State Budget signals start of CBD collaboration

Mayor Bob Manning has welcomed a commitment from the Queensland Government to finance improvements to Lake Street within the next two years.

Cr Manning said the allocation of up to $5 million in today’s State Budget signalled the start of a collaborative effort between Council and the Queensland Government on the much-needed CBD project.

“We know times are tough everywhere, which is why we approached this State Budget without expectations,” Cr Manning said.

“But this allocation of funds signals a commitment to a major foundation stone project to commence the enhancement of our CBD.

“We look forward to working with the State Government to make sure this project happens in a timely manner.

“We also welcome the commitment of $1 billion over 10 years to upgrade the Bruce Highway.

“We know that the Bruce Highway is the lifeblood of North Queensland and there will be high demand for this expenditure.

“As a member of the Bruce Highway Crisis Management Group, I would hope to have some input into ensuring that a fair share of this expenditure benefits North Queensland.

“The increased funding for tourism is also positive for our region.

“We can look forward to expansion of Cairns port activities in future years, thanks to the announcement that $2.5 million would be used to start the process of opening the port to larger ships.

“In the long term, the people of the Cairns region will benefit from the ability to host more and larger cruise liners and greater opportunities for HMAS Cairns.

“We know this will be an extensive process and we are pleased that the first steps are being taken.”