‘ Be a leader in tropics’
TOWNSVILLE should play to its strengths and share its knowledge in sustainable development in the tropics, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark says.
Ms Clark also believes the city must tackle its youth unemployment by engaging with young people through skills training and by giving them a voice in community affairs.
Townsville Enterprise, James Cook University and the Townsville Bulletin will host Ms Clark at a Townsville Bulletin Business Breakfast in the city today as a part of celebrations for the International Day of the Tropics.
Ms Clark was the prime minister of New Zealand for nine years, serving three successive terms from 1999 to 2008.
Under her leadership, New Zealand achieved significant economic growth, low levels of unemployment and investment in education and health, as well as improving support for families and older people. More recently, Ms Clark was the administrator of the United Nations Development Program between 2009 and 2017.
Speaking ahead of her address, Ms Clark said recog- nition of the International Day of the Tropics by Australia and the United Nations should provide a global plat- form for a city like Townsville to promote its expertise for living in the tropics.
She said the tropics was home to 40 per cent of the world’s population and much of the planet’s biodiversity, including its coral reefs and mangrove forests.
Knowledge about protecting the environment and how to build resilience against more severe tropical storms would be of growing importance, she said.
“Townsville should see itself as a hub for the tropics,” Ms Clark said.
“Any research or actions that work here will be of great interest to other communities.”
On tackling unemployment, Ms Clark said actions should include heavy investment in skills and governments working with regions on strategies that played to their advantages.
“We need to realise the potential of our youth,” Ms Clark said.
“The economy has to be creating opportunities for employment.”
The International Day of the Tropics is marked on June 29, the anniversary of the launch of the inaugural State of the Tropics 2014 report, a project convened by James Cook University.