INFRASTRUCTURE TO FORGE OUR FUTURE CAIRNS TNQ REGIONAL PRIORITIES 2022-23
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH COUNCIL: CAIRNS STATE ELECTORATE: CAIRNS FEDERAL ELECTORATE: LEICHHARDT
BRIEFING NOTE SUMMARY • Tropical North Queensland’s education sector includes two universities, six TAFE campuses, 35 secondary schools, and private language and business schools. • Youth unemployment sits at 12.6% and the region faces a skills shortage in health, allied health, aviation, and a number of other STEM professions. • Two key infrastructure projects have been identified to address regional skills shortages, with $50M sought for a permanent new CQUniversity campus in the Cairns CBD and $11.2M for the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College expansion. • The CQU campus project is shovel-ready and will create an estimated 330 jobs (direct and indirect) during construction and contribute $549M to the regional economy over 10 years. The project will address current skills shortages in allied health, engineering, and technology. • Regional medical shortages will also be addressed by James Cook University by establishing a complete medical school in Cairns, with support sought for 80 designated Commonwealth Supported Places for domestic students, enabling students to complete JCU’s full Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery program in Cairns.
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THE ISSUE
Tropical North Queensland has a dynamic and vibrant education sector with two universities, six TAFE campuses, 35 secondary schools, and a number of private language and business schools. In 2019/20, nearly 13,000 people were employed in education and training in TNQ, contributing $900M to the economy, an increase of 200% in 5 years1. The region is shifting towards a knowledgebased economy, which has implications for educators and regional training facilities. To accommodate the shift, the sector has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure in recent years, and a number of additional projects are flagged for investment. With a strong student base now established, CQUniversity (CQU) and James Cook University (JCU) continue to grow in the Cairns region. Through collaborative partnerships and to address current gaps in education pathways, the two universities are working to build capacity across a range of industries and community initiatives. CQU: Since commencing on-campus delivery in Cairns in 2016, CQU Cairns has experienced more than 20% year on year growth2. Given this, it has outgrown its current premises and requires new purpose-built facilities. As part of its 2019 Community Impact Plan, CQU has a shovel-ready project to build a permanent new CQU Cairns CBD campus ($50M for construction/fit out). CQU currently operates from four leased
premises across Cairns. The proposed new campus will allow the consolidation of these sites. TAFE Queensland: The Great Barrier Reef International Marine College (GBRIMC) continues to grow and expand its range of innovative marine training capabilities. With the growth in Cairns as a strategic marine defence hub and a renewed focus on the Pacific as part of the Step-Up to the Pacific programme, the Department of Defence awarded the contract for Pacific Maritime Training Services (PMTS) to TAFE Queensland and the GBRIMC in March 2021. This programme will enable GBRIMC to provide all technical and non-technical training, as well as pastoral care services to Pacific Island Country crew who have been gifted Guardian Class patrol boats from the Australian Government, estimated to be 320 crew annually. JCU: Building on 30 years of commitment to Cairns and the Far North, James Cook University proposes to expand Cairns-based activity to ensure that students can study a full medical degree in Cairns. Currently, JCU only offers years 1-6 of its medical degree in Townsville, while Cairns is limited to years 4-6. This means that future medical students are required to leave Cairns to commence their studies elsewhere. Research has shown that once students leave regional areas they often do not return. It is vital that Cairns and TNQ retain their local talent in the region and have a full year 1-6 medical program.
