General News
16 September, 2026
Where the big bucks go
MORE than nine out of every 10 dollars spent by Cairns Regional Council in 2025/26 stayed in the local economy, contributing to a total economic impact of $1.2 billion across the Cairns region, a council report has found.
Discussing the ‘State of procurement report’ at last month’s meeting, Cr Brett Olds said it was an “awesome report for the community”.
“This is the highest number we’ve ever hit. We’ve always floated 88 or 89% of every dollar spent from council spent locally,” he said.
“Well, we’ve cracked the 90. We’re up to 91% of every dollar spent, so $539 million over the last financial year, and the economic impact, the ripple effect, I think it’s over $1.2 billion into the community. It’s a great report.”
“Everyone … should go on and have a look at it because a lot of times you hear from the community, ‘Oh, what do we get for our rates?’ ‘What do we do?’ We’ve got over 18 or 1900 kilometres of roads. I think 3000 kilometres of pipes.
“You drive to any city in Australia and you put our Cairns up against it and we rate pretty highly – the way our parks are kept, the way our roads are kept and that’s all being done with 91% of the ratepayers’ money going back to local companies. It’s huge.”
Cr Kristy Vallely said as a small business owner the impact of this was significant.
“For a small business winning a large contract from someone like council can make a huge difference. It can mean keeping more staff, employing more staff, investing in business or simply having some certainty,” she said.
“And importantly, that keeps money moving locally in our community, businesses pay staff. They use other local suppliers and trades and those people spend locally.”
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said the fundamental principle of council’s procurement policy and approach to economic development was to prioritise local suppliers wherever possible.
“The results demonstrate the important role local procurement plays in supporting jobs and creating opportunities for businesses across Cairns,” she said.
Most spending outside the region related to specialised products and services or government charges where no local supplier option existed.
Council’s local spending supported an estimated 4836 jobs and generated $536 million in economic value for the Cairns region, equivalent to 4.2% of Gross Regional Product.
The report also highlighted the broad benefits of council’s investment across the local economy. Council’s operational spending supported approximately 2437 jobs, while its $292 million capital works program generated an estimated 2399 jobs through direct, indirect and consumption impacts.
