Following on from his two year term as Councillor, David Carey said the decisions the Council have made over the past two years were the foundations laid for a long term sustainable future for the region and were crucial for it’s long term success.

Seeking re-election as Councillor for a further four-year term, Cr Carey said he will have the opportunity to continue “to build on those foundations” and in particular “to ensure Council’s long term financial future is secured”.

Residing in Shannonvale with partner Roisin Allen, Cr Carey has called the Douglas Shire his home since late 2005.

With post graduate qualifications in business and local government management obtained from Deakin University following completion of a Diploma in Business Management - Local Government at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Cr Carey’s professional background spans over 30 years as a local government senior manager, which includes ten years as Chief Executive officer.

He also has three years as owner manager of his own retail business and two years as manager of a NSW Police Local Area Command.

During his professional career, Cr Carey has obtained significant knowledge in strategic financial management having produced medium to long-term financial plans for several local Councils.

In terms of business development and economic growth within the Douglas region, Carey advised “the Council has documented a 10 year financial strategy however it will take discipline to ensure the strategy is followed through.”

“The Douglas Shire Council needs to strengthen and promote its community leadership role in economic development and sustainability. Economic development has for a couple of decades now, been recognised as “core business” for local government. In this regard the Council has very much a strategic responsibility,” he said.

Cr Carey believes that Council can respond to this strategic responsibility, at the very least, by facilitating an economic development and sustainability planning process.

Whilst future investment into the Douglas region is being promoted as a “well-positioned investment destination” to both international and domestic investors, one current development, which has a long history of complexity stunting its progression,  is the Port Douglas waterfront development and marina redevelopment.

Being a supporter of the Port Douglas Waterfront Master Plan, Cr Carey said the vision and priorities were identified through extensive community consultation and needs to be put into action.

“After all much community excitement and anticipation has been created with the expectation this plan will result in projects materialising on the ground.

“I am also a strong supporter of further private sector investment into the waterfront and it is very pleasing to see the development and refurbishment of the marina being undertaken by Reef Marina . This project is a fantastic one for Port Douglas and one that has been anticipated for many years,” he said.

A project that is gaining momentum and recognised as becoming a future asset not only to the whole region but Mossman in particular, is the Mossman Botanic Garden project.  With the potential to become a world-class research and education facility and tourist attraction, Cr Carey said it is a great initiative.

“The Botanic Gardens will certainly complement the Mossman Gorge experience whilst also providing opportunity for scientific research and education. The obvious employment opportunities as well as the potential impetus of the project to stimulate ancillary business initiatives are exciting,” he said.

One successful project that has seen the light of day after 20 years of dedicated advocacy and support by a hard working group of community members is the Mossman Aged Care Facility and Cr Carey said perseverance has paid off in this instance.

“This is indeed a real coup for the group as well as for Douglas. The completion of the first stage high care facility will no doubt be quickly followed by the assisted living and independent living components. Success breeds success. Not only will this facility provide a much needed service to the Douglas community but will provide up to 30 new job opportunities in the first stage.”

Another matter on the table for Council for some time and one that Cr Carey said he is an ardent supporter of,  has been the relocation of the exciting Paws and Claws facility.  Council has been working collaboratively with Paws and Claws and the wider community to find a suitable site from where the facility can operate to ensure its future is sustained. 
“I am heartened by the fact that we now seem to have found a site to locate a new Paws and Claws facility which is far enough away from residential developments to mitigate any potential conflicts.”

One matter that is visible for all to see, both as locals and tourists, is the continued turnover of empty shops in the Port Douglass and Mossman CBD districts.

Cr Carey believes that the marketing strategies by Tourism Port Douglas Daintree, which capitalised on the low Australian dollar stimulating domestic and international travel, have provided Douglas with two consecutive strong tourist seasons and said this will be the driver for business confidence in our region.

“It is through strong marketing of Douglas as a premier tourism destination that local business growth and diversification will be stimulated. This in turn will lead to improved business confidence which will, over time, see our empty retail premises occupied,” he said.

Following the Douglas Business Forum late last year one of the issues identified by businesses, which has since gained momentum in working toward a positive solution, was inconsistent internet connectivity and the future rollout of the NBN.  Douglas Chamber of Commerce and Douglas Shire Council have been working together and were successful in securing meetings with Telstra and a representative from NBN to discuss the issues.

Cr Carey said that whilst the recent NBN rollouts are very much welcomed, a faster rollout is required for the business centres of Port Douglas and Mossman.

“I am disturbed however that there is evidence that the NBN fixed wireless will not deliver broadband speeds much greater than that currently experienced with ADSL connections.

“That is why I introduced a notice of motion into the Council meeting of 23 February 2016 which urged the Council to make representations to local Federal Member Warren Entsch and to NBN Co itself to clarify the download speeds to be expected from a fixed wireless service and to give a guarantee that at least 50 mbps download speeds will be achievable. Anything less will be of great concern and disappointment to the Douglas community,” he said.

Taking the region into 2020 will require “properly articulated plans of action across a range of issues” said Cr Carey.

“The plans need to be documented in full consultation with the community.  We need to get everyone on the same page and working together to strive to achieve commonly accepted goals and outcomes,” he said.

Read Cr Carey’s full response here.