Welcome to Northern News, one of the many engagement forums where Enterprise North will discuss the issues that matter to each of us. Kevin Byrne, Enterprise North Inc.
The months roll around too quickly it seems. Herewith a round up of some issues making news. For more regular updates you will find us on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin:
The Local Advocacy Wrap
Quite a lot has happened in recent weeks as the realisation has dawned that there is Federal election in the offing (and suggested for May next year) although there are options for the Government for that to be extended out to later in the year. Local media coverage of the Advance Cairns Convoy to Canberra has been intense as a consequence, but that is to be expected given the existing political, membership and commercial connections between the parties and you can bet your last dollar that every effort will be made to maximise the PR effect of this impressive logistic exercise in the time ahead. What materialises will be anyone’s guess but I see now where Advance Cairns has dropped off advocating for a substantial Policy and Infrastructure Agenda instead opting for local advocacy issues such as Commonwealth intervention to maintain the operations of the Mossman Mill in the interests of ongoing employment.
Closer to home for us there is some positive news regarding the public emphasis on Northern Australia that seems to occur at this time of the year with the annual Ministerial Statement to Parliament on Northern Australia. You can see the statement here https://www.industry.gov.au/news-media/office-of-northern-australia-news/third-annual-statement-on-developing-northern-australia
At Enterprise North we have adopted an approach that advocates for Infrastructure and Policy positions to grow our City, Region and Northern Australia more broadly. We have articulated these in our 2018 Policy and Infrastructure Manifesto that you can see here http://enterprisenorth.org.au/enterprise-north-infrastructure-and-policy-manifesto-2018/. You can also see an opinion piece that has been sent to the Cairns Post here that further explains the importance of our messaging and how it is good to have some diversity of opinion in this most important of issues for us.
A new report confirms the importance of cruise shipping to the Far Northern Economy. Reportedly worth $170M per annum this figure excludes other maritime activities such as general cargo operations, super yacht and other tourism operations and fishing fleet activities. This whole discussion underscores the importance of getting on with delayed dredging plans to deepen the channel into the Port of Cairns. The ongoing delays are frankly scandalous and there is constant “chatter” that the previously announced volume of one 1M metric tonnes is now going to be further reduced by 25% because of on land disposal issues. You can see the link to the report here https://buff.ly/2ReHnaF and to another report here that is warning of further delays https://buff.ly/2zd6raP
Hard Talk
In recent years I have discovered a reluctance on the part of many, whose responsibility and authority it is, to call out issues that are having a detrimental effect on the economic competitiveness, employment growth and general prosperity of the City and region. The reasons are many and varied but largely are due to the fact that as a small community we are reluctant to call out issues for fear of retribution or social and corporate alienation in a small connected community. Now this sounds alarmist but nevertheless is the new normal for Cairns.
So in this part of our newsletters, I will discuss those issues that I believe need to be called out in the general interest of our membership.
The first is Nullinga Dam. This project has been discussed for decades, and studied for even longer, and to their credit the current Federal Government committed $5M to the funding of a full feasibility study (with more to come). By agreement with the Queensland Government this undertaking was done by an organisation known as Building Queensland and that is where it is at after two excruciatingly long years. Despite calls for an update on progress, the Queensland Government stubbornly resists calls to release the study outcomes. This project is vital to the future of the region. We have called for its immediate release and a commitment by both governments to commence the project within two years. You can see an excellent recent ABC news clip https://youtu.be/VHkKRLTjJ3c that illustrated the level of frustration across the north of Australia at the current lack of agreement to commit to development of our vast potential. The text article is available at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-11/northern-australia-white-paper-failing-to-deliver-outcomes/10463722
The second issue is the Cairns Port. The two principal economic drivers of our City and region in the past 30 years have been our airport and seaport. The airport is now unfortunately in private hands, having being sold off by the State Government to fund the hospital expansion of the past decade, but the seaport remains in public hands and presided over by a State Government appointed Board of Directors who is answerable to the State Government of the day via two shareholding Ministers.
The issue of port dredging has been under discussion for eight years and it is an absolute disgrace that this matter is still unresolved except for some vague public
assurances. Further this community was given an assurance some 30 months ago, after the much hyped promise of a new patrol boat contract fell through, that Cairns would become a maintenance and sustainment hub for the future patrol boat program and that a minimum of 4 of the future naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (from another build program) would be based in Cairns. The promised maintenance hub was predicated on establishing a Common User Facility (CUF) in our marine precinct but the catch of course is how and where do we do it. An initial injection of Federal Government funding of $8m each was made to three marine precinct businesses to assist them to enhance their capability. The complete answer again relies on some foresight, cooperation and planning between the State and Federal Governments. There is no current strategic plan for the development of the Cairns Port and as a consequence we called for this matter to be addressed back in September. The Cairns Port is increasingly being seen for it’s obvious strategic connections, so what is needed is a comprehensive planning exercise involving the participation of the Defence, State Government (Ports North) and the Cairns Regional Council and others to be commenced soonest.
The Australian Government has recently committed to a massive increase in Defence aid to Papua New Guinea to include an upgrade/rebuild of a naval base on Manus Island and the synergies to Cairns would appear obvious. We need to invest in the operational capability of our Port and this investment needs to be underpinned by a comprehensive development plan. By way of explaining our frustration I note that shortly after his ascension to the Prime Ministership, Scott Morrison ventured to Cairns and to Townsville where he announced a $75M commitment to the Port of Townsville expansion. Contracts for that work are currently being called some 10 weeks later, and we in Cairns are still discussing the volumes of dredge spoil and seeking environmental sign off for a similar project.
On a Happier Note
These are some important announcements and further points to the strategic role that Cairns will play in the re-engagement activities into our near region of Melanesia. These will represent some really positive and worthwhile opportunities into the future.
Prime Minister’s Address, DFAT Media Release and PM’s announcement of multi-billion dollar Pacific plan.
Kevin Byrne
Enterprise North Inc.
Social Media Messaging
The challenge for any start up organisation like ours is getting the message out to the target audience efficiently and effectively. Our messages are around what we do and why we are doing and that is growing our economies and population. There are a few videos discussing items of interest on the web but here is a sample of what is out there. Please engage with Enterprise North and share your ideas on our social links at Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin or by leaving a comment below.