Townsville Lunch: Competing in the Metropolitan Century

The Property Council’s Townsville Lunch: Competing in the Metropolitan Century, held on Friday 31 August at The Ville Resort and Casino, provided attendees with an opportunity to discuss the findings of the Property Council’s national research, Creating Great Australian Cities, in a Townsville context.

Matt Collins, General Manager of the Queensland Government’s Cities Transformation Taskforce provided the keynote address, covering the job trends that will see a move towards a knowledge-based working environment in Townsville. 

Matt also discussed the broader challenges facing Australian cities and the tools that need to be adopted, if we are to remain coemptive in a global market.  City Deals were among the excellent discussion points highlighted during Matt’s speech. Townsville was the beneficiary of the first Australian City Deal in 2016, a clear advantage over other Australian cities.

Following the presentation, a lively panel discussion was moderated by Stephen Motti, Director – Brazier Motti and Chair of the Property Council’s Townsville Committee. Panellists included Amanda Copping, Executive Director Origination for North Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and Alan Carpenter, Director Discovery Rise Project for James Cook University (JCU).

The panel discussion explored the criteria of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and the types of projects that can be progressed through this initiative.  Alan spoke to the process that JCU undertook to secure funding through the National Association of Research Fellows (NARF) for the Technology and Innovation Complex.

The Property Council would like to thank Stephen, Matt, Amanda and Alan for providing their insights. Thank you also to our Townsville Corporate Partner RCP.

Photos from the event can be found here.

Townsville Corporate Partner: