CityLife Magazine Second Quarter 2020

CityLife FEATURE
Nick Trompf
Executive Chairman,
Advance Cairns
1. Over the years what is the one thing
you have come to appreciate about the
city of Cairns?
Cairns is unique in Australia in that it is
simultaneously a big regional town at its core
and a small international city in its outlook.
Other regional centres can lay claim to many
of our benefits – relaxed way of life, superb
climate, relatively low cost of housing and
ease of getting around. But none can boast an
international airport with a history of direct
global access, a fistful of five-star hotels, a
vibrant night life and a genuine global brand
like we have right here in Cairns. These
dual benefits have seen the modern Cairns
emerge as an innovative, globally-focused city
benefitting from being a significant exporter to
the world (led by tourism) but at the same time
retain its charm as a relatively remote centre
proud of its significant role in the far north of
Australia.
2. The region has experienced many
tough times throughout the years, but
none quite like we are experiencing
now. What is one message you would
like to give to the people of Cairns at
this uncertain time?
Cairns has prevailed through a series of external
shocks over the past 35 years – from the pilots’
strike of 1989, to the Asian financial markets
crash in the late 1990s, the 9/11 terrorist strikes
and collapse of Ansett Airlines in 2001, SARS
in 2003, the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09,
the Aussie dollar surging through 110 cents US
in 2011 and any number of natural disasters.
The COVID-19 crisis is challenging us in an
unprecedented way – indeed we are among
the hardest hit regions in the nation, given the
make-up of our economy. But the key message
to remember here is the continued resilience
shown by our business owners and operators
over a long period of time and through many
major disruptions. That spirit of ingenuity
and determination will see many businesses
pivot, innovate and in some cases completely
re-invent themselves in the years ahead to reignite
new growth opportunities.
3. Leaders like yourself have united
to fight for the region in what are
unprecedented times – what role are
you and your organisation playing in all
of this?
As the leading peak economic advocacy and
economic development organisation in the
region, Advance Cairns has been heavily
involved in an array of initiatives to seek
assistance for the region in response to the
impact of COVID-19. We have been working
in close collaboration with sister organisations
Tourism Tropical North Queensland, the
Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Study
Cairns since the first COVID-19 wave hit
pre Chinese New Year in January. Advance
Cairns formed a 40-strong business reference
group in early March which is playing a vital,
ongoing role in informing what’s known as
the Economic Response and Recovery Sub-
Committee (ERRSC), one of two standing
sub-committee established to provide advice
to the Member for Leichhardt, the Hon.
Warren Entsch, the Member for Cairns,
Michael Healy, and the Mayor of Cairns, Cr
Bob Manning, who jointly make up the Local
Leadership Committee overseeing all levels of
government response to the crisis. As executive
chairman of Advance Cairns, I sit on the
ERRSC which has been meeting regularly to
put forward a raft of recommendations across
three phases – business survival, short-term
stimulus opportunities (2020 focus) and finally
recovery and resilience (2021 and beyond).
Much of the stimulus and recovery/resilience
advocacy is centred around the Pathway to
Prosperity manifesto Advance Cairns released
last August – which is focused on driving much
greater investment into health, education,
water security, marine maintenance and road
infrastructure as well as supporting growth
in our biggest sector of tourism and aviation.
These initiatives were front and centre when
Advance Cairns, TTNQ and CCoC led the
biggest ever business delegation to Brisbane in
February known as the Cairns TNQ Convoy
to Capital Q. We continue on a daily basis with
dialogue to representatives from local, state and
federal government seeking further support to
rejuvenate our economy.
While there are many negatives about
the current situation we all find
ourselves in – what is one thing you
are looking forward to doing while in
isolation?
While the Advance Cairns team has continued
working throughout with a mixture of in-office
as well as at-home, the one thing about selfisolation
I have enjoyed is working on our farms
on the Atherton Tablelands. We live on one
property near Yungaburra and have another at
Tarzali so the fact that weekends are free from
many of the usual interruptions/travel etc has
meant much more time to dedicate to farming
activities.
CityLife 26
Magazine