Making Cairns a military port

IF ASKED a month ago to name the Second Lady of the United States, the vast majority of us would have had little more to offer than a glazedover shrug.

The events of the past weekend have steered that ship in a vastly new direction, with Karen Pence impressing the locals — except those caught up in police road shutdowns, perhaps — everywhere she went.

Regardless of your take on her husband’s politics, Mrs Pence’s visit has shone a global spotlight on some of the chief tourism products Cairns and Far North Queensland have to offer.

That publicity is invaluable, and injects directly into a market we need to target at every opportunity.

North American visitors spend more than 670,000 nights in the Far North every year.

Having images of the Great Barrier Reef, the cultural spectacle that is Tjapukai and the region’s stunning geographic backdrops broadcast to millions of Americans on social media is something money cannot buy.

We must also not overlook the significance of Vice President Mike Pence’s recommitment to the US helping Australia and Papua New Guinea to build a joint naval base on Manus Island.

It is a show of strength in the South Pacific to counteract the creeping reach of China, and it will mean real jobs up here.

Infrastructure is required if Cairns is to make the most of the opportunity and secure the lucrative maintenance contracts for offshore patrol vessels operating in the region.

With an election in the offing, both sides of politics need to recognise the undeniable logic of making Cairns a strategic military port. Chris Calcino chris.calcino@news.com.au