Yesterday, we brought down the 09/10 budget; a difficult one, framed around how the Council can be a leader in keeping Cairns confident at a time when unemployment is high, tourism numbers are down, building approvals have dropped and costs of fuel, electricity etc are rising. Certainly a challenging time for all levels of government.

We kept general rates between 3.5% to 4.5%, however, they were pushed up to 7 to 8% by the need to increase water and waste charges to finish the upgrades to the sewage treatment plants - $60 million this year - which will improve the quality of water going out to the Barrier Reef. (Protecting the Barrier Reef is a huge burden on the coastal Councils of Queensland who are all reeling from the costs involved. Council needs to upgrade the Mossman system next at a projected cost of $40M, and there's no longer a 40% subsidy from the State!).

Upgrading and building new infrastructure and capital works is a major priority because we know that creates jobs for local contractors, as well as making the region look its best and giving locals and visitors good facilities. See the attached fast facts under Media Releases for details of the $159M going to capital works.

One innovation is a new economic development fund of $850,000. This will boost business in the region by allocating funds to projects or feasibility studies for new industries, or for new and innovative marketing campaigns to bring in more tourists.

Community groups will benefit from grants funding totalling over $700,000 whilst a further $1m will go to the Manunda Sporting precinct upgrades, $3M to get the Edmonton multi-purpose centre underway and $5M on the regional tennis centre to which the State Government has also made a 50% contribution.

In addition to on-going funding for Port Douglas Carnivale, Festival Cairns and the Babinda Harvest Festival, $162,000 will be set aside for new festivals and events. This will provide seed funding to help new events get off the ground. Events give us an opportunity to celebrate, connect, and recognise our beautiful region and talented artists/performers whilst, of course, bringing a positive economic impact by attracting regional, statewide and interstate visitors.

The CBD to Aeroglen cycleway will get underway, and $900,000 will go to the CBD cycling and walking circuit. For anyone interested in these projects, there will be a display in the Council stand at the Cairns Show before further community consultation.

There's a lot more, and anyone interested in detail of the budget can go to the Council website: http://cairns.qld.gov.au/content/publicationsReports/Budget200910.htm