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What's happening around the Chamber:
President's Report
Welcome to our Newest
Members
Celebrating 100 Years in 2009
Young
Chamber President's Report
Resource &
Industrial Taskforce (R&IT)
Purchasing
Officers Familiarisation
Visit by
Townsville Chamber of Commerce
North
East Minerals Province
Major
Projects Forum
$2.5
million in Grants Up for Grabs
FNQ 2025
Regional Plan
Gulf
Savannah Investment & Migration Strategy
Christmas
Banners
Sustainable Region
Business
Plan Competition
Chamber
Connection
Chamber
Lunches
Our Events |
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President's Report
Dear ,
There are many snippets of information you
might hear at present indicating the state
of the economy - the Reserve Bank is
slashing interest rates beyond market
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because of a fear of an impending recession,
local construction companies have shed jobs
and reduced debts, job ads are down,
tourism is taking a knock, and this latest
one that I heard this week - that sales of
shopping bags are down (an interesting lead
indicator of retail sales?).
Amongst
all this however, one should try and keep
some perspective - most businesses have
probably had a fair trot for the past three
or four years, many perhaps building up a
small war-chest of reserves that may help
them ride out the current storm. As they
say: we've made hay while the sun shone. Now
may just be the time for us to live off that
bountiful harvest.
But, in
spite of the well-reported downsides the
world is not about to grind to a halt and
there are still opportunities out there,
whether it be ongoing growth in the resource
sector, securing a slice of some significant
government infrastructure spending, or
capitalising on our tropical expertise.
Along
with other organisations and agencies around
town, the Chamber is remaining focused on
such opportunities and is spending
considerable time and energy to bring these
to the attention of our members or lobbying
on your behalf - you can read about some of
these activities in this month's newsletter.
And of
course, you can always catch the definitive
local economic news at the Chamber's next
monthly lunch featuring the "Bill 'n Rick"
state of the region presentation.
Perhaps
now, more than ever, is a time to get
involved in Chamber activities.
Regards
Jeremy Blockey
President |
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Welcome
to Our Newest Members |
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Celebrating 100 Years in 2009 |
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Cover of Sponsorship
Proposal |
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In 2009, the Chamber
will turn 100. What key milestones have you
celebrated in your business?
Celebrate key milestones by sharing your
story. Sponsor the decade that was critical
for you.
This is a
once-only opportunity
to partner with
the Chamber as a major sponsor in
2009, and to celebrate the success
of your business as an industry
leader in Cairns.
During our celebration year, a range
of activities are planned that will
highlight milestone achievements -
not only for the Chamber but for the
businesses that we are proud to
represent.
As a major supporter of the celebrations,
your business has the opportunity to
participate in the many promotional activities and
social functions planned. |
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So what are you
waiting for? Gain market leverage,
extend some community spirit, and celebrate
the longevity of the Cairns Chamber of
Commerce. |
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Don't forget - we still need
your photos/footage taken over the last
100 years. |
To submit your images or to discuss the
opportunities, contact Judy Lloyd at the
Cairns Chamber of Commerce on (07) 4031
1838, or
judith@cairnschamber.com.au.
Recognition will be given to the provided
pictorial information.
If you have any ideas, or have
any special anecdotes that you recall from
over the years, please
contact the Chamber office or the
Chair of the Centenary Taskforce,
Sim Hayward. A
big thank
you to those people who have already
responded |
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Young
Chamber President's Report |
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![[GRAPHIC: YOUNG CHAMBER LOGO]](http://cairnschamberofcommerce-membersnews.createsend1.com/email/575664/wwwburnttoastmarketingcomau/enews/cairnschamber/youngchamberlogo_enews.jpg) |
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YC President: Sarah Powell |
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One era ends
and another begins. The rotation of
committee members has begun for the
Young Chamber, with a significant
number of high quality applications
received for the three available
positions.
I have three
things to say about this.
Firstly, I'm
encouraged by the huge amount of
interest shown in the Young Chamber
and the keenness people have
demonstrated to contribute to the
future of business in Cairns. Our
existing committee is now faced with
the unenviable task of selecting
just three of these applicants to
join Young Chamber. In YC speak, "that
sucks" (we want them all).
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While we can't give all
of these applicants a spot on the Young
Chamber committee, we hope to still get them
involved as the opportunities arise - with
the strategic direction we're taking in 2009
we will be calling out for more hands on
deck, at particular times, to help us execute
our master plan. I'll be talking more about
these in the coming months.
Secondly, the committee
member rotation is an exciting time, and one
of great opportunity for the Young Chamber.
Our newest committee members will bring a
range of different skills and experiences
that will help us to further develop,
diversify and deliver in 2009.
The final comment I
have to make about this committee member
rotation process is that it is a
bittersweet time for us. On the flip side of
the excitement at bringing new people into
the fold, the reality of farewelling the
three members (i.e.. one half of our team),
is starting to sink in. So at the risk of
sounding like an obituary, I'd like to take
a moment to share with you the impact that
these three people have had through their
contributions and commitment to the Young
Chamber.
Mark Aitken, one of Arup's finest young
Project Managers, joined us in 2007. He
brought with him a sense of practicality and
logic which we all benefited from. Mark's
ability to plan and budget for any and every
possible scenario took us to new levels. We
will miss Mark's advice, foresight and his
dry sense of humour (which he attributes to
working with so many Engineers)!
Jillian Watson, of Cairns Indoor Sports
fame, is the only small business operator on
the Young Chamber committee and we were
stoked to welcome her aboard in 2007. A
dynamic individual with the resources, contacts and enthusiasm - and she made
time in a frantic schedule to share this
with us. For this, we're incredibly
grateful.
Finally,
David Starr - Starry became a Young
Chamber committee member in 2005, way back
in the day when we were a quiet, unassuming
little group of three. We're now somewhat
louder. Starry has been the brain behind
some of our biggest and best ideas,
cheekiest escapades and greatest
accomplishments. Without his creativity,
inspiration and eternal optimism, we would
never have gotten this far. Young Chamber is
indebted to you, Starry.
These people are a
significant part of the reason for Young
Chamber's success. I would like to take the
opportunity to thank them for volunteering
literally hundreds of hours of their own
time and in doing so, helping to make the
Young Chamber vision a reality.
Next month we'll be
introducing you to three new committee
members, brace yourselves, community of
Cairns-.. tomorrow's leaders are in the
making.
Sarah
Young Chamber Chair |
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Resource & Industrial Taskforce (R&IT) |
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To keep you informed on
resource projects around the region we are holding a
series of breakfast presentations in 2009. The
confirmed speakers so far are:
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David
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Port
Moresby Chamber of Commerce, who
are setting-up a Business Centre
that could help Cairns companies to establish a presence in Port
Moresby. The purpose of the Centre is to provide
services to the major liquid natural
gas projects. |
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Bruce
Watson |
Xstrata
Mount Isa |
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Chris
Bulbrook |
Chalco (Arukun
Bauxite Project) |
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Paul
Messenger |
Cape
Alumina |
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The Chamber
also attended a series of events in
Townsville on 9 and 10 November with
delegates from the New Guinea Government and
the Australian PNG Business Council on how
to do business in PNG. We will report back
to you next month on the outcomes of these
workshops.
R&IT
Updates
Visit the
R&IT page on the
Chamber website. This page is being
constantly updated - thank you for your
patience.
Information
If you wish
to be involved in any of our
activities, or just gain a better
understanding of the scope of
resource projects that can be
serviced from Cairns, please contact
the
Chamber office
or the
Chair of the
Resource Taskforce,
Sharon Dawson.
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Above & Below:
Participants from our
August Purchasing Officers Famil. |
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Purchasing
Officers Familiarisation |
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A big thank you to the sponsors of our next
Purchasing Officers Familiarisation being held this week.
A member's only
networking dinner being held as part of the
famil was sold out in under 2 hours. We
apologise to those members that missed out
this time. The good news is we are
holding more of these events in 2009, so
keep an eye out for future notices as they
are very popular but also very limited in
terms of the number of attendees. The next
famil is being considered for April 2009. |
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Visit by Townsville Chamber |
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For the past 2 years the Chamber Management
Committee has undertaken a 2 day visit to
Townsville to view their infrastructure and
meet with the Townsville Chamber and other
key contacts. The Townsville Chamber
reciprocated and visited Cairns on 27 and
28 October and also joined us at our
October lunch.
We have a number of
key issues that we are working on together
including Bruce Highway Flood Immunity, Base
Load Power Generation in North Queensland
and the North East Minerals Province. |
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North
East Minerals Province |
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Many of you would have heard of the North
West Mineral Province centred on Mt Isa.
Along with our counterparts in Townsville we
are pushing the concept of the North East
Minerals Province which covers the area from
Charters Towers through Georgetown and onto
the Chillagoe area.
There are numerous
small and medium scale mines underway or
planned for this area, but none of the scale
of those around Mount Isa. However, as a
collective, there is a considerable amount of
activity, employment and infrastructure
needs.
The Chamber will
continue to raise the profile of the North
East Minerals Province to ensure we can
maximise the economic benefits from these
projects. |
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Major
Projects Forum |
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If you are interested in supplying to either
the Cairns Base Hospital Upgrade or the
Lotus Glen Correctional Centre Upgrade you
can attend a forum where the project
managers will be speaking.
The forum is to be
held on 21 November 2008. To register
contact the Cairns office of the
Department of Tourism, Regional Development
& Industry on 07 4048 1111. |
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$2.5
million in grants up for grabs |
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Explorers are urged to apply for a share in
$2.5 million in State Government grants to
give them a leg up.
The grants were available under the
Queensland government's Smart Mining -
Future Prosperity program.
Three types of grants are available:
(1) Collaborative Drilling grants that fast
track drill testing of geological targets in
under-explored parts of Queensland;
(2) Industry Network grants for junior
mineral exploration companies to access
industry think-tanks and other specialist
services; and
(3) Cluster Formation grants that allow
explorers to share drilling and geophysical
resources.
Explorers can access grants to recover up to
half the actual costs of their proposal; up
to $150,000 for each Collaborative Drilling
proposal; $40,000 for each Industry Network
proposal; and $50,000 for Cluster Formation
proposals.
Applications for Collaborative Drilling
close on 5 December 2008, while those for
Industry Network and Cluster Formation close
on 13 March, 2009. Further details are
available at
www.dme.qld.gov.au. |
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FNQ
2025 Regional Plan |
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Jeremy Blockey has been invited to join the
Regional Coordinating Committee. This was
formerly known as the Regional Planning
Advisory Committee and will be part of the
monitoring and implementation process of the
FNQ 2025 Regional Plan.
Some 1,000
submissions were received on the draft
Regional Plan and a summary of these has
just been released. A copy is
available online.
An information and
discussion session for industry and business
groups regarding the outcomes of the
consultation process for the draft FNQ 2025
Regional Plan and draft State Planning
Regulatory Provisions was held on 30
October, 2008. The key issues were
Biodiversity Conservation, Waterway
Protection, Provision of Industrial Land and
Boundary Realignments.
The Chamber will be
lodging a further submission and would
appreciate members' views on these matters. |
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Gulf
Savannah I & M Strategy |
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The Chamber is hosting the launch of the
Gulf Savannah Investment & Migration
Strategy on 5 December 2008. For those
wishing to do business in the Gulf Savannah,
the strategy is a useful guide to the
opportunities that exist just a few hour's
drive from Cairns. An event notice will be
forwarded to you closer to the launch date. |
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Christmas
Banners |
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The Chamber has purchased two Christmas
Banners as part of the Cairns Regional
Council's program to brighten up the CBD
over Christmas.
Let us know what you think
of Christmas decorations around the city. |
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Sustainable
Region |
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For the past year, the Chamber has been
fostering the concept of Tropical North
Queensland becoming the first Sustainable
Region in Australia. Stewart Christie has
been championing this cause on behalf of the
Chamber and presented at the October Chamber
lunch.
To see what Stewart
has to say and how this concept could
positively affect you, a
copy of this
presentation is available on the Chamber
website. |
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Business
Plan Competition |
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Each year the Chamber hosts the winners of
the Business Liaison Association's Business
Planning Competition for schools. Our
November lunch will again see our next
generation of entrepreneurs on show. In
previous years we have seen students'
business plans covering diverse products and
services such as:
* Hand-made
greetings cards from recycled paper;
* Boxer shorts;
* Music cafes; and
* Home delivery services for the elderly.
Schools from
throughout the region compete in this hotly
contested competition and we wish all the
entrants the best of luck. |
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Chamber
Connection |
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To highlight your
membership with the
Chamber and demonstrate your involvement
with a leading business organisation, you
are entitled and encouraged to
display
our logo and website link on your website.
To obtain a copy of
the Chamber logo, please
contact Judy Lloyd. |
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Chamber
Lunches |
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If you have never been to a Chamber lunch,
you should consider attending.
Apart from
hearing first hand what the
Chamber is
involved with, we have a fantastic
array of speakers and with over 150
members attending each month, this is a great
chance to do some business over lunch.
Details of our
upcoming speakers can be
found on our website.
If you ever miss a lunch, you can
catch the
speakers' notes on our website.
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You never know who
you might
meet at a Chamber lunch.
Photos courtesy of
Reflex Photography. |
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Chamber Events |
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What do you think about the speakers the
Chamber presents to you? If you have any
comments, feedback or suggestions about other potential
speakers please feel free to
email us. |
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November Lunch - Tuesday 25
November 2008
at the Sofitel Hotel Casino
Cairns Chamber of Commerce and The
Cairns Post are very pleased to
present:
Bill Cummings - Cummings Economics;
and
Rick Carr - Herron Todd White
Topic: Economic and Property
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Bill Cummings
One of Australia's most
experienced regional
business economists with a
long history of involvement
in the analysis and
development of the regional
economies of northern
Australia, including mining, industrial and
aviation sectors.
Read more about Bill |
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Rick Carr
Rick is a highly experienced
researcher in the areas of
Property Market
Intelligence, Economic
Intelligence, Statistical
Surveys, Market Research,
Strategy Planning,
Socio-Economic Impact
Assessment and Project
Feasibility.
Read more about Rick
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Special Presentation
The winners of the 2008
Business Liaison Association
- Business Planning
Competition will present
their business plan to the
Chamber members. See our
next generation of
entrepreneurs demonstrate
their business skills and
gain a little insight into
the Y generation. |
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Booking Details |
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Summary of
Event Details
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Event: |
Chamber
Christmas Lunch
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Speaker: |
Lunch with Bill
Cummings & Rick Carr
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Date: |
Tuesday 25
November 2008
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Time: |
12.00pm to 2.00pm
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Venue: |
Sofitel Reef Hotel Casino -
Michaelmas Cay Ballroom
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Parking: |
Parking underneath hotel from $5.00
- 2 hours
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Price: |
Members and Guests - $40pp
(incl GST)
Non-members - $50pp
(incl GST)
Prepaid Registrations Only.
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RSVP: |
Friday
21 November by 2:00pm
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Lunch Venue
Partner: |
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Proudly Supported
By: |
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Special
Chamber Lunch
- 05 December 2008
at the Cairns Colonial Club Resort,
Jardine's Room
Cairns Chamber of Commerce is hosting the
launch of the "Gulf Savannah Investment
Document".
Topic: Growth and Opportunity in the
Gulf Savannah region.
The document is being launched by the Hon Desley Boyle
MP, Minister for Tourism, Regional
Development and Industry, and
representatives of Gulf Savannah
Development.
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The Gulf Savannah Investment Document
identifies the key factors that will
influence economic growth in the Gulf
Savannah and identifies trends and
investment opportunities across five key
sectors.
Many of these opportunities should be of
interest to businesses already active in the
Gulf Savannah or in the broader North
Queensland region. The five key sectors are:
1.
Agriculture/ Horticulture
2. Fisheries/ Aquaculture
3. Small Business
4. Tourism
5. Mining/ Energy/ Infrastructure.
Booking Details
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Summary of
Event Details
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Event: |
Lunch and
Launch of Gulf Savannah Investment
Document
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Date: |
Friday 5
December
2008
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Time: |
12.00pm to
2.00pm
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Venue: |
Cairns Colonial Club Resort - Jardines Room
First Floor,
Conference Centre. Enter via Behan
Street, Manunda
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Parking: |
Free
parking on and off property
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Price: |
Members
and Guests - $45pp
(incl GST)
Non-members - $55pp
(incl GST)
* Prepaid
Registrations only.
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RSVP: |
Wednesday 3 December by 2.00pm
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Lunch
Venue
Partner: |
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