The Cairns Post

Snubbed again in Budget allocation

- CHRIS CALCINO chris.calcino@news.com.au

THE Cairns Performing Arts Centre could be built 44 times over if the Far North received a per-person spend on par with one of its southern cousins.

New modelling reveals Cairns and the Gold Coast are Queensland’s only regions with reduced capital expenditur­e in this year’s State Budget.

The Gold Coast’s leaner rations can be easily explained by the massive injection it reLIFELONG

The mobile dog wash business owner was drawn to the South Sydney team because it was one of the NRL’s foundation clubs and he definitely won’t be missing this Sunday’s ceived in 2017-18 to host the Commonweal­th Games.

Cairns Regional Council has written off the Far North’s depleted outlay as the latest in a long line of budget snubs.

“Whilst the budgeted capital expenditur­e for the whole state of Queensland increased by 14 per cent for 2018-19 compared to the prior year, the Cairns region’s budget allocation decreased by 11 per cent over the same period,” a new council report states.

The analysis, to be tabled at game at Barlow Park against North Queensland Cowboys.

The former manager of the forerunner to Cairns’ local league team will attend with his 15 cousins and son. this morning’s council meeting, reveals the shortfall is by no isolated incident.

“Over that seven-year period to 2018-19, the State Government budgeted capital expenditur­e allocation per capita for Cairns was the lowest of any region outside of southeast Queensland,” it says.

The damning figures overlook the city’s tourist population, which Mayor Bob Manning said would skew the fiscal divide even further.

“The fact we’ve got 35,000

“I was at the march in Sydney to get them back into the club. I was also at the grand final in 2014,” Mr Brown said.

“I couldn't believe my luck when the Bunnies brought a or 40,000 extra people in town at any time doesn’t count in population statistics,” he said.

By that logic, the SA4 population relied upon by the State Government would be closer to 290,000 than 240,000 if tourists were counted.

The report calculated the extra spend Cairns would have received over the seven years if its per-person outlay was equal to other regional centres.

The city would have reeled in $932 million more on Townsville’s terms, $2.6 billion home game to Cairns … It’s a good family club. It’s always been very family-oriented club. I think this is our year and we’ll beat Penrith in the grand final.” in line with the Fitzroy region, and $2.9 billion if Toowoomba’s modelling was replicated.

That final figure is enough to undertake the $120 million Trinity Inlet dredging project 24 times over, build 44 Cairns Performing Arts Centres or pay for the $176 million Cairns Convention Centre expansion plan 16 times.

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