RDA Tropical North celebrates 15 years of advocacy
The upgrade of major roads throughout Far North Queensland, feasibility studies to address regional gaps, and economic development strategies are among the many millions of dollars of projects championed by Regional Development Australia (RDA) Tropical North over the past 15 years.
RDA Tropical North is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and marked the occasion with Senator Nita Green opening a function for stakeholders and partners on October 22 reflecting on the multiple milestones and successes achieved.
Chair Hurriyet Babacan said RDA Tropical North had a proud history of brokering regional development solutions to create jobs and grow the Far North Queensland economy.
“Our independent organisation has been driven by community leaders volunteering their time to collaborate with communities and work across all levels of government to advocate for funding for projects and feasibility studies that steer our region towards a prosperous and well-planned future,” she said.
“The RDA Tropical North Board positions have been held by 43 community leaders over the past 15 years with Deputy Chair Brett Moller celebrating the significant milestone of 15 years volunteering for RDA.
“We recognised Cr Moller’s service with an award and presented recognition awards to Bill Shannon for 10 years of service and Dr Allan Dale for eight years of service including serving as the second Chair of the organisation.
“Many of the significant projects achieved during the past 15 years have assisted with developing and improving key road infrastructure throughout the region.
“Early in our history we were part of the collaborative efforts of the 33 Local Governments and four RDAs in Northern Queensland to secure $1.35 billion in funding for the Inland Queensland Roads Action Plan Project.
“I am particularly proud of RDA Tropical North’s advocacy for the landmark $276 million Stage 1 Cape York Region Package, the most significant infrastructure investment in that region since Federation.
“We were also part of the team that brokered the 10-year $8.5 billion commitment to enhance the Bruce Highway’s safety, efficiency and capacity.
“Water security is another key area that we have championed, most recently with the completion of the Detailed Business Case for the Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme and taking the lead in 2020 to deliver the inaugural RDA Tropical North Regional Water Summit to develop a joint advocacy vision.
“This year we tackled the housing crisis head-on with the Tropical North Queensland Housing Summit which we organised with the Torres Cape Indigenous Councils Alliance (TCICA) and FNQ Regional Organisation of Councils (FNQROC) to bring together more than 100 housing and accommodation stakeholders to discuss the steps forward to ease the region’s housing crisis.
“We have developed business cases for green waste compost in commercial agriculture, a plastics recycling facility and the Etheridge Agriculture and Irrigation Precinct.
“The arts sector remains a key focus for RDA Tropical North through our involvement in the Regional Arts Services Network and we have assisted the value-add agricultural sector through the formation of the Tropical Agri Food Industry Network.
“RDA Tropical North looks forward to the next 15 years as we engage not just in our backyard, but across Northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific region to seek effective strategies for the Tropical North to thrive economically, socially, environmentally and culturally.”
Regional Development Australia Tropical North Inc is an independent organisation driven by community leaders to broker regional development solutions that will create jobs and grow the Far North Queensland economy.