North Queensland regional development organisations (RDOs) vowed to take a collaborative approach to lobbying all levels of Government for high priority infrastructure projects, following a meeting in Cairns recently.

Hosted by Advance Cairns, the quarterly meeting included high-ranking representatives of RDOs from Gladstone to Cape York and out to Mt Isa, and from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation in Brisbane.

The 20-strong group resolved to assess infrastructure priorities from each of their areas and formulate a list of high priority projects to lobby the Federal Government for.

The group, which represented Townsville Enterprise Limited, Mount Isa to Townsville Economic Development Zone Incorporated, Rockhampton Regional Development Limited, Mackay Whitsunday Regional Economic Development Corporation, Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Limited, Cape York Peninsula Development Association Inc, Gulf Savannah Development, the Office of Northern Australia and the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, will meet again in September in Mackay.

Advance Cairns and the Cairns Chamber of Commerce will advocate for the formation of an alliance of organisations to work with and lobby the State Government about the impacts and opportunities that Wild Rivers Legislation and the proposed World Heritage Listing of the Cape York will have on the communities in the area.

The move follows earlier concerns raised by Advance Cairns, and a presentation by well-known Indigenous spokesman, Noel Pearson, at this week’s Cairns Chamber monthly luncheon. Mr Pearson shared his views on the Wild Rivers Legislation with 185 members of the Cairns business community, and highlighted the importance that land tenure and access play in the social reform agenda for Cape York communities. He made a particular point that in third world countries, no development takes place without individuals owning private land and having all the freedoms that freehold land brings with it.

In response to Mr Pearson’s presentation, Cairns Chamber of Commerce president, Jeremy Blockey, said that now was the time for an alliance of organisations to work together to present a clear message of the expectations of the region and to provide factual information on the real impacts and opportunities for Cape York. “We have no argument that parts of Cape York have significant environmental attributes and are worthy of being protected,” Mr Blockey said. “However, there are also significant areas of land that do not have these values.”

“Of more importance though, is holding on to the concept of sustainability, and that means looking at the economic and social values, and not just the environmental ones,” Mr Blockey said. “For too long now the environmental movement has tried to make environment synonymous with sustainability – it’s time to move on, and get on with the business of finding solutions that suit a broader range of stakeholders.”

Mr Blockey said that the Cairns Chamber of Commerce has been liaising with various stakeholder groups to bring about a strong sense of regional cooperation so TNQ gets a solution that suits it rather than simply bureaucrats in Brisbane and Canberra.

Advance Cairns chairman Russell Beer reiterated, “As I said in an earlier press release, “we need to talk”. These issues impact on our region, and the needs of those who represent all of those affected need to be sought, heard and considered. If that is done I am very hopeful that an outcome will be reached which works for all sectors.”

Local businesses are encouraged to declare their interest in joining a proposed trade mission to China later this year.

Advance Cairns, Tropical North Queensland’s peak economic development agency, is investigating the scale of opportunities available to the region’s businesses to expand their operations into China.

The organisation, with the support of Cairns Regional Council, is working closely with The Beijing Consulting Group (BCG) to determine what opportunities exist for Tropical North Queensland businesses to take their business into China, as well as determine which regions in China will be the most advantageous for a delegation to visit and undertake pre-determined business to business matching meetings.

A briefing session about the concept of a trade mission to China will be held on Wednesday (June 17) from 2pm to 3pm in the boardroom at the Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation, corner of Hartley and Grafton Streets.

To register your interest in attending the briefing session call Advance Cairns on 4080 2900.

Securing long-term health, infrastructure and sustainability solutions for Tropical North Queensland were the major talking points during one-on-one meetings with Queensland Government ministers in Brisbane this month, Advance Cairns reports.

The information-gathering and lobbying trip generated some key commitments from the State Government including the need for community consultation on the proposed World Heritage listing of Cape York, confirmation of flood mitigation works to the Bruce Highway at Ingham in light of recent extensive flood damage, and addressing the need for additional health services by acquiring land in the southern reaches of Cairns to build a complimentary health clinic to the Cairns Base Hospital.

Advance Cairns CEO Ross Contarino said the economic development agency’s small delegation, that included chairman Russell Beer and director Owen Dalton, was well received by the seven state ministers and their senior staff who met with the group over two days from June 3.

“Each of the ministers we met with, during individual appointments, was receptive of our issues which we outlined in briefing papers specific to each portfolio,” Mr Contarino said.

“We were particularly well received by senior staff to Tim Mulherin, the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, who applauded the work Advance Cairns is doing in the Tropical Expertise arena, saying the ongoing project was a shining light for economic development in Queensland.”

“We also discussed our concerns about the future of health services in the North with Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas and his senior staff, raising our previous concerns with the lack of correct planning for these health services. The Minister outlined his commitment to a long-term solution to the region’s needs for additional health services, and that the community’s input would be sought.”

Advance Cairns will follow up with a number of state ministers who made a commitment to visit the region in the near future to meet with industry leaders to gather information and formulate activities to assist them in their endeavours.

Economic development agencies from Cape York to Gladstone will meet in Cairns for strategy talks tomorrow (Thursday, June 11).

Hosted by Advance Cairns, Tropical North Queensland’s peak economic development agency, the groups from Mackay, Mt Isa, Townsville, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Cairns and Cape York will spend the next two days meeting with regional cluster groups, and then gather to discuss collaboration strategies, and the future of the Queensland Regional Development Initiative (QRDI) funding program, which is administered by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), that concludes in March 2010. The QRDI funding program provides the bulk of funding to the various economic development agencies across Queensland.

Advance Cairns CEO Ross Contarino said the REDC meeting is held every four months, with their last meeting in Townsville, to strategise how the groups can work collaboratively for the betterment of the region as a whole.

The 20-strong group will represent Townsville Enterprise Limited, Mount Isa to Townsville Economic Development Zone Incorporated, Rockhampton Regional Development Limited, Mackay Whitsunday Regional Economic Development Corporation, Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Limited, Cape York Peninsula Development Association Inc, Gulf Savannah Development, the Office of Northern Australia and the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

They will spend tomorrow afternoon (Thursday, June 11) touring the Far North meeting with education, landscaping and super yacht cluster groups, before holding a strategy meeting on Friday morning at the Shangri-La Hotel.

Cairns can breathe a sigh of relief that Cairns Ports was a welcome omission from the Queensland Government’s list of State assets set to be sold off to rectify a multi-billion dollar budget deficit.

Advance Cairns, the region’s peak economic development agency, is pleased Cairns Ports has escaped being listed along with five other major state assets, including The Port of Brisbane, that Premier Anna Bligh announced yesterday would be put up for sale to allow for more spending on infrastructure projects.

“We are relieved the government saw sense not to put Cairns Ports up for sale, particularly with the pending change of its structure on July 1 this year when the company takes on responsibility for the regional ports of Cairns, Mourilyan, Karumba, Thursday Island, Quintell Beach, Cape Flattery, Skardon River, Cooktown and Burketown,” Advance Cairns CEO Ross Contarino said.

“It is great for our region that Cairns Ports was not considered for sale, thus providing a light at the end of the tunnel in these uncertain times we find ourselves in. With the hardships being felt by businesses across Tropical North Queensland as a result of the Global Financial Crisis, selling Cairns Ports would have led to another period of uncertainty in a time when the region could do without it,” he said.

Stakeholders in the Far North of the State have voiced their collective concern over Queensland Government initiatives being progressed without adequate or in some cases any consultation, such as the recent proposal to add Cape York to the World Heritage List (WHL).

Advance Cairns, the region’s peak economic development agency, has expressed its disappointment at the State Government, and says it and other bodies were disconcerted that the first they knew of the proposed fast tracking of this proposal was when reading in The Cairns Post that the Minister was lobbying for the early inclusion of the Cape in the WHL.

“Advance Cairns was very concerned when it came to our attention that within the one week there was both a Federal listing of a large part of the Coral Sea, and a request from the Queensland Government to fast track the listing of the entire Cape York as a World Heritage Area without the slightest warning or request for consultation,” Advance Cairns CEO Ross Contarino said.

“These are major determinations for our region. The most significant concern at this time is not whether these proposals are right or not, it is more about the fact that the opinions of those who will be most impacted have not been considered in their formulation,” Mr Contarino said.

“Since this was announced we have spoken to many bodies representing those who may be affected, including the Cook Shire, ROC Cape York, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and the Cape York Partnerships group, and they all share our concerns”.

Mr. Contarino went on to say that none of these bodies yet had concluded views, but that they wanted to understand more about what was proposed so they could identify and comment on the issues which might arise.

“We are strongly in favour of workable sustainable policies and practices being developed and implemented in the region” he said, “but we need to ensure that the needs of and issues relevant to our locals are identified and taken into account in that process. We understand that the State had earlier set up advisory committees on this issue, but to us it makes no sense to do that and then seek to entrench a position before receiving advice from those groups.”

Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Jeremy Blockey has joined the call for consultation saying it was imperative that the business community have input into processes such as Wild Rivers and the heritage listing to ensure the continued viability of the region.

“By working together, we can have the best of both worlds, which allows us to preserve our natural assets and create employment for the region,” Mr Blockey said.

Advance Cairns will take its concerns to the State Government today (Wednesday, June 3) when a delegation of directors, led by Mr Contarino and Chairman Russell Beer, meet with seven State Ministers as part of a two-day lobbying mission to Brisbane.