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CAIRNS is bracing to lose almost half of its 25,000 tourism jobs over the next 12 months as voters cry out for a slew of new projects to attract visitors to the Far North, diversify the economy and save livelihoods.
Employment and the postCOVID recovery is set to dominate the fight for Cairns seats unlike anywhere else this October election, with 4000 Cairns businesses still propped up by JobKeeper – even more than the number in Brisbane.
The LNP has chosen former Cairns councillor Linda Cooper to try to wrest the seat from Labor minister Craig Crawford, who holds it by a paperthin margin of 1.9 per cent.
Mr Crawford said incumbency guaranteed him nothing in the state’s bellwether seat that’s always gone to the victor in George Street. Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said local businesses were crying out for a proper plan to live with COVID so borders could eventually reopen, and more tax and fee waivers, including on reef boat and tour vehicle registration.
“We don’t have decades to build a stronger economy, we have to turn this around,” Mr Olsen said.
“So in the next 12 months our region could lose 11,000 jobs in tourism out of the 25,000 jobs that are supported, because without international visitation and without interstate travel the product here is too large and too diverse to support the jobs that it’s created.
“So the timeliness in opening the state borders for many businesses is a life and death situation.”
Mr Crawford acknowledged there was a “fear of the what next” in the community, but said there was “a good, positive attitude from people that they’ll be right”.
Ms Cooper said she was running because locals didn’t feel they had proper representation in Brisbane.
“It’s heartbreaking when you walk down the streets and you just see closed and for lease signs spread throughout the CBD,” she said.
Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Sally Mlikota said whoever won the election needed to work on local procurement after many small businesses missed out on Cairns Convention Centre work to outside companies.