Dr Kate Meyrick outlines ways for Townsville to grow in keynote presentation

Giving Townsville the grade of “B, B+ at best”, in terms of liveability compared to other regional cities, the keynote speaker at the Future Townsville event said the city needs to make better decisions now.

Future Townsville 2025 at the Ville Resort Casino. Keynote speaker Dr Kate Meyrick. Picture: Evan Morgan

Future Townsville is a series launched by The Townsville Bulletin which will explore the sector’s outlook in Queensland showcasethe economic, employment and innovation it brings to the state. The series has been supported by Hancock Agriculture and S. Kidman & Co., Bravus Mining and Resources, Port of Townsville, Aurizon, Bank of Queensland, Queensland Resources Council, Sun Metals, Ark Energy and Urbis.

Giving Townsville the grade of “B, B+ at best”, in terms of liveability compared to other regional cities, the keynote speaker at Townsville Bulletin’s Future Townsville event has urged the leaders of the city to make better decisions “today”.

Dr Kate Meyrick, an urbanist and placemaker, with more than 25 years of international experience working throughout Australia and across the world, said to make a “bold future for Townsville” the city “cannot keep doing what we have always done”.

Instead, she outlined a sweeping, 46-point plan that the region needs to pursue, including celebrating tropical innovation, upskilling workers, elevating thinking about liveability and appeal and focus on the “renaissance of the CBD.”

Dr Meyrick outlined key change drivers including unlocking economic transformation, adapting to climate change and creating “boundary-less” communities” as key-points where the city can leverage existing infrastucture to develop further.

With the exponential growth of technology and innovation, Dr Meyrick said “waves of change” that once took 60 years now can take only 25 years.

Future Townsville 2025 at the Ville Resort Casino. Keynote speaker Dr Kate Meyrick. Picture: Evan Morgan

Among the region’s listed strengths were “topicality”, the strength of the defence force, a deepwater port, agriculture, critical minerals, and a “remarkable institutional strength in schools and universities.”

With North Queensland a aready a large producer of sugarcane and beef throughout Australia, Dr Meyrick said agriculture needed to look at industries that wasn’t just those exports but also “barramundi and prawns.”

Future Townsville 2025 at the Ville Resort Casino. Keynote speaker Dr Kate Meyrick. Picture: Evan Morgan

She also pointed out that the city was being let-down in terms of transport and walkability, saying the regional centre needed to be more easily traversable in order to maximise its strengths, and that work should being sooner rather than later.

“It’s not good enough to say ‘it’s hot, it’s tropical, you can’t walk it’,” she said.

“You have to commit to changing and have a real plan.”

Originally published as Dr Kate Meyrick outlines ways for Townsville to grow in keynote presentation