Mayor Bob Manning said it’s the number one priority for the city.

“Just because life’s good today, doesn’t mean we can’t make it even better tomorrow.”

“It is a core action within Council’s Economic Development Strategy and is why Council is leading this process,” he said.

The World Heritage Gateway Centre would be a central location where both visitors and the local community can engage and learn more about these two iconic natural wonders and gain a better understanding of how they have evolved over time.

A National Indigenous Heritage Centre would celebrate the art, history, dance, languages and story-telling of our first peoples, in what the document says is an authentic location, given Cairns has the highest proportion of Indigenous population of any city in Australia.

The Cairns 2050 Shared Vision also includes plans for a ‘Cairns Metro’ concept, which would potentially see the deployment of electric tram-like vehicles or other innovative transport solutions to connect the CBD with the airport and beyond.

Other projects are focused on:

• Growing tertiary education capacity
• Improving water and energy security
• Developing new aviation routes
• Securing university hospital status for Cairns Hospital
• Finalising the seaport masterplan
• Building a rectangular stadium

View the full document here. 

Councillor Manning is urging people to have a look and sign on to support the vision, which he said would provide a foundation for negotiating a potential City Deal for Cairns, to fast-track its implementation.

“The more people support this vision, the more likely we are to in turn gain support from the state and federal governments to deliver the initiatives that have been identified,” he said.

A City Deal in Townsville led to it securing funding for a new stadium and entertainment centre.