Local jobs a ‘priority’

FNQ bids urged for convention centre work

TENDERERS for the $176 million Cairns Convention Centre expansion will have to prove how they will use local tradies and businesses to supply goods and services.

Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni said local construction firms were being urged to pitch to successfully deliver the long awaited project.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said the Palaszczuk government wanted to appoint a locally based managing contractor who would employ local tradies.

“The Cairns Convention Centre expansion will support hundreds of jobs, and that’s not even counting the local businesses who will be supported in the extended supply chain,” he said.

Mr Healy said the successful tenderer for the refurbishment would have to show how it would deliver benefits to Far North Queensland, including how to engage a local workforce.

Mr de Brenni said that as part of delivering local benefits, the managing contractor would be required to show how local mum and dad businesses and tradies would be involved.

“The managing contractor for the Cairns Convention Centre will be working according to our best practise principles,” he said.

“The managing contractor will also be evaluated on workplace and health and safety, the employment of apprentices and trainees and their track record of paying employees fairly.”

Mr de Brenni said the investment was expected to attract 20,000 extra visitors to the tropical north, injecting up to $50 million into the local economy annually.

“This investment gives Cairns a competitive advantage to cater for multiple functions, helping the city to attract new conferences and events of even greater sizes and complexity,” he said.

Mr Healy said that the first phase of convention centre works would be lift upgrades, which would take place progressively from November so that the facility could remain open and operational until May 2020.

“There is a planned closure period of five months so that roof replacement, airconditioning upgrades, amenities upgrades and general refurbishment work can take place. The existing centre will reopen at the end of this period,” he said. “But early in 2022, the Cairns Convention Centre will officially re-open bigger and better than ever.”