Investment, skills push
INVESTORS and migration agents will experience the best North Queensland has to offer as the region attempts to encourage skilled workers, migrants and investors to come to Townsville.
A group of delegates and investors are visiting the city to see how they can benefit the region through creating and sustaining employment opportunities, industry development and growth, global connections, accessing supply chains and encouraging innovation.
They will spend the next few days exploring the region to see what it has to offer to migrants, workers and investors.
Mayor Jenny Hill, who hosted the delegate group for a presentation about the region, said this was about attracting workers who might be able to fill the gaps in industries.
Cr Hill said the aim was to encourage people to move to live and work in North Queensland.
“At the moment there is a huge range of skills (that we are missing), whether they’re fruit pickers, … there is a massive shortage of engineers, IT specialists. We just can’t get those people,” Cr Hill said.
“The problem for us is traditionally, a lot of the migrants tend to go to the capital cities. We need to be able to drag them out and it’s important for our economy as well that we have the skilled labour in our region.”
Cr Hill said North Queensland had a rich history of migration with the first Japanese Embassy in Australia opened in Townsville because of its large Japanese population and Philip Leong, a Chinese migrant who built a supermarket empire in North Queensland before selling his business to Woolworths.
“For some reason, we’ve forgotten that was part of our history,” the Mayor said. “We need to remind, not just the migrant agents, but many of our local residents that these are some of the people who built North Queensland.”
One of the migration agents, general manager of Sky Migration Grace Li, said when she touched down in Townsville she was already messaging her friends suggesting it as a holiday destination.
Ms Li said the region had a strong agricultural offering, a good water supply and 300 days of sunshine a year.
Ms Li said some of her clients were looking for exporting opportunities, others might be interested in factories or manufacturing.
“Some of them (clients) are interested in the lifestyle,” she said.
“I’m focused on finding the opportunities for them, so I will be the tie between the two parties, local business and my investment.”
Founding partner of Ausde Investment and Migration Michael Ma said there was a great future and potential in North Queensland.
“The purpose of the whole delegation is to seek out a fantastic opportunity for investment, especially during the period post pandemic,” Mr Ma said.
“What really attracted me to Townsville, for one, I think it is resource rich, very long hours of sunshine, abundant water, good soil and the airport and sea port … we have everything for investment.”