A New Deal for Cairns – The PlanThe Cairns region’s peak business and industry leaders today formed a united front to demand a new deal from the State and Federal Governments in the face of the region’s unacceptably high unemployment figures, and the crippling effects of the Global Financial Crisis.

Advance Cairns Chairman Russell Beer said the difficulties that the region is facing, which are highlighted by record unemployment rates, have forced the call for urgent and real assistance from Canberra and Brisbane. “We have always been proud to be a small business economy and a region which drives our own destiny” Mr Beer said, “but the perfect storm whipped up by the Global Financial Crisis and the resultant credit crunch, the collapse in the construction and mining industries, a high Australian dollar, a drop in international tourist numbers and our reliance on a narrow industry base has meant that we need help, and fast.”

The Cairns Chamber of Commerce have joined the call, with President Jeremy Blockey calling on all levels of Government to “listen and act. We specifically need the Federal and State governments to open their chequebooks and avert what is quickly becoming a crisis,” Mr Blockey said. “I shuddered when I heard that our unemployment rate has exceeded 13%, but what really scares me is that I am sure that unless we get some swift and decisive action from our elected leaders it will get much worse.”

Newly elected Chair of Tourism Tropical North Queensland Bill Calderwood joined in the chorus. “We are bleeding, and many tourist operators are already on their knees, and there is no way that some of them will survive until the next tourist season without help. If we let key players in our major industry fail, it is hard to see how we could ever replace the industry expertise and know how that would be lost to the region as a consequence.” 

Mr Beer said that the three organisations had worked together to develop a three-part crisis plan to put to the State and Federal governments. “We don’t just want to whinge” he said. “We recognise that we have to be part of developing the solution.”

The plan’s three main components – Relief, Recovery and Reform – are borrowed from former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s original “New Deal”, which led the US out of the Great Depression. “The first are some immediate and perhaps novel actions designed to pump prime the region’s economy and get out-of-work people from tourism and construction back to work and hopefully to stay in the region until the next upturn,” Mr Beer explained.

The recovery components involve some help from government in planning and delivering initiatives in key areas where the leaders think there are some major opportunities and upsides for the economy in the medium term, and the reform component comprises long sought after policy changes designed to remove impediments to our regional competitiveness and to allow us to drive and take advantage of some of our competitive advantages.

The plan also involves a demand for a commitment to the one key project that the region’s major stakeholders have all agreed is the iconic signature project which ticks all of the boxes – the development of the Cairns Cultural Precinct on the waterfront opposite the Convention Centre. The project will include a world-class performing arts centre, state-of-the-art regional and Indigenous museum, and associated display and meeting facilities needed as an adjunct to our current convention facilities.

Details of the plan include specific relief by way of tax deferrals, assistance with some key projects including better engagement with our closest capital city Port Moresby and neighbour country PNG to allow our businesses to take advantage of the major projects about to take off there, and delivery of aviation policies that better serve a regional economy, and that are not based on capital city centric principles.

Mr Blockey added, “The region needs strong leadership on this issue, and the business community are trying to show that and we have seen some good support from our elected representatives today. We need to unite in a plan to attack the unemployment crisis and take a regional approach to a region in great need. The local members say they share our frustrations and have made a commitment to join our call for action. They too recognise our special circumstances, and are prepared to give us real help for our industries to allow us to make a real difference.”

Russell Beer called for the region and Government to unite to face and deal with the crisis we are facing. “Don’t waste my time telling me how united the Townsville region is if you are not prepared to be part of a united team effort in Cairns to drag us back to where we want to be. I agree that ‘someone should do something about it’, and we are, so get on board and work with us” he challenged.

Mr Calderwood said “Kevin Rudd raised Cairns’ unemployment problem at the UN, so while the problem has been recognised we now need tangible support. The new deal proposals we are putting forward can help us to address the short and medium term issues for the region. We are now calling for the State and Federal governments to urgently work in a coordinated fashion with the region in response to this critical issue. These are extraordinary circumstances, and they need extraordinary solutions.”