Healthcare and Infrastructure prominent in Advance Cairns 2023 budget submission to government

Ensuring the federal and state governments stick to their promises is top of the agenda for Advance Cairns’ new CEO as the organisation lays out its 2023 budget submission.

Ensuring the federal and state governments stick to their promises for key projects within Cairns keystone industries is top of the agenda for Advance Cairns’ new CEO Jacinta Reddan.

Ms Reddan has been busy identifying the region’s key issues since occupying the top role at Cairns’ economic development advocacy body in October last year, and is now striving to realise previous funding commitments to the Far North in her organisation’s 2023 federal and state budget submission.

Major existing funding commitments include $300m for the Common User Facility at the Cairns Marine Precinct, $250m for the Cairns University Hospital redevelopment project and $210m for the Kuranda Range Road safety upgrade.

Advance Cairns CEO Jacinta Reddan has presented the 2023 budget submission to the Federal Government, advocating for stronger infrastructure investment in Far North Queensland. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Given the focus on coming out of Covid, the strategic focus on Northern Australia and the pressure on the health service, all of those combine to create a real need to act with a degree of urgency,” Ms Reddan said.

“We can’t build a strong and prosperous future for the region if we’re complacent.”

Advance Cairns’ submission is largely a continuation of previous advocacy, calling on prompt delivery of funds for key needs in the region’s maritime, health and education industries, as well as the infrastructure that connects them.

However, its main message is the Far North is endeavouring to diversify its economy and needs meaningful government funding to accelerate that transition.

Health care is now the biggest single industry employer in the Cairns region, and a major focus in the Advance Cairns budget submission. Picture: File photo

“Diversification of the economy is a really big focus for us,” Ms Reddan said.

“Health is now the biggest employer. Cairns is known for its beautiful tourist attractions, but there’s so much more to the economy, and the diversification is going to make sure we have a resilient and sustainable future.”

Sitting prominently atop the submission’s agenda was Cairns’ Marine Precinct, which was covered in a bagful of funding verbal diarrhoea during the 2022 federal election campaign.

But Ms Reddan wants delivery.

“It’s something we’d like to get clarity on – how and when will the funding start flowing from the state and federal governments,” she said.

Advance Cairns wants to ensure the state and federal government stick to their investment promises regarding the Cairns Marine Precinct. Picture: Supplied

“Cairns has historically had a strong marine and fishing industry, but that’s waxed and waned.

“Delivering on the common user facility is going to create jobs and ongoing employment and really boost the sector.”

The Kuranda Range Road also had prominence in the submission, but the organisation did not ask for more than the $210m already allocated.

Organisations such as Enterprise North, a fellow economic development agency, have previously called for up to $600m in funding to widen the road’s lanes.

Ms Reddan said the priority, for now, was to find the best solution, which could include developing an alternative to the often clogged artery connecting Cairns to the Tablelands.

“The Kuranda Range Road is a bottleneck to development,” she said.

“It’s essential that we find a solution to Tablelands’ access – so we’ll really be pushing for a study into a business case for an alternative.”

The Cairns University Hospital redevelopment project was also high on the agenda. The submission contained an ambitious demand to government – to allocate half of commonwealth supported medical student placements to the Far North.

“Daily you see more statistics for health outcomes for communities in rural and remote Australia. Cairns Hospital provides a critical service to all of the Cape,” Ms Reddan said.

“So it’s really important that we remain ambitious to deliver equitable health outcomes for everybody in the region.”

The Cairns Regional Council voted last week to become a platinum member of Advance Cairns after a rocky relationship between the two for years.

Ms Reddan said this commitment from the council would have good outcomes for the region, citing recent allegiance.

“A really good example of (our alignment) is the water security funding … Cairns Regional Council lead the way on that critical piece of infrastructure, and we supported that,” she said.

Originally published as Healthcare and Infrastructure prominent in Advance Cairns 2023 budget submission to government