Cairns well suited to host G20 meeting: PM

5 Aug 2012, 4:07 pm   -   Source: AAP
A meeting of G20 finance ministers to be held in Cairns in 2014 will strengthen the local economy, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

A meeting of G20 finance ministers to be held in Cairns in 2014 will strengthen the local economy, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

A meeting of G20 finance ministers to be held in Cairns in 2014 will strengthen the local economy, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

RELATED

Cairns will see its profile boosted on the international stage by hosting a G20 finance ministers meeting in 2014, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Treasurer Wayne Swan announced earlier in the day that the far north Queensland city would host the forum, which will be held in the lead-up to a G20 summit of world leaders in Brisbane.

Ms Gillard, who has spent the past week holidaying in tropical Port Douglas, said Cairns was well suited for the event.

"Over the last few days I've had the opportunity to experience for myself the wonderful weather, the delights of the scenery and the warmth of the welcome," she told reporters in Cairns on Sunday.

"I know we will be showing that to nations from around the world right here in 2014."

She said Cairns had successfully hosted international events in the past and will do a good job of hosting the event in two years' time.

"You have to have the right hotel stock, the right meeting venues (and) the right atmosphere and certainly, Cairns has got all of that."

The event will also give a boost to the local tourism industry, which has recently suffered because of the high Australian dollar, she said.

"We do know that it's been a bit tough in the recent period.

"I do think this (G20 meeting) will inject confidence for the future here in Cairns.

Mr Swan said, as a Queenslander, he was especially proud.

"I can think of no location better than Cairns, in tropical north Queensland, to hold a meeting like this," he told reporters.

Ms Gillard said her government would work with the conservative Queensland government on security arrangements.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said Cairns would receive a big benefit from the event.

"(It) spreads the financial, economic advantages of having G20 in Queensland," he told reporters in Airlie Beach, in north Queensland.

"It means that not just the southeast of the state will see the attention of the international media."

Mr Newman said Cairns was chosen because it was a regional tourist city with the hotels and international airport needed to host the 2000 delegates and media expected to attend.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube