Call to position Cairns as the nation’s Pacific engagement defence hub
Australia’s recent security pact with PNG underscores why Cairns is perfectly positioned to be the base for the nation’s Pacific security hub, Advance Cairns says.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Funding to determine the best alternative for Kuranda Range Rd is a federal budget priority for Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, who will watch a May budget handed down next Tuesday from the opposition benches for the first time since 2013.
Mr Entsch said the government’s $210m commitment for safety upgrades to the notorious stretch of the Kennedy Highway between Smithfield and Kuranda wasn’t sufficient and plans for an alternative route needed to be fully fleshed out before the next election in 2025.
He favoured the Reddicliffe Highway proposal, which comes over the top of the Crystal Cascades and feeds into the western arterial road.
“The $210m funding is putting lipstick on a pig, I want to see this happen in this budget because it will take a couple of years to look at three possible options and narrow it down to a preferred site before the 2025 election campaign – it would cost billions and take five to 10 years to build, and the best chance of getting funding is during an election cycle,” Mr Entsch said.
“We need a first tranche of funding to do the preliminary work.”
Mr Entsch would like to see funding for an aviation precinct.
“We’ve got the right companies there, we could have an aviation school, an aviation common user facility and a big hangar for painting aircraft,” he said.
The focus for Advance Cairns for the 2023/24 is on delivering $150m committed in the Labor government’s October budget for the marine precinct common user facility – and going a step further by establishing Cairns as Australia’s northern hub for Pacific engagement.
Advance Cairns chief executive Jacinta Redden said the marine precinct would serve commercial maritime operations as well as supporting strategic defence and foreign policy initiatives.
“It is vital that funds to deliver on this project begin to flow as a matter of urgency,” she said.
Ms Redden said the government’s deepening engagement in the Pacific meant marine capabilities had to be expanded, pointing to the new security pact with Papua New Guinea.
She said Cairns could play a greater role with an operational arm of the Office of the Pacific in the city.
The Far North did not fare well in the Coalition’s May budget but there was a mighty cash splash in Labor’s October budget, including $50m for the CQUniversity Cairns CBD campus, $107.5m for Cairns Regional Council’s water security plan and $15m to Tourism Tropical North Queensland for international tourism recovery.
It matched the state government’s commitment with $150m funding to go towards the $300m Cairns marine expansion — over six years.
More Coverage
Originally published as Call to position Cairns as the nation’s Pacific engagement defence hub
Council to nominate director for critical Far North lobby group
A key vote is likely to shape Cairns’ future advocacy ambitions with councillors set to nominate a new board member to an influential lobby group this week.
Will Barlow Park receive $91 upgrade?
New lighting towers and a screen are expected to help attract premier events to Barlow Park but a major refurbishment worth $91m remains under a cloud.