Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about good news for Cairns and the Far North Queensland region. Next week, construction will start on the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College. There have been over five years of hard work by local marine businesses and the education community to see this come to fruition. It has been a partnership between not only the business community and the education sector in Cairns but also the federal and state governments. It is going to be critically important to the long-term security of and support for the marine industry locally, but also it will help to diversify and strengthen our local economy. Cairns is a great place to come and get an education, whether from our James Cook University, our local TAFE or the Cairns Aviation Skills Centre, and now we are going to have a world class marine skills training centre—the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College. It is an $8 million investment, and the federal government has committed $2 million towards it through our trades training program.

There is no reason why Cairns cannot establish itself as a marine training hub, not only locally but also nationally and internationally—we are well-positioned in the Asia-Pacific region. In Cairns we have been going through some particularly difficult economic times with unemployment now in double digits, and this type of diversification will provide a real opportunity. It will also provide a boost and a shot in the arm in terms of confidence for the local community to see construction start next week.

A significant amount of sea traffic goes through the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef, and Cairns has a highly diversified marine sector that includes commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, Merchant Navy, Customs and Navy, and an expanding white boat industry—the superyacht industry. There is a desperate need for specialised training facilities to service these industries. That is why industry has been working locally for more than five years to secure sufficient funding to build this college.

With its close proximity to the Asia-Pacific region and an international airport, and located in the lovely warm waters next to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is extremely well placed to build on these local industries and to service national and international areas. I think Cairns is a much nicer place than Launceston to come to to get a marine ticket, and that is something that we will certainly be marketing. They do a fantastic job down in Launceston, but it will be great to see Australia build another internationally recognised marine centre in Cairns.

The Rudd government have been supporting this initiative. We have also moved, since I have been elected, to support industries like the superyacht industry. This is an industry that has been expanding in Australia and contributes about $50 million to the economy in Cairns and $150 million to the nation’s economy. Similarly, the state government is investing in an upgrade of the development of the cruise shipping terminal. All of these areas require skilled staff. A training framework will enable people to come to Cairns—from places local, national and international—and receive training which will be a pathway into these careers. The superyacht industry was looking for reforms in terms of a visa that would enable more superyachts to come to Australia, and I am very pleased that we were able to secure that for them in the lead-up to the last election, and I want to thank Minister Evans for delivering that on time. I know it has already driven benefits in that it has allowed new superyachts to come to Cairns, and there will be further benefit to local industry.

These commitments have come about through a good partnership between the community, business and state and federal governments. I want to particularly pay tribute to the chairman of the organisation, Allan Wallish, and the project manager, Kim Andersen. They have been critically important in driving this project along. Other critically important people have been Tony Fuller, the principal of Woree State High School; Joann Pyne from Tropical North Queensland TAFE; Sheridan van Asch from the Department of Education and Training; Ian McKirdy from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation; John Downs from TNQ Institute of Tertiary and Further Education; and Chris Boland from FNQ Ports Corporation. I know Alan Vico and Mike Colleton, also from FNQ Ports Corporation, have played an important role in bringing this project to fruition.

It is a great project. It is going to be a real shot in the arm for the local community. Construction starts next week. We are all really looking forward to it, and I know that it is going to provide pathways for local people into the marine area not only in the traditional areas of fishing or tourism, but also in the Merchant Navy and other areas. It is fantastic and I would like to again congratulate those people for the work they have done to bring it to fruition.