Putting it on the line

Former Mayor and now Executive Manager of Enterprise North Kevin Byrne explains why Enterprise North was established and how positive and complementary messaging is good for attracting investment and promoting a growing economy.

“Enterprise North was established to actually fill the representational void between that offered by the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Advance Cairns. Our purpose has been clear from the outset and we not only represent Cairns, but genuinely the entire region particularly linking Cairns with the growing Peninsula region and also within the framework of the Northern Australia agenda. The first thing that needs to be said is that the impetus behind the establishment of Enterprise North came from some within the Advance Cairns membership who in late 2017 were looking for a new, more collegiate and respected way of doing business”.

“Our geographic region has the largest and fastest growing population base in the north of Australia and we should be taking advantage of any emphasis placed on our part of the world.  It is important to us therefore that we conduct our business in an appropriate, unbiased and apolitical way. Our website is clear and unambiguous as to how we operate and we do not put ourselves out there as being the ONLY representative unifying voice in the region. Our region continues to grow, and we need to compete for relevance, so for people to lay claim to there being room for only one key representational body is just nonsense. The evidence is just not there to support those lofty claims within a region as diverse as ours.  Strong Cities and regions are supported by credible voices backed by other respected organisations”

“I would be the first to acknowledge that it has not been an easy task. It never is when you are starting out and competing against established organisations in a tight marketplace . Rather than being critical, we are the first to say the recent “Convoy to Canberra” was an organisational success whose ultimate effectiveness will be tested in the months ahead. We are looking forward to positive responses this time around from this considerable effort as by any measure it has been meagre pickings for a number of years despite the noise. We have always believed in a regional approach and as respected economist Bill Cummings keeps reminding me, the word “Enterprise” is positive, business like and implying that the region is “getting on with it” and we want other investors and governments to get on board. We are currently working with others in the NT to develop an appropriate growth policy agenda that might address the critical issues associated with remoteness and incentivising people to move North”

“We are pretty proud of what we have achieved to date. Far from being left at the gate by others who are confused at who we are, we have been proactive by attending to Parliamentary deputations in both Brisbane and Canberra where we have presented and discussed a number of infrastructure and policy positions. They are available on our website. We do not just focus on Canberra and we have made a difference in putting on the Regional agenda the need to properly plan for the growth of our City and Port including a visionary Cairns Port 2050 plan, we have called on governments to commit to commencing the construction of Nullinga Dam within two years and we have brought a renewed focus to the upgrade of the Kuranda Range Road amongst other things. We do not have the resources to individually represent every issue, but we will go after the bigger ones and keep people accountable. We have been consistent, open and public and above all reasoned in our conversation and we will continue to give it a red hot go. We have been inclusive with everything we have set out to do and will relentlessly advocate for action rather than the easy option of accepting the status quo”.