FNQ’s 150 most influential people: part 3, 100 – 76
Business giants, Indigenous leaders and the voices of radio — see who made the list of Far North Queensland’s most influential people, 100-76.
Cairns
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Business giants, Indigenous leaders and the voices of radio have made the third round of Far North Queensland’s most influential people, 100-76.
That includes the region’s longest-running radio duo and the woman who led inquiries into some of the region’s greatest tragedies.
Join us as we countdown the most influential people from 150-1.
Ranked: Far North Queensland’s 150 most influential people, 125-101
Celebrating Far North Queensland’s 150 most influential people, part one
From 100 to 76, our most influential people are (part four will be published exclusively online at cairnspost.com.au on Tuesday):
100: Dr Noel Preece
Noel Preece is a conservation ecologist, JCU professor, director at Terrain NRM and the lead scientist for the Far North’s spectacled flying fox recovery team.
He is also a director at Biome5, an ecological research organisation that focuses on Northern Australia, and is a highly sought-after ecological consultant.
According to local environmental management leaders, the region’s flying fox recovery program was struggling to gain momentum until Dr Preece came on board.
99: Frank Gasparin
Frank Gasparin’s name has become synonymous with development and property ownership in Cairns.
His current developments include the 265-lot Half Moon Bay project at Trinity Park in partnership with development giant Villawood.
He also owns several prominent Cairns CBD properties including the DFS Galleria and Tommy Bahama buildings on Abbott St and Spence St.
98: Luke James
Luke James might be one of Cairns’ newest residents, but he’s wasted no time getting to know the region.
As the new area general manager for the Crystalbrook hotel collection, he is responsible for one of the most powerful roles within Cairns’ hospitality industry.
Mr James has arrived from the United Arab Emirate’s luxury hotel scene to oversee and execute Crystalbrook’s Far North strategy, which last year owner Ghassan Aboud suggested could include an expansion to Port Douglas.
97: Rick Hanlon
Rick Hanlon is the general manager of AFL Cape York House in Cairns.
The organisation provides links to education for Indigenous youth from Cape York, the Torres Strait Islands and other communities.
It also provides an essential health and wellbeing service for children who have been born into the country’s lowest socio-economic bracket.
The organisation is cited in many circles as one of the most effective youth-focused initiatives in the region.
For his leadership, Mr Hanlon was honoured as Cairns Citizen of the Year in 2022.
96: Philip Young
Philip Young is the owner and managing director of i-LEC solutions, a local company based in Portsmith that has become a sought out contractor for electrical and civil infrastructure projects.
Mr Young began his company in 2010 from his backyard shed.
Thirteen years later, he employs 50 locals, has moved to a 5000 sqm industrial property at Portsmith and has been awarded Cairns Regional Council contracts worth about $4m in the past 12 months.
Additionally, i-LEC also won a Cairns Regional Council tender in August worth $8.35m to install lighting upgrades at Barlow Park.
The company has recently expanded its operations to Townsville.
The company sponsors charitable causes in Cairns such as the Cardiac Challenge and the mayor’s Christmas appeal, as well as several sports teams.
95: Anita Veivers
Anita Veivers is the executive director of CentaCare FNQ, a major social services provider for vulnerable people in the Far North.
CentaCare has delivered essential homelessness, aged care, disability care and other social services in the past 12 months.
For the past two years, the organisation’s multicultural service has provided indispensable assistance to refugees fleeing conflicts in Ukraine and other countries.
Ms Veivers is also a member of the Cairns Chamber’s regional jobs committee.
94: Chris Boland
Chris Boland is a Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services board member, the chairman of its audit committee and a director at Advance Cairns.
He was also the CEO of Ports North – he stepped down from the role in June after 13 years.
He was credited for delivering projects such as Cairns Cityport and the Cairns Shipping Development Project.
He has also served on the board of Ports Australia.
93: Destry Puia
Destry Puia is the boss of Cairns Regional Council’s lifestyle and community directorate, responsible for, to put it simply, good times in the region.
His department manages community spaces, community safety and community planning, and organises council-led events.
He also presides over the allocation of millions of dollars in council grants to organisations and events.
Mr Puia is credited by councillors to be an industrious, proficient and reliable operator, as well as a friendly bloke.
92: Nick Dalton
Nick Dalton is the editor of Cairns Local News, which provides coverage of stories from Port Douglas to Cardwell.
The weekly print product has a circulation of 13,000.
Mr Dalton has spent more than two decades in the local media industry, including almost 19 years at the Cairns Post, making him one of the most well connected people in the city.
He has been credited by many people, including top flight politicians, for giving Cairns Local News a serious shot in the arm.
91: Gareth Phillips
Gareth Phillips is the CEO of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators and a director at Marine Discoveries.
He has played an influential role in Great Barrier Reef conservation and research efforts and is an important conduit between reef management organisations and tourism operators that rely on the reef every day.
90: Stewart Christie
Stewart Christie is the CEO of Terrain NRM, an acclaimed environmental management organisation.
He is also the co-founder of the Reef Restoration Foundation.
Terrain NRM has been regularly engaged by various authorities to complete projects aimed at restoring natural capital and making the environment more resilient to the effects of climate change and human disturbance.
In May the company was awarded a $2.5m waterway remediation contract from the Queensland Government.
89: Cynthia Lui
Cynthia Lui is the two-term incumbent of one of Queensland’s largest electorates, part of a three-term government and also holds the second safest ALP seat in the region.
As Cook MP she is also responsible for advocating to government on behalf of the vast majority of the state’s Indigenous communities.
Cook has been an ALP fortress for 50 years; the LNP have won the seat just once.
But they, and the Katters, will be looking to change that in 2024.
88: Wayne Reynolds
Many conversations about the direction of Cairns’ tourism industry would involve Wayne Reynolds.
The twelve-year general manager of the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino has also been a five-year board member of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, on which he also serves as the deputy chair of the organisation’s finance and risk management committee.
His hotel is a frequent host of major events and functions and its resident restaurant Tamarind is also among the most celebrated in the city.
Mr Reynolds’ three decades of experience in the industry continue to serve the Accor Group well in Far North Queensland.
87: Magistrate Nerida Wilson
Nerida Wilson was, until very recently, the coroner for North Queensland.
In the past 12 months she has presided over two high-profile and moving coronial inquiries, including the 2020 Lockhart River plane crash and health services failures in remote Indigenous towns, the latter of which made waves in the corridors of state parliament this year.
In 2022 she ordered Queensland Police Service to undertake fresh investigations into the disappearance of missing Kowanyama woman Allison Bernard.
She will continue to manage the Bernard inquest from her new post as a Southport magistrate.
86: Ireland brothers
Brothers David and Richard Ireland have one of the most recognised faces in the business industry and represent a pioneering Cairns family.
In May they sold their 100-year-old automotive business Irelands of Cairns to national dealership Eagers Automotive.
Their stable of dealerships included Mitsubishi, Isuzu trucks, RAM, Chrysler and Alfa Romeo among others.
Their vehicles were routinely bought for Cairns Regional Council’s fleet.
The Ireland’s also have history of investing in Cairns’ community, including support for Rotary, Red Cross, the Far North Queensland Youth Assistance Fund, the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, Advance Cairns, Cairns Choral Society and the Cairns Regional Art Gallery.
In October the family was awarded Cairns Chamber’s Legacy Award in recognition of its contributions to the city.
85: Alan Ren and Connie Kang
Alan Ren is the owner and principal dealer at Cairns Cars, and his wife Connie Kang is the company’s business manager.
The business has become a big hitter in the local automotive sector; it has a near monopoly on European car brands, and the couple have been in town just six years.
Their investment in huge car showrooms has brought major brands to the region.
Their four-wheel fleet now includes Audi, Skoda, Volvo and Peugeot among others.
In November they secured the right to sell Ducati motorcycles, another prestige European brand, making it the newest motorcycle dealership north of the Sunshine Coast.
84: Roderic Rees
Roderic Rees is the director of the Cairns Adventure Group and a reputable figure in the local tourism industry.
He is a proactive operator – while the industry waited for the return of international workers after Covid, he spent $36,000 to run training courses that would train locals as white water rafting guides.
This year his company acquired three other local tourism businesses, including Bad Fishy Jet Boating, to increase his market offerings.
He’s also not afraid to lend his voice to sensitive debates concerning the industry, including the extent of government support and regulations during and after Covid.
83: Joe Moro
If it has something to do with agriculture, Mareeba, business or a combination of the three, chances are Joe Moro is involved.
He is the chairman of Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers, a director at Queensland Farmer’s Federation and board member at Regional Development Australia Tropical North.
He has served as the Mareeba Chamber of Commerce president for almost a decade, and is also the chairman of FNQ Growers.
And, somehow, he even finds the time to operate his own farming operation, Moro Mangoes, and an automotive business, Moro Auto Repairs.
82: Janet Hamilton
Janet Hamilton is the general manager of the Cairns Convention Centre.
She is also a board member at Tourism Tropical North Queensland.
In 2023 Ms Hamilton oversaw the completion of the long-awaited $176m expansion of the Cairns Convention Centre, which will create an estimated $100m delegate spend in Cairns over 12 months thanks to a steep increase in hosted events.
Ms Hamilton’s centre also hosted regional parliament in May.
81: Dave & Inkie
Dave Warner and Inkie Bissell are part of Cairns’ longest-serving radio team.
Their show is consistently the number-one rating breakfast show in the city, with more than 23 per cent of the listener market.
The Star 102.7 duo have the lion’s share of the young listeners in Cairns.
Their campaign for a FNQ Monopoly board finally paid off – there’s one on sale now.
80: Piccone brothers
No Far North influential people list would be complete without the Piccone name, even if brothers John and Peter prefer not to showboat their contributions to the community and business sector.
The brothers own and operate one of Cairns’ most recognised business chains and are also active in local philanthropy.
The family has been doing business in Cairns for almost 100 years.
79: Noel Pearson
Noel Pearson is an Indigenous policy advocate who arguably has the largest presence in the nation’s Indigenous Affairs sector.
Despite his residence in the Sunshine Coast, the Hope Vale man keeps one eye permanently fixed on Cape York, where his life and advocacy career began.
Very little changes in the Cape without his awareness, and the organisations he founded, including the Cape York Partnership, maintain a large service delivery footprint throughout the region.
His efforts, along with those of Megan Davis and Pat Anderson, delivered the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which brought about the first referendum in two decades.
When Mr Pearson calls, the Prime Minister picks up the phone.
There are few from Far North Queensland who posses that power.
78: The Woodward family
Founded in 1976, the CaPTA Group is among the Far North’s most recognisable tourism brands.
Brothers Ben, Michael and Peter Woodward have taken over from their entrepreneurial parents as the groups’ brains trust.
The brand includes Rainforestation Nature Park, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary and Tropic Wings Cairns Tours and Charters, among other businesses.
The group took a hit this year when their Cairns City Zoom and Wildlife Dome closed due to required maintenance on the host building: the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino.
But top tourism minds around town know the trio will bounce back soundly, and soon.
Ben Woodward is also a director at TTNQ and the Australian Tourism Export Council, and is the vice president of Gay and Lesbian Tourism Australia.
77: Vonda Malone
Vonda Malone is the CEO of the Torres Strait Regional Authority, a statutory authority responsible for formulating and implementing socio-economic development programs for the Torres Strait Region.
She is also the former mayor of the Torres Shire Council and the former chairwoman of the Torres Health Indigenous Corporation.
Ms Malone has been an enduring advocate for Indigenous female leadership.
She has also been an advocate for climate action to save the Torres Strait Islands from the effects of rising sea levels – her opinion was once sought by Time Magazine.
76: Richie Ah Mat
Richie Ah Mat is the chairman of Cape York Land Council and co-chair of the Cape York Partnership.
In the past 18 months the land council has managed Native Title action over huge swathes of Cape York.
Mr Ah Mat is also a very influential figure in the Indigenous Affairs sector who has rubbed shoulders with some of the nation’s top politicians.
To catch up on the first two parts of this list, find those ranked from 150 to 101 via the two links below.
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Originally published as FNQ’s 150 most influential people: part 3, 100 – 76
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