Advocacy priorities
Council’s advocacy priorities focus on the issues that matter most to the Cairns community and region.
Council’s advocacy approach is guided by the principles outlined in our Advocacy Policy, including being evidence-based, collaborative, strategic and focused on outcomes that deliver broad community benefit.
The following advocacy priorities represent Council’s key areas of focus as we work with government, industry and regional partners to deliver long-term outcomes for the Cairns community and Far North Queensland.
Securing Cairns Housing Foundations
The Securing Cairns Housing Foundations plan is a high priority for Council and aims to support the housing needs for our growing community.
Our water security
The Cairns Water Security - Stage One project is crucial to the future growth and prosperity of the region. The plan involves sourcing water from a strategic reserve in the Mulgrave River, which will be less expensive and have a lighter environmental footprint than a dam.
Sustainable tourism funding
We are advocating to deliver a sustained increase in funding for tourism through a modest visitor levy. Paid for by the visitor, these funds would go directly back into our tourism sector driving more visitors, more spending and more jobs.
New University 2 Reservoir
The University Reservoir Replacement is a high-priority project to strengthen Cairns’ long-term water security and resilience, ensuring a reliable drinking water supply for a growing region and during future disaster events.
Last Updated: 9 July 2026
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