No Images? Click here Lae delegation to strengthen Sister Cities tiesCairns reaffirmed relationships with its closest Sister City by hosting the recent delegation from Lae, Papua New Guinea. PNG’s second largest city, Lae shares a similar history to Cairns, being founded on mining and then agriculture. It is home to PNG’s largest port, is considered the industrial capital of the country, and has a population of approximately 100,000. The visiting delegation included Member for Lae John Rosso who is PNG’s Minister for Lands and Physical Planning; Miring Singoling, Morobe Deputy Administrator; Neil Ellery, the CEO Lae City Authority; President of Lae Chamber of Commerce John Byrne; and Hillary Miria from the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery. Pictured are Cairns Mayor Bob Manning (centre) with a gift he was presented by Member for Lae John Rosso (right) and Neil Ellery, the CEO Lae City Authority following their welcome at Cairns Regional Council. Cairns Business Survey ResultsIn April, the Cairns Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) and with support from Cairns Regional Council, conducted the “Cairns Business Survey” to gain insights into operating and general business conditions. There were over 600 responses to the survey from a broad range of industries, business types and locations. The results will support advocacy efforts and help to inform decisions by the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Cairns Regional Council on continuation of existing business activities and investigation into new initiatives. It is intended that the Cairns Business Survey will be conducted on an annual basis to provide ongoing insight into business conditions and to track trends over time. Industry gets insight into Council works programAt an annual briefing on 25 July, Cairns Regional Council provided a brief to the local construction industry on $52 million worth of water, sewerage and waste projects that will be delivered this year. Budgeted for this financial year is a $5.9 million refit of the Material Recovery Facility, $3.4 million as part of the Smart Water Meters Project, and major upgrades to sewer networks and water main replacement works. Visit Council’s Procurement and Tenders page to learn more about how your business can bid for Council tenders. Business intelligence and funding opportunitiesThe Pacific Labour Scheme is an employer sponsored program open to all industries, including horticultural and agricultural providers, in rural and regional Australia. It offers employers access to a stable workforce when there is not enough local Australian labour to meet demand. For more information visit the website. The Lowy Institute is looking for young and emerging leaders to be part of the Australia-Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue. Details of how to apply can be found on the Aus-PNG Network website. The Queensland Government's Back to Work program offers payments to employers of up to $20,000 for employing eligible job seekers. The program is available until 30 June 2020, subject to availability of funding. For assistance, contact Bridget Kelly on 07 4037 3813 or bridget.kelly@desbt.qld.gov.au or check out the guidelines on the website. Small Business Artisan Producer Grants Program offers funding of up to $5,000 (ex GST) to eligible artisan producers to engage business consultants, mentors or digital experts to assist them to establish and and grow their businesses, and to seize market opportunities as they arise. For more details visit the website. The Australian Government's Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is seeking input from small businesses to better understand their knowledge of and attitude towards cyber security. By receiving input directly from small businesses, the ACSC can ensure the technical advice they provide is actionable, relevant and tailored to the small business environment. For more details visit the website. The Small Business Entrepreneur Grants Program Round 5 is now open for applications and will close at 5pm on 30 August. Matched funding of up to $5,000 (excluding GST) is available to help small businesses engage a consultant, advisor or business coach for up to 3 months. Businesses choose their own consultant or advisor to work with. For more details visit the website. The Business Growth Fund is now open for applications. Funding of up to $50,000 (excluding GST) may be provided for eligible business to purchase and implement highly specialised equipment to enable them to move to the next stage of growth. For more details visit the website. Business events and workshop opportunitiesTradelinked Business Delegation to Lae and Port Moresby October 2019 is inviting businesses to register their interest today. Spaces on this delegation are limited. Please email your interest to: info@tradelinked.com.au by COB Friday 23 August. The Defence Industry Procurement Opportunities presentation by Lockheed Martin Australia and the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) will help businesses navigate the defence market, provide specialist advice on improving competitiveness and accessing global markets, and facilitate connections with other businesses and Defence.
Cyber security workshops – is your business protected? Presented by the Australian Cyber Security Centre in partnership with the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.
These events are supported by Cairns Regional Council and are free of charge. Spaces are limited, bookings are essential. FREE workshop for event organisers Event organisers are invited to learn the secrets of the event trade and arm themselves with the basic event skills and tips to host a successful event.
CPAC shortlisted for international design awardThe Cairns Performing Arts Centre has been shortlisted for an international award at the world’s largest, live and interactive architectural festival. The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is an annual awards ceremony incorporating live judging and is dedicated to the architecture and development industry. Other shortlisted buildings include: Royal Academy of Music – Theatre and new Recital Hall in London, England; the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts in Taiwan; and the Amos Rex in Helsinki, Finland. The Black Business Finder (BBF) is Queensland's online Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business directory. Commissioned by the Queensland Government's Industry Capability Network, the BBF connects project owners to Indigenous suppliers of goods and services. Share in local dollars?Did you know ... ? Council injected $381 million directly into the Cairns economy last financial year through materials, services and employment. Council advertises tenders, expressions of interest and Requests For Quote in The Weekend Post and on our tenders web page. Free economic dataNeed sound data to keep abreast of key economic changes and make business decisions? Make use of Council's FREE Cairns Economic Profile tool. Powered by economy.id®, it presents easy-to-use data on local industry and economic performance, industry sectors, employment characteristics, infrastructure and assets. Want more Council news? Subscribe now!Keep up to date with all of Council's news and find out about what's happening in your community by subscribing to Council's e-newsletters. We'd love your feedbackWe’re always interested in improving our communications and welcome your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of. Email us with your thoughts! |