FNQ’s 150 most influential people: part 2, 125 – 101
Real estate dynasties, hospitality giants, political powerbrokers — see who made the list of Far North Queensland’s most influential people, 125-101.
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Part one of Cairns Post’s 2023 most influential people list kicked off with 25 movers and shakers, from 150 to 126.
Read on to discover the next 25 in part two of seven.
Named: Our most influential people, 100–76
FNQ’s 150 most influential people: part 2, 125 – 101
Celebrating Far North Queensland’s 150 most influential people, part one
125. Danae Jones
Danae Jones is a marketing, public relations and corporate communications expert in Far North Queensland whose services have been sought out by many from the big end of town.
Ms Jones has previously worked with entities within both federal and state governments, the LNP and ALP, Cairns Taipans, Cairns Chamber, Advance Cairns and McDonald’s.
She is also a board member at the FNQ Hospital Foundation.
124. The Quaids
Stacey Quaid is the managing director of Colliers International in Cairns and managing director of Quaid Real Estate.
His son Tom is the residential sales manager at Quaid Real Estate, sales executive at Colliers International and the youngest person to serve as the Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s Far North zone chairman.
The Quaids registered an epic $2.95m sale at East Trinity last year.
As the senior Quaid continues his position as one of the region’s most respected real estate minds for commercial and residential property sales, the younger Quaid is emerging as a heavy hitter in the Far North market.
123. Fintan Rafferty
Fintan Rafferty is a major player in the Far North’s hospitality industry.
Salthouse, the glistening stallion in his stable, is an early evening magnet for locals and tourists looking for knock-off drinks, a fine-dining date or a launch pad for a night out.
Mr Rafferty also operates La Pizza Trattoria and Mooz Gelato, as well as Abbott Street’s Professional House, a commercial spaces service.
122. The Slatyers
Nicholas Slatyer and wife Renae are a formidable team at Belle Property, which specialises in lifestyle and premium property.
A recent achievement was selling the high quality redevelopment Pinnacle at Smithfield, which had been student accommodation, with 34 apartments sold and sales of more than $10m in six months.
More recent sales include a sub-penthouse in the Jack and Newell building for $2.13m, a stunning home at Onyx St in Clifton Beach for $1.9m and an ultra-modern home at Muller St in Palm Cove for $1.77m.
121. Craig Squire
In the past 12 months Craig Squire has unfortunately become the face of frustrated restaurateurs suffering waves of youth offending at Harbour Lights Boardwalk on Cairns Marlin Marina.
Not one to stand by and watch, the Ochre restaurant owner met with the council and Ports North to discuss, if not demand, solutions.
He successfully stirred both authorities into action, which has brought about a combined active and passive security response.
When Mr Squire isn’t keeping government authorities accountable to their constituents, he’s operating one of Cairns’ most reputable dining and catering businesses, which is soon to turn 30 years old.
120. Denis Donaghy
Denis Donaghy may not be the face of the tourism industry in FNQ, be he is certainly at the strategy table.
The three-decade director of Destination Cairns Marketing is a very well connected figure who has played a role in the region’s movement toward adventure tourism offerings, such as the growing mountain biking scene.
He also pulls no punches when the big end of town stands in the way of progress – in the past 12 months he called out billionaire Benny Wu over derelict properties in Cairns, and laid out the lost economic opportunities by the state government’s Wangetti Trail delay.
119. Greg Nucifora
Greg Nucifora is a private client adviser with Bell Potter Securities.
He also serves as a director on the CHHHS board as well as the chairman of the organisation’s finance and performance committee and a member of its audit committee.
He is also the independent chairman of TTNQ’s finance and risk management committee and the independent chair of the Diocese of Cairns’ Catholic Development Fund.
He is also a director at the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation and at Queensland Country Bank.
118. Lucy Graham
The director of the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre is both adept at white collar advocacy and shoe leather campaigning.
Her team has played an important role in several ecological campaigns in the past 18 months – from water security all the way to fending off the chainsaws that wanted a taste of the heritage T5 Tree at Cairns City library.
A report commissioned by CAFNEC drew significant attention to Cairns Regional Council’s water demand management strategy and soundly demonstrated how the region could save millions of dollars, and millions of litres of water, with alternative local government policies.
117. Gavin Singleton
Gavin Singleton is a leader in multiple sectors, including ecological management and Indigenous affairs.
He is a project manager with Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation whose team works closely with all levels of government, Cairns Airport and numerous Great Barrier Reef organisations on restoration, conservation, biodiversity and cultural heritage projects.
Mr Singleton is also an influential member within the Djabugay Nation, which is currently negotiating Indigenous Land Use Agreements with the Queensland Government regarding the Wangetti Trail project.
116. Salvatore Catalano
Salvatore Catalano is another who avoids the spotlight where he can, but he remains a man of impressive reputation and stature on the Cassowary Coast.
His family has owned and operated residential property, agricultural land and quarry operations throughout the region.
He still seeks out an opportunity where he can; in November, his company was behind an application to construct 22 units in Innisfail.
Mr Catalano mostly makes headlines now for his philanthropy.
He started a charity in his family’s name and has donated large sums of money to health services in Cairns and the Cassowary Coast.
115. Yolonde Entsch
Yolonde Entsch is the CEO of homelessness service Wheels of Wellness who will contest the seat of Cairns at the 2024 Queensland election for the LNP.
She is also a director at several Far North organisations focused on female empowerment and in 2023 took on a mentoring role as part of the Cairns Chamber’s emerging leaders program.
Expect Ms Entsch to start railing hard against the Queensland government’s record on crime as the election gets closer.
Equally expect her to give her opponent, Cairns MP Michael Healy, a few shout-outs.
114. Rolly Cummins
The CFMEU organiser is an expert at driving energy into union gatherings.
You’ll hear his sandpaper-rough voice before you see him – Rolly Cummins led a booming protest outside Michael Healy’s office last year over EBA agreements with the state government.
But his critical eye divides its time between government and contractors.
In May he revealed that the region’s construction sector was lagging in its development of trades apprentices, which played a role in the delay of the Cairns Convention Centre upgrade and other projects.
113. Nicole Dye
Nicole Dye is the manager of the Women’s Shelter FNQ, a domestic violence support and crisis response service in the Cairns region.
Her organisation supported more than 3500 local women and children between its Cairns and Atherton locations from July 2022 to June 2023.
She brings two decades of experience in the sector to ensure women and children, some who are in primary school, have a place of refuge, shelter and sanctuary.
112. Joshua Auld
Described as the region’s LNP “up and comer”, Joshua Auld has had his sights set on a political career for the past decade.
The senior associate at Devenish Law was recently appointed vice president of Queensland’s LNP.
He has previously run LNP campaigns in the Far North and it would be unsurprising to see his face pop up again as the 2024 Queensland election approaches.
Mr Auld is also a member of FNQ Rugby League’s governance committee and disciplinary tribunal.
111. Elida Faith
The two-time Leichhardt candidate and QCU Cairns branch deputy president is a major influence in the Labor left faction within the Far North.
Elida Faith, who is also the Community and Public Sector Union organiser, has beaten the Labor right faction to the Leichhardt nomination in the past two elections and, according to some sources, is poised to do so again for a third time in 2025.
More recently she turned her attention to leading union campaigns in favour of the Voice Referendum.
110. Trish Berrill
Trish Berrill is an influential union official in the Far North who is also a key player in the local ALP chapter.
Ms Berrill, the president of the Queensland Council of Unions Cairns Branch, is recognised for never wavering in her demand for workers’ rights and is a usual face of union campaigns.
In the past she has led protests over staff shortages and stalled wage negotiations, and has blasted Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch on many occasions.
109. Kelly Reaston
Kelly Reaston is a leading development and property services specialist in Cairns.
Her thorough knowledge of local and state government planning processes would be difficult to match in the private sector after spending almost eight years as Cairns Regional Council’s general manager of planning.
She now runs her own consultancy and also leads Urban Planning North with fellow council alumni Bruce Gardiner, Peter Boyd and Kelly Barnes.
Her company has been engaged for huge developments in the region including the Cairns Post building on Abbott St, a 490-unit block in Woree, a 73-unit social housing block in Cairns North and Tim Gurner’s $250m resort in Port Douglas.
108. Andrew Clair
Hinterland Aviation is a pillar of air travel connectivity in Far North Queensland – vital to communities such as Cooktown and Coen.
Andrew Clair, the airline’s CEO, is the man with his hands on the controls.
Hinterland’s influence in the Far North’s aviation market was noted in June when, in the absence of its competitor Skytrans, it won a state government contract to provide emergency flights to Mabuiag and Erub islands.
107. Lt Col Jeremy Schieb
Jeremy Schieb – the commanding officer of the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment, based at Porton Barracks in Edmonton – has an important role in the defence of Northern Australia.
The regiment is responsible for long-range reconnaissance and surveillance missions of Australia’s northern coastline.
It is also an important employer of Indigenous peoples in the region, capitalising on their knowledge of land and sea in Far North Queensland.
106. Wayne Butcher
The mayor of Lockhart River, Wayne Butcher is a shrewd and vocal council leader whose decisions have proved consequential in the past 12 months.
Mr Butcher led his community out of a long-term grog ban in 2022 which inspired other Indigenous Cape York councils to pursue similar ends to local prohibition.
At LGAQ conferences Mr Butcher has been quick to remind other Queensland councils that proposals needed to work for the 14 remote Indigenous local governments and shires in FNQ.
He is also an influential presence within the Torres and Cape Indigenous Council Alliance, was a vocal proponent of the Voice to Parliament proposal and a fierce critic of the LNP after its Path to Treaty backflip.
105. Troy Jacques
Troy Jacques is the director of Heightened Security Solutions who has been a security services vendor in Cairns for more than 10 years.
Heightened Security operates Cairns Regional Council’s CitySafe program which the council recently expanded by 50 per cent.
Mr Jacques’ company received two contracts from the council in July, together worth more than $2.4m.
The expansion of CitySafe is estimated to be worth another $1.2m.
The company also operates security at major venues in the city such as Gilligan’s Nightclub and Cairns Convention Centre, as well as courthouses and libraries in the region.
104. Genevieve Sinclair
Genevieve Sinclair is the CEO of Youth Empowered Towards Independence, a youth work service based in Bungalow.
She has been involved with the organisation for 14 years.
Her team conducts crucial youth engagement in the city every week, and serves as an important intermediary between some young offenders and the justice system.
As well as engaging with troubled youth, Ms Sinclair has been a defender of children’s rights and will speak up against heavy-handed action by authorities, such as unlawful detention.
103. Aaron Dunkerton
Aaron Dunkerton is the principal crown prosecutor for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Cairns.
He leads a team of more than 30 legal and administrative staff and carries a hefty responsibility of personally prosecuting the more grim allegations, including homicides, in the region.
102. John Mackenzie
John Mackenzie, or “Macca” to his listeners, has been with 4CA Cairns for four decades.
His morning show is listened to by tens of thousands each week.
He’ll often have local politicians scrambling for words as his talkback listeners demand answers.
Mr Mackenzie is passionate about getting results for the people of Cairns.
101. Aaron Fa’aoso
Aaron Fa’Aoso is a Far North actor, screenwriter and executive director of the Lonestar Production Group.
He is also a board member at Screen Queensland.
Recently he has played an important role in the development of the old Portsmith Bunnings building into a 6500sq m film studio.
He has been a strong advocate for the promotion of other creative talents from the Torres Strait Island community, as well as the promotion of Indigenous cultures through his work.
He is also an influential person in the Indigenous Affairs landscape.
He is on the board of the Queensland Government’s interim Truth and Treaty commission, and has delivered analysis and examination of Australian culture after the Voice Referendum defeat.
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Originally published as FNQ’s 150 most influential people: part 2, 125 – 101
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