Cairns economy: New data shows unexpected industry trends

A diverse economy and willingness to adopt technology has made Cairns one of the top-ranked regions in the state for economic growth, according to economist Pete Faulkner.

A diverse economy and willingness to adopt technology has made Cairns one of the top-ranked regions in the state for economic growth, according to economist Pete Faulkner.

A diverse economy and willingness to adopt technology has made Cairns one of the top-ranked regions in the state for economic growth, according to economist Pete Faulkner.

Mr Faulkner, a Conus Business Consultancy Services partner and economist, spoke at the Cairns Chamber of Commerce’s July business lunch on Tuesday to give an update on the region’s economic standing, both regionally and nationally.

“We have seen stellar growth over the past four or five years,” Mr Faulkner said.

“Cairns region is one of the most diverse regional economies in Queensland these days.”

Conus Business Consultancy Services partner and economist Pete Faulkner presented the region’s economic outlook at the Cairns Chamber of Commerce July Business Lunch at the Hilton Cairns. Picture: Catherine Duffy

Mr Faulkner said Cairns ranked at number one in the state this year and had consistently ranked in the top 10 most diverse regional economies in Queensland in the past 25 years.

“The three most diversified regions – Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Cairns – we kind of share the top three between us over those 25 years, but … all three of them have seen a significant increase in diversification of their economy,” he said.

Among the industries leading the way on technology adoption was the agricultural sector, with a 40 per cent productivity growth over the decade.

Cairns’ agricultural sector is one of the industries leading the way in technology adoption and productivity growth.

“If we think about it, agriculture has been one of the leaders in adopting technology … we’ve got far fewer people employed, but we’re still producing lots of food. In our case, lots of bananas, sugar, sugarcane … because we’ve leant into innovations, leant into technology,” he said.

“We’ve got GPS-guided harvesting machines, we’re using GIS (Geographic Information System) to maximise fertiliser with minimised use, maximised efficiency … so I think agriculture has been a real star, not just here but across the country.”

On the other hand, Mr Faulkner said the construction sector, which made up around 10 per cent of the region’s economy, was going in the opposite direction.

Mr Faulkner said he hoped to see productivity growth in the region’s construction sector, which had been on the decline for “a number of reasons” but was one of the most significant contributors to the region’s economy. Picture: File

“Up here in the Far North, it’s even worse at nearly minus five per cent per annum, every year, for 10 years – that’s more than a 50 per cent decline in construction productivity over that decade,” he said.

While Mr Faulkner noted there were a range of factors that could account for the decline in productivity, he said it was a “glaring” problem that impacted economic growth.

“But what this highlights, is that particularly up here in the Far North, if we can address the productivity challenge within the construction sector, that would turn around that productivity growth for the region as a whole because construction is a very significant component of our economy,” he said.

“If we can turn that around, that’s going to have a significant impact on productivity across the region.”

Originally published as Cairns economy: New data shows unexpected industry trends