Released Tuesday 15th July, 2008

The State Government has placed its support behind Advance Cairns and the diversification of the TNQ economy with today’s funding announcement for the local economic development body. 

TNQ Skills Master Class Slide Notes 

TNQ Skills Master Class Presentations

The TNQ Skills Master Class brought together representatives from local government, training bodies, small business and industry to hear local perspectives on the skills shortage.  The key driver behind the event was to promote positive, proven strategies within the business community to counteract the skills shortage and to also present new ideas accessible to regional employers.

The presentation notes from each of the six speakers are available as a resource for everyone.  To access the PDF documents, please click on the links above.

The position of Chief Executive Officer at Advance Cairns has been filled, with the announcement on Tuesday, June 4th 2008 that Mr Ross Contarino has accepted the position.

In announcing the appointment, Advance Cairns Chairman Russell Beer highlighted Mr Contarino’s extensive knowledge of issues and his relationships across Tropical North Queensland both professionally and personally as key strengths which he will bring to the role.

“Advance Cairns and TNQ will benefit enormously from Ross’s abilities, passion and ongoing commitment to regional Queensland”, Mr Beer said. 

“His extensive background in Queensland regional development and detailed knowledge of the key drivers and industries across northern Queensland and northern Australia generally will be a valuable resource to Advance Cairns and our region”.

With key issues on the agenda including the airport privatisation, ongoing health issues, the draft FNQ2025 plan and a looming state election, with his background Mr Contarino is ideally positioned to hit the ground running and apply his extensive expertise for the benefit of TNQ.

Mr Contarino has extensive experience in both the private and public sectors.

He is currently the North Queensland Regional Manager for the Australian Government agency AusIndustry and has previously occupied a similar role to the one he will fill for Advance Cairns as CEO of the Townsville based North Queensland Economic Development Board.

“Decisions will soon be made on issues which will influence the long term strategic direction of the region and it is vital Advance Cairns is active at every stage of those decision making processes”, said Mr Contarino.

“It is important TNQ presents a united front to state and federal politicians and I am looking forward to collaborating and working with other local organisations concerned with economic development in the region as well as with local businesses”.

“The Advance Cairns model presents an excellent platform to facilitate this and I anticipate working closely with the constituent bodies” concluded Mr. Contarino.

It is anticipated Mr Contarino will commence in this role in early July, taking over from the interim CEO, Mr Bill Calderwood.

Mr Beer made note of the great value of Mr Calderwood’s contribution as Interim CEO, and thanked him for getting the organisation back on track and ready for Mr. Contarino to drive it to the next level.

Advance Cairns has welcomed the announcement on Thursday, May 1st by the State Treasurer, The Hon Minister Andrew Fraser MP, as a positive start to an ongoing dialogue between the region and the government concerning the Cairns Airport privatisation.

Minister Fraser announced the extension of all airport employee protections for two years beyond the sale process and funding for both Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Advance Cairns.

 The Minister also signalled that the future provision of general aviation services will not be excluded in the sale process. These issues were amongst many raised by a delegation representing TNQ to the Treasurer last week and Advance Cairns Chairman, Russell Beer anticipates further lobbying of the state government on the matter.

“We are encouraged by the Ministers response to the issues raised by the Advance Cairns delegation”, said Mr Beer, “and we will now focus on achieving positive outcomes for the remaining areas of concern from the airport sale”.

Advance Cairns and its constituent organisations will liaise with local MP’s and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the region’s economic growth and infrastructure is provided for throughout the sale process.

The TNQ Skills Master Class Invitation

You are invited to tap into the region’s long history of innovation and ability to look to itself for solutions.   Welcome to the TNQ Skills Master Class, a free event showcasing local solutions to the national skills and labour shortage.  Hear from great local professionals followed by networking at the premier location.

The fast-tracking of the Cairns Base Hospital upgrade is welcome news for the region, provided the Cairns Airport privatisation is managed with diligence and caution.

Advance Cairns Chairman Russell Beer, commented “both developments were critical to the region, but should not necessarily be linked. The eventual development plan for both the airport and the hospital must be based on an assessment of what is right to ensure the region’s future economic and community health needs”

Private ownership of the airport brings with it responsibilities to the region and its population, and we would expect that future potential owners give a commitment to ongoing support for the tourism and regional economic development sectors which have benefitted from the cooperative partnership with CPA.
 
Advance Cairns will work with its constituent bodies the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, TTNQ, and the Cairns Regional Council to monitor developments and ensure the interests of the region will be best served after privatisation.

As a prime regional city it is essential Cairns possess high quality infrastructure and services to meet growing population needs and ensure that we retain strong tourism flows.

It is critical therefore that the upgrade of the hospital is not at the cost of the airports expansion of services and capacity.

It is essential that we retain a viable domestic and international airport, and we would hope that the potential for greater investment in the airport and associated facilities is realised, and attracts additional airline capacity and support services to the region.

Advance Cairns has recognised five vital issues impacting the region’s future in its submission to the FNQ 2020 Summit.

Advance Cairns has joined with other key regional organisations in contributing to the summit, seizing the opportunity to impress on government policy makers the region’s exceptional circumstances.

“TNQ needs a unique set of solutions”, Advance Cairn’s  Interim CEO Mr Bill Calderwood said.  “A one-size-fits-all approach to infrastructure and planning will constrain the region’s growth and development in the future. The region’s unique issues, style and needs have to be recognised”.

In a region known for its natural resources, Advance Cairns has identified a shortage of human resource as an area of concern for TNQ, across many sectors, but particularly in health services.

Water, highways and health infrastructure, were also a focus of the submission, as was the emerging Tropical Expertise sector.

The regional summits will feed into the 2020 Summit to be held in Canberra on April 19 and 20, with the purpose of shaping long term strategies for the nation’s future.

Mr Jim Turnour, Member for Leichardt said “I welcome the debate which the 2020 Summit process has created, and look forward to ensuring that our regions unique challenges are recognised at the Federal level”

Facilitated by Advance Cairns with support from the Cairns City Council and Cairns Chamber of Commerce, the Governor engaged in strategic discussions on key issues shared by Guam and Cairns.

The Micronesian island of Guam is experiencing parallel economic growth with Cairns in the areas of tourism and construction and also shares other key development issues; sustainable tourism, marine environment protection, waste management and water supplies and cultural preservation.

During a four hour session, the Guam Delegation met with the heads of GHD, Great Barrier Reef Marine Protection Authority, James Cook University and the Cairns Private Hospital.

The Governor and his delegation inspected sites around Cairns and were impressed with the facilities at the TNQ TAFE campus and the Cairns Bedminster Facility.

By developing the synergies which exist between Guam and Cairns, Advance Cairns and its constituent organisations further widen the regions export market potential.

Advance Cairns anticipates robust, long term gains for Cairns will be derived from the Delegation’s visit.