Admiration and empathy
AMY TURNBULL NEVER INTENDED TO STAY IN CAIRNS, BUT NOW SHE’S COMMITTED TO THE REGION AS AN ADVOCATE FOR SMALL BUSINESS,
Amy Turnbull’s (right) respect and admiration for Far North business owners has only grown stronger over the past three years. Her role at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) is wideranging and complex.
Forum full of ideas
CAIRNS is next week hosting the first of 10 New Ideas Forums, which aim to help turn innovative ideas into realities. The free event is being held at the Sheridan Hotel on Tuesday from 9am12pm. “Coming up with ideas for new products and services is often the easy step in starting a business,” said Small Business Minister Leeanne Enoch. “Transforming the idea into an income and a business that can employ other Queenslanders is harder. The New Ideas Forum is helping and enabling upcoming business intenders to turn innovative ideas into a new business or additional income stream.” Donna Patane from MacDonnells Law will be a guest speaker at the April 4 event. She will talk about the lessons she’s learned from “being in business, how to juggle priorities, and the important role confidence plays”. Another forum is being held in Cairns on Friday, May 19. For further information visit business.qld.gov.au.
Life after Debbie
THE Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) said small businesses had taken a huge hit from Cyclone Debbie, but would bounce back with the help of governments, banks, insurance and tourists returning to the region. The damage bill was expected to top $1 billion as the widespread impact of the cyclone and its 260km/h winds only became apparent. CCIQ general manager of advocacy Kate Whittle said previous natural disasters in Queensland, including tropical cyclones Marcia, Oswald, Ita and Yasi, showed that the indirect impacts of these several weather events were often far worse than the direct impacts. “We have seen in recent years that many businesses did not have to be directly impacted from flooding or strong winds to be seriously financially impacted. Cyclone Debbie will prove to be no exception and hopefully we can take advantage of those lessons learned,” she said. OVER the past three years Amy Turnbull’s respect and admiration for Far North business owners has only grown stronger.
Her role as the Far North and North Queensland regional manager for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) is both wideranging and complex.
In a nutshell, she is a conduit between the region’s business sector – there are more than 12,000 ABNs registered from Gordonvale to Palm Cove alone – and the three tiers of government.
Since May 2014, Mrs Turn- bull has seen first-hand the gritty challenges faced by thousands of locals.
“I have an immense sense of empathy and admiration for small business owners,” the 31year-old said.
“It’s the level of sacrifice and pressure that sits on their shoulders. It takes real passion and courage to run a small business here. This is why I love my job.”
Her love for the Far North dates back to her late teens, when she moved to Cairns after deferring university studies in Melbourne.
She spent three years at the
AMY’S LOVE FOR THE FAR NORTH DATES BACK TO HER LATE TEENS, WHEN SHE MOVED TO CAIRNS AFTER DEFERRING UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN MELBOURNE
Cairns Post from 2004-07, gaining an early insight into the local business community while being trained across the newspaper’s multiple departments.
“I was going to come and stay with my aunty for a year but, like many others who come here, I didn’t go home as planned,” Mrs Turnbull said.
“In retrospect that’s what sparked my interest in small business. The experience I had in my teens at the Cairns Post.”
Mrs Turnbull then returned to Melbourne, where she worked for News Corp’s Her
ald Sun, becoming national advertising manager with Frankie magazine aged just 24.
She then spent almost three years with REA Group, working across the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland to teach clients
the benefits of digital marketing.
Mrs Turnbull then saw an ad for the CCIQ position and decided to act.
“I was on the phone to the manager for about one hour,” she said.
“It was immediately apparent that CCIQ had a lot to offer in the region, and I thought I had the right skills.” In an interview with the
Cairns Post shortly after she started her tenure, Mrs Turnbull was confident small businesses would spearhead a turnaround in the region’s stagnant economy.
The latest Herron Todd White figures show that employment in the region is up, but it is widely viewed that many local small businesses – particularly in non-tourism sectors – continue to struggle.
Mrs Turnbull said the business community was on an “upward trajectory”.
“We saw a stronger retail performance over the Christmas period compared to the year prior, suggesting some ripples of heightened consumer confidence,” she said.
“We’re seeing a trend that Far North Queensland business owners are recording a stronger, more positive sentiment in their outlook on the national economy, relative to all of Queensland.
“They can see we’re attracting enough domestic and international visitors that there is a reason to feel confident, but it will take some time until it flows through.”
CCIQ has recently pushed for the controversial reforms to penalty rates and fought the proposed 32.5 per cent backpacker tax.
Mrs Turnbull said excessive red tape remained a burden on the shoulders of small business owners.
“We’ve made it clear to all three levels of government that this is one area in which they could make adjustments to the benefit of small businesses,” she said.
Whether it’s with CCIQ or in another capacity, the Cairns North resident said she could see a long-term career in advocating for regional Queensland.
“I’m in awe of business owners and what they sacrifice in order to do what they do, and we are the beneficiaries of all their efforts,” Mrs Turnbull said.
“Nearly 97 per cent of employers in this region are small business owners. So it’s important we recognise their economic and social contribution. They are essential to the identity of the town.”
I’M IN AWE OF BUSINESS OWNERS AND WHAT THEY SACRIFICE IN ORDER TO DO WHAT THEY DO, AND WE ARE THE BENEFICIARIES OF ALL THEIR EFFORTS AMY TURNBULL