Mayor Bob Manning explains the council’s advocacy priorities for regional parliament week

Queensland’s parliament is coming to Cairns this week – a rare opportunity for local government to have a personal audience with the state’s top decision makers. This is what’s on the council’s advocacy agenda.

Cairns Mayor Bob Manning explains the council’s advocacy priorities for regional parliament week. Picture: Brendan Radke

The full Queensland parliament arrives in Cairns on Tuesday for its regional sitting.

This is a unique opportunity to showcase our region to the premier and ministers, as well as their opposition counterparts, and to emphasise how they can support our region to grow and thrive economically, environmentally and socially.

Working with our local members of parliament and industry stakeholders, we have identified seven initiatives where the council, regional industry groups and state government can collaborate to deliver lasting benefits for our residents and businesses.

Cairns councillors unanimously endorsed the council’s advocacy priorities for regional parliament at their ordinary meeting in March. Picture: Isaac McCarthy

Four of those projects are grassroots, community initiatives that will ensure residents have important infrastructure today, and as the city grows.

Kenrick Park in Gordonvale will receive a significant upgrade, to become an attractive area for kids to play and people to socialise.

Lighting and CCTV upgrades are included as is a path network connecting with the pedestrian overpass over the Bruce Highway, providing a safe link between both sides of the suburb.

The Cairns Community & Multicultural Centre will be a hub for social services for the residents of White Rock and neighbouring suburbs, while providing a cultural meeting place for the many residents who have chosen to move to Cairns from overseas.

Division 3 councillor Cathy Zeiger has long advocated for the Cairns Community and Multicultural Centre, to be built in White Rock. Picture: Isaac McCarthy

For the northern beaches community, the Trinity Beach Community Activity Space will replace the ageing community centre to provide a more practical, accessible facility for classes, celebrations and meetings.

Finally, we are urging the state government to continue to invest in the Northern Beaches Leisure Trail.

Funded by the State and delivered by the council, the leisure trail is a much-used addition to our active travel network, that needs to be completed for its full potential to be delivered.

This is not a request for a hand-out or pushing council’s responsibilities onto the Queensland Government.

The council is completing the Northern Beaches Leisure Trail in stages. Councillors say they need the state government to provide funding for the remaining stages. Picture: Cairns Regional Council

Where these initiatives fall within council’s remit, we will match any funding that comes from the State.

It’s a modest package of funding that will translate into lasting benefits for the community.

Council is committed to these projects; they are not shiny ‘nice to haves’.

State support will allow these initiatives to go ahead in the 2023/24 financial year, returning immediate benefits, rather than being pushed into future budgets.

It’s also appropriate for the council to advocate on behalf of our community for projects that are solely State funded that will have a lasting economic impact and position our businesses and industries to capitalise on areas of future growth.

Multiple stakeholders are vying for state government funds to expand the Smithfield mountain bike park. Picture: Nuno Avendano

That’s why we are supporting three projects led by others: TTNQ in their request for both investment in the Smithfield Mountain Bike Trail network and secure funding to support the staging of Crankworx long term; the Cairns Regional Jobs Committee’s request for skills and workforce planning; and, Advance Cairns’ push for a dedicated regional Defence Industry Strategy.

Where all levels of government and stakeholder groups work together, we can achieve more than when we pursue individual priorities.

This is evident in the Cairns Water Security State 1 Project, where the council, Barron River MP Craig Crawford, Mulgrave MP Curtis Pitt, Cairns MP Michael Healy and Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch successfully fought to secure the region’s drinking water supply.

In recent weeks we have had the opportunity to present our case to the premier and treasurer, facilitated through our local State members.

Our initiatives have been well received and I am confident those discussions will translate into funding announcements when parliament sits.

Originally published as Mayor Bob Manning explains the council’s advocacy priorities for regional parliament week