We need to act together

THE leadership of Cairns is like a dysfunctional family.

We are brawling with each other instead of being a reasonably happy family taking on the rest of the state and Australia to fight for our fair share of public and private investment.

It all started late last year when Cairns Regional Council withdrew its $300,000 annual funding from economic and lobby organisation Advance Cairns to go it alone.

Since then the council has unveiled its own economic development strategy and Mayor Bob Manning has been walking the corridors of power in Canberra with the likes of Mareeba and Cook mayors Tom Gilmore and Peter Scott.

The Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, headed by Cr Gilmore, also pulled its $25,000 funding from Advance Cairns late last year.

Earlier this week ousted former Advance Cairns chief executive and ex-Cairns mayor Kevin Byrne announced his own rival body, Enterprise North, which is lacking in detail with no confirmed backers, members or a website.

Advance Cairns deputy chairman Richard Ireland then pounced early on Wednesday and bought the domain names of Enterprise North in a bit of “enterprising” fun.

Yesterday the organisation offered to hand over one of them to Mr Byrne for free.

On the sidelines watching with horror are other leading groups, particularly the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Tropical North Queenland, while rival cities, such as Townsville, Darwin and Geelong which each work as one, must be enjoying the soap opera. Nick Dalton Deputy editor