Our Key Projects

As the region’s peak economic development agency, it is the Advance Cairns mission to research, develop and enact an array of projects that will build on and diversify the Tropical North Queensland economy in a sustainable manner.

As a not-for-profit organisation, Advance Cairns utilises funding from various local, state and national sources to carry out its role in the TNQ region, and from the contributions of the region’s business community through its Patrons’ Program.

Locally-funded projects

Locally, the organisation is jointly funded by the Cairns Regional Council, the Far North Queensland Ports Corporation Ltd, and it’s Patrons’ Program to carry out a raft of projects in collaboration with the activities of some of the region’s leading business groups and research institutions, such as the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, James Cook University and the Far North Queensland Region of Councils (FNQROC).

A formal agreement with the FNQROC has produced a key project for Advance Cairns, which involved the appointment of a Regional Development Officer in July 2009. The RDO position was established to:

• Address the economic needs of councils from Cardwell to Cooktown by developing and championing robust economic linkages between Cairns and the surrounding council areas
• Provide linkages between and liaise with the Cassowary, Tablelands and Cook shire regional councils, as well as local government bodies in Yarrabah and Wujal Wujal
• Work across the region on a range of economic projects prioritised by FNQROC, including lobbying for improved road networks across TNQ, identifying opportunities and costs that arise from the carbon reduction trading scheme for a range of the region’s industry sectors, seeking funding for high-priority infrastructure projects, and developing economic development models for regional councils.

In an unprecedented alignment of effort, elected representatives of the three tiers of government have joined with industry, business, environment, education, and community interests to form and support the Sustainable TNQ initiative. The initiative, funded through the generosity of the wind-up of the former Far North Queensland Consultative Committee, aims to establish a locally-driven process and framework, based on sustainable development principles, for engaging community, government and industry in the development of a long-term regional vision and action plan to 2025 which:

• Provides the region with a sustainable economic competitive advantage by diversifying the economy based on clean, green and smart principles;
• Reduces regional impact on the environment and protects and improves natural assets;
• Establishes indicators for measuring our sustainability performance;
• Obtains better efficiencies from government resources in the region; and
• Identifies, aligns and connects regional sustainability initiatives, with reference to and in support of government planning.

Sustainable TNQ is a collaboration of existing organisations, hosted by TNQ’s peak economic development agency Advance Cairns, with a focus on creating a socially, environmentally, culturally and economically sustainable future for our region.  

In response to the rapid growth in the mining industry in Papua New Guinea and the opportunities they present for North Queensland businesses and service providers, Advance Cairns enacted a new project in January 2010 to develop a strategy to strengthen ties with the Pacific nation.

The Strategic Connection with PNG Business project will be carried out by Blockey Consulting, with the scope of the project to:

• Prepare an overarching PNG strategy for TNQ capitalising on opportunities in the PNG mining procurement market in a structured and coordinated manner;
• Develop a data base of the PNG project spend in Australia (particularly Cairns);
• Work with DEEDI to value add to the Shipping study they have commissioned FNQ Ports to deliver;
• Develop a capacity database of skills and services applicable to the PNG market;
• Develop stronger relationships with the PNG market particularly with project proponents; and
• Act as a central point for advocacy on emerging issues related to trade with PNG – develop briefing papers on specific issues.

State-funded projects

At a state level, Advance Cairns undertakes a variety of projects funded by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI). The current DEEDI contracts that are in place for the period between September 2009 and March 2010 include five major projects, with a funding value of more than $262,500, across a broad scale of economic development areas. 

Here is a synopsis of each of the projects:

• Implementation of the TNQ Food, Produce & Value-adding Market Improvement Strategy

Advance Cairns will work with regional agriculture and food manufacturing industries to investigate opportunities to diversify, value add and improve their competitiveness in order to increase their share of the large regional food market. The project will work with the producers and downstream businesses of Cairns and surrounds of Tropical North Queensland to create a high standard of products, services and visitor experience. The ultimate outcome of this project will be to create a signature TNQ brand which will be self-certified, and to educate the businesses that produce and use these branded produces so that they can capitalise on these benefits and increase market share.

• Investment Attraction

This project will investigate ways of attracting domestic, interstate and international investment into the Tropical North Queensland region, through;

• Industry marketability, growth and diversification,
• Facilitation of significant business regional opportunities; and
• Attraction and retention of skilled workers to Tropical North Queensland through business opportunities facilitated.

 Advance Cairns will continue to manage inquiries from outside companies and advocate the establishment of new business in the region, which creates employment and makes a significant contribution to our regional economic base.

• Economic Diversity Through Creative Industries

Project funds will be used to develop a Business Case which first and foremost, substantiates existing activity in the industry and secondly, identifies how we can capitalise on this further, by improving services and infrastructure in the region.

Under the second phase of this project we will quantify the economic viability of constructing sound stages and associated business complex, developing up-to-date financial projections (capital and operational) in today’s market. This will enable us to quantify what additional production activity can be attracted to the region, and how much it will contribute to the economy in terms of jobs, education linkages, up-skilling and business-to-business economic stimulus.

This project will support the development and implementation of an agenda which will provide a clear direction for the strategic growth and development of film and television industries in Tropical North Queensland that is complimentary to PTFC and Arts QLD strategic initiatives.

• Regional Development Strategy 

Advance Cairns will implement a series of activities that will genuinely assist the region in the field of Regional Economic Development by working with stakeholder organisations such as DEEDI, Cairns Chamber of Commerce, Tablelands Futures Corporation, Gulf Savannah Development and other like-minded organisations.

• Tropical Expertise Business Enhancement for International Business Development Project   

This project, ’Business Enhancement for International Development Business’ includes activities which complement both the DEEDI-Cairns and Townsville funded projects through the provision of professional development and networking events for new and existing members of the Australian Tropical Expertise Consortium (ATEC). These activities will enable SMEs and R&D institutions to become ‘market ready’ and provide a basis for networking which will:

• Increase the number of  and capability of SMEs able pursue international business development opportunities through improved understanding of the tender writing process and operations of Australian Managing Contractors;
• Facilitate opportunities for  SMEs to meet with R&D institutions and discuss potential partnerships improving relationships and knowledge of potential partners to pursue bids; and
• Increase opportunities to build critical mass amongst Tropical Expertise firms through linkages with other tropical Queensland regions.

In addition to a variety of annually-contracted, State-funded projects Advance Cairns undertakes, the organisation carries out a range of State-funded projects granted throughout the year. The most recent addition to its project portfolio is the Marine Services Business Matching project, which aims to establish and build sustainable business relationships with national and international customers for the region’s marine industry.

The economic development agency has partnered with the city’s three major slipways and shipyards to expand their client base and assist in the promotion of their marine services expertise to the Pacific and South East Asian regions.

The $90,000 Marine Services Business Matching project, funded by the State Government, is designed to mitigate the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Cairns’ marine services industry by promoting its capabilities to national and international markets, identify potential opportunities and match them to the region’s capabilities.

A steering committee of representatives of local marine service providers, the state government and Advance Cairns will ensure the project deliverables are met. They include:

• Researching and compiling a database of marine industry contacts;
• Identify business matching opportunities;
• Develop marketing collateral to promote the region’s marine services capabilities to the Pacific and South East Asia regions; and
• Coordinate three trade missions and an international trade show.

Federally-funded projects

Nationally, and Advance Cairns regularly applies for Federal Government grants to carry out projects that will be of benefit to TNQs diverse economy. The most current federally funded project to be carried out by the organisation is a food tourism project, which was recently given top priority by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

In December 2009, Kevin Rudd announced  $446,000 in TQUAL funding to the project, fast-tracking the application ahead of the first round announcements which were announced late last year.

The project will position North Queensland as an emerging tropical agri-food tourism destination by building an alternative tourism theme for the Cairns region, based on tropical agri-food experiences. Developed with a long-term strategic approach, the project has a clearly targeted action plan to assist existing businesses to adapt, and new enterprises to emerge.

The project will provide the framework for complimentary products, with funding to be used for research, developing action plans to implement the food strategy, building capacity, and developing and delivering a regional food brand and marketing strategy.