City revival as CQU gets the green light
AN inner-city dead zone will be transformed into a bustling nerve centre, with bipartisan commitments finally locked down for a new $50m university campus.
CQUniversity is now guaranteed funding to build its new CBD campus, regardless of who wins the election.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will make a $50m pledge on Friday to carry out the project – the top announcement of his trip to the Far North.
“The Coalition government is committed to supporting regional Australia and this campus will provide more local people with opportunities to further their education and bring those skills to the Far North,” he said.
“Not only will the project attract more students and visitors to the region, it will create more than 330 jobs during construction, boosting the economy right now through more jobs and investment.”
The new campus will be built on a former post office site at the corner of Grafton and Hartley streets.
It will be a 9980sq m vertical university, allowing CQU to double its student numbers in Cairns to more than 4000 by 2030.
The injection of thousands of students and more than 300 staff is expected to revive a section of the city that is in cardiac arrest.
CQU has been growing by more than 20 per cent yearon-year since making its first foray into Cairns. It currently operates from four separate leased properties, which will be consolidated into the new purpose-built campus.
CQU vice chancellor Professor Nick Klomp said the project would be enable further economic growth in the region.
“It will also generate more than $500m in economic activity for the region over its first decade of operation, the positive ripple effects of which will be felt across Far North Queensland,” he said.
Labor beat the Coalition to the punch by six months in April when it made its $50m election promise.
However, Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has long maintained the new campus was at the top of his infrastructure list.
“I have worked hard to deliver this initiative. Not only will it allow CQUniversity to grow and attract more students, it will create local jobs during construction and for the future,” he said.
The Coalition’s funding comes from the $2bn Regional Accelerator Program in the 2022-23 federal budget.
Regional Education Minister Bridget McKenzie said the campus would turbocharge the city.
“CQUniversity will be able to offer 23 new undergraduate and postgraduate courses as a result of this expansion – addressing the workforce and skill needs of Far North Queensland now and well into the future,” he said.