Cairns Businesses are pulling out the stops to keep their doors open, but in many cases it hasn't been enojugh with many small businesses being forced to close. The last 2 years have been very difficult for Cairns, with the compounded effects of the GFC, the high Australian Dollar and the dampening effects of Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods: Cairns was largely spared severe physical damage from these natural disasters, but the impact on tourist numbers couldn't have come at a worse time.
Cairns Businesses need help from Cairns, Queensland and Australian government
Cairns needs to urgently address economic diversification, with promising options such as increased public sector employment and communications technology within reach with the right efforts by local and state bodies. Cairns would greatly benefit from the stability which comes from becoming a base for government departments as part of governmental decentralisation.
Likewise, proposals to roll out a pilot of the National Broadband network in Cairns offers huge benefits: Cairns is geographically remote from the rest of Australia but close to Asia: with the right information and communications technology, it could become an important centre for eduction, business and foreign relations. Further, Cairns offers a fantastic lifestyle but jobs in high end white collar industries are limited. With decent broadband infrastructure, Cairns would be an appealing work-life balance destination for online workers currently suffering the cold in Sydney and Melbourne. Lets ensure our city is on the cutting edge with IT and we will attract the brightest minds, creating sustainable growth.
We can't forget the Cairns tourism industry: this will remain the lifeblood of Cairns and we need to support it: recent measures by Queensland Tourism and local organisations have done a great job but it needs to be continued. Cairns Accommodation and tour businesses have faced very poor visitor numbers for the last 2 years, and need a good tourist year this year to ensure they can remain afloat: difficult in the face of a rising Australian Dollar.
Read more Cairns News and Cairns Business updates at inCairns.net
Good coverage on Cairns Business sector difficulties at the Cairns Post: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/05/17/164401_local-news.html (Excerpt below)
Cairns businesses struggle to stay afloat
BUSINESS owners are being forced to go it alone and work longer hours in a desperate bid to stay afloat, with more than 400 of the Far North's smaller businesses closing their doors in just a two-year period. How can we help local businesses?
Business leaders say figures released yesterday highlight the urgent need for reform to reignite the region's economy.
They have called for a freeze on payroll tax to stimulate spending in the region, a cut to red tape, and economic diversity.
Shifting hundreds of public servants to Cairns by decentralising government departments was also identified as a priority to bring stable jobs and workers with spending power to the region.
New figures show 189 businesses with one to four employees in the Leichhardt electorate and 221 in the Kennedy electorate folded between between 2007 and 2009.
But the figures are likely to be even worse when closures in 2010 and 2011 are factored in.
Dying economy: Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Anthony Mirotsos stands outside of empty shops on Abbott Street. Picture: MARC MCCORMACK
Read more Cairns Business stories and the rest of this story at: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/05/17/164401_local-news.html
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