City looks for next big thing

IT only took Norris Carter five months to ditch plans for a $1 billion expansion of Cairns Airport.

Some would see it as a brave move, while others will rue the lost opportunity for a mouth-watering spike in jobs creation. Either way, it’s a brave and bold move by the new CEO of North Queensland Airports.

The project had been touted by a long line of local business leaders and visiting politicians including, but not limited to, federal Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan, state Treasurer Curtis Pitt and our local Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch. Back in 2014 the project was earmarked as one of nine projects of significance in Queensland that would “supercharge” the regions. But then, in flies Mr Carter. Perhaps tellingly, he refused to get caught up in the hype of the touted expansion from the moment he touched down in the city.

In December, shortly after arriving, he downplayed the concept.

“We want to be as smart as we can about what we’ve got and use up the existing infrastructure,” he said at the time. With the focus now off the expansion the city should see progress on new flight paths.

The business community will be watching closely.

But the scrapping of the project, which would have been an enormous jobs driver for the region, also leaves a sizeable hole in the future construction projects pipeline.

The region’s leaders should be hungry to find the next big thing.