure projects of vital significance.
Professor Babacan began the job in March and brought to the role a wealth of knowledge across a multitude of industries.
She is also a JCU professorial research fellow for regional, economic and policy development, and a former CEO of Tablelands Regional Council.
Speaking to her about the Far North’s socio-economic challenges and possible solutions is an astounding experience – her grasp of the subject matter is masterly.
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