News and Events

We are pleased to announce that BEMAS conference this year includes a series of presentations by a number of JCU doctoral and HDR students. These doctoral students are the first authors of accepted peer-reviewed papers/abstracts who will share their ongoing research work throughout the conference. The presentations cover a broad range of topics, including (but not limited to): empowering communities, resilient economies, migration, tourism, sustainable marketing, and low-carbon future.

Mr Darryl Lyons, Chair and Creator of Indigenous Datathon for Northern Australia, will be presenting at the BEMAS conference and he will discuss how our Indigenous communities can embrace technology. Darryl is an experienced leader, operational specialist and indigenous entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in business development, Australian agriculture, start-ups, IoT and commercial construction.

We are pleased to announce that our 2nd International Conference on Business, Economics, Management and Sustainability (BEMAS) will be formally opened by Professor Simon Biggs, James Cook University Vice Chancellor and President held on Friday 1st July at JCU Cairns, Nguma-bada campus, Smithfield. We are pleased to further announce Professor Simon Biggs will be a panellist on our opening Q & A session. Professor Simon Biggs commenced as Vice Chancellor and President of James Cook University in February 2022. Educated at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, Professor Biggs holds a PhD in Colloid Science. His more than 30 year career has taken in various research and senior appointments in the United Kingdom, France, United States of America and Australia. Prior to joining JCU Professor Biggs was the Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Western Australia.

Following the RBA's announcement of its decision to increase the interest rate, our Associate Lecturer Diana Castorina was interviewed by the ABC North Queensland to share her views about the economic impact of this decision on different economic agents and individuals.

Join us to hear from Ed Johnson, Director of Planning, Growth & Sustainability from Cairns Regional Council. Ed Johnson has recently relocated from Brisbane, where he has spent more than a decade in the consultancy environment, primarily at Urbis. Ed has worked on a number of projects of significance across the State and Nationally and is very much looking forward to playing an active role in the development industry within FNQ. Ed leads the Planning, Growth & Sustainability teams at Council. Within the growth & sustainability teams, there is a particular focus on the delivery of the Council’s NetZero commitments by 2030 as well as understanding and planning for the additional growth of up to 130,000 people in 2050. Ed is an active member of the development industry and looks forward to forging Industry partnerships, working proactively with our regional stakeholders to embrace the challenges of the future and turn these into opportunities for generations to come.

In this episode, Ross sits down with Associate Professor of Economics Riccardo Welters and Associate Lecturer of Economics & PHD Candidate Diana Castorina to talk about Diana's research paper on why people move to the regions, how to attract people to move to the regions, but most importantly, once they have moved, how you get them to stay.

Is anyone else confused about how the cyclone reinsurance pool will impact premiums for people in northern Australia?

CITBA researcher Diana Castorina has given us the lowdown on how it all works. Read the interview with TropicNow here.

CITBA is pleased to announce the launch of its Paper Development Workshop in Sustainability and Resilience (PDWSR) series. PDWSR is established by popular demand to complement our annual BEMAS Conference program, providing opportunities to engage in in-depth discussions with high profile CITBA researchers and editors of CITBA's associated journals. The workshops are designed to improve and encourage interactions not usually featured in other CITBA programs. The PDWRS sessions are structured as a workshop in a highly interactive format.

PDWSR objectives:

1. Provide prospective authors with an understanding of how to create a logical framework
2. Explain issues that might lead to the rejection of a paper
3. Explain what is the curse of 'zombie nouns'
4. Provide individual feedback on manuscripts
5. Provide break-out sessions for peer-review feedback
6. Support networking between scholars and sharing of ideas.

Read more about the PDWSR and how to apply for it.

Join us to hear from three expert University Leaders Mrs Kym Davis, Professional Manager of College of Business, Law and Governance, James Cook University, Dr Marnie Gibson, HR leader and lecturer and Dr Natalia Veles, Professional Manager of College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University. This timely session aims to provide empirical insight to evoke a contextual discussion into current organisational and leadership challenges which have dislocated traditional work, professional identities and learning post-COVID.

Taking three differing lenses, the speakers will align their recent research and lived experiences to understand the opportunities, strategies, and interventions to sustain and enable staff collaborations, as well as influence positive employee engagement outcomes for employees and organisations for the future of work.

We are pleased to announce another successful publication by CITBA research team:  "Business, Industry, and Trade in the Tropics".

This book is the first book of the Routledge Advances in Business and Industry in the Tropics series. Tropics is an area of enormous opportunity and potential. There is huge interest in the types of business investments made in the Tropics.

This first book of the series provides an empirical assessment of the key socio-cultural, economic, environmental, and political factors that influence the business dynamics of organizations operating within the tropics. Topics include: attracting businesses to the tropics, facilitating smooth, stable conditions for business operations and sustainability, national institutions and regulations that shape the way business is done, and the increasing deployment of new technologies and entrepreneurial innovations which are defining the global tropics as a distinct business region. It offers readers a key focus for developing a deeper understanding of the factors and frameworks that influence and shape business activity in the area.

Join us to hear from Manager of Sustainability, Environment and External Policy at Ports North, Paul Doyle. As a port executive with more than 20 years’ experience in sustainability, policy analysis, communications, business strategy and environmental management, Paul's presentation is one not to miss.

we are pleased to announce publication opportunities to our BEMAS delegates: upon successfully completing the double-blind peer-review process, accepted papers will have the opportunity to be published in one of the associated journals (based on suitability and scope) or will appear on in the conference proceeding.

We are pleased to announce that Cairns Regional Council are silver sponsors of Business, Economics, Management, and Sustainability (BEMAS) International Conference being held this July 1-3, 2022.

The count down is on with just three months to go. Secure your tickets today to hear from inspiring regional experts, innovators, business leaders and researchers as we all come together to Re-Imagine Economic Resilience and Urban Futures in a Post-COVID 19 Era.

31 March marks the International Women's Day. CITBA recognises and celebrates the extraordinary achievements of its leading women researchers, highlighting the challenges they face and their invaluable contributions to research, education and leadership within Academia. Today we celebrate you and thank you for contributing to a better future. Happy International Women's Day!

We are so delighted to host regional leaders and distinguished speakers including but not limited to:

1.TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen to discuss The need for a regional approach to the recovery of International Tourism in our Region

2.Cairns Regional Council - Economic Development Officer Ellen Cox to discuss Cairns Smart Green Economy

3.Regional Economist Adj Professor Colin Dwyer to discuss Townsville Population change during the COVID pandemic and the performance of the local Residential Rental Market

4.Advance Cairns Chief Executive Officer Paul Sparshott Transport vision for Cairns

5.Ports North - Manager Sustainability, Environment and External Policy Paul Doyle to discuss Sustainability Strategy

6.Cairns Airport - Environmental scientist Lucy Friend to discuss Biodiversity

7.Managing Director of Sky Net Group & Indigenous Entrepreneur Daryl Lyons to discuss the Indigenous Datathon

Congratulations Diana Castorina for her recent PhD publication in the Bulletin of Applied Economics.

Publication title: Interregional Migration: Who Decides to Move?

Authors: Diana Castorina, Riccardo Welters

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.47260/bae/917

We are delighted to have Cairns Regional Council sponsor our BEMAS event with a silver sponsorship. CITBA and Economic Development and Advocacy - Cairns Regional Council, continue their collaborations in knowledge creation and providing platforms for academics and practitioners exchange to build a better future for the region.

CITBA is pleased to welcome Dr James Juniper from Newcastle School of Business as a new CITBA Research Fellow.

Before entering academic life in 1990, James worked as a policy practitioner and researcher in both the Commonwealth and State Public Services. He has also worked with both “blue-collar” and public sector unions. James has supervised three PhDs applying Stock-Flow-Consistent macroeconomic models, along with other PhDs on a diverse range of topics including sub-national development, land zoning in regional New South Wales, financial development, TQM and environmental management, the philosophy of A. N. Whitehead, water management in Jordan, the modelling of technology innovation systems, and the regulation and prudential control of Australian financial institutions.

It is with our pleasure to announce that BEMAS 2021 conference proceeding was published on January 1st 2022.  We congratulate all our authors  and we celebrate  their success.

The proceeding is titled " Community Empowerment, Sustainable Cities, and Transformative Economies" 

This book argues that the orthodox methods of external risks, climate change adaptation plans, and sustainable economic growth in cities are no longer adequate. These methods, so far, have not only ignored the ongoing structural changes associated with economic development but also failed to account for evolving industries’ composition and the emergence of new comparative advantages and skills. Specifically, this book looks at the vulnerable communities and exposed areas, particularly in urban areas, that tend to experience higher susceptibility to external risks (such as climate change, natural disasters, and public health emergencies) have been largely ignored in incremental adaptation plans.

Access the book here

our Australia Director, A/Prof Taha Chaiechi  was recently interviewed by  Faculti .  A/Prof Chaiechi discusses the urban development of two tropical cities – Cairns and Singapore – with a focus on their different urban growth patterns.

Watch the short version here

more information on the Faculti website here

Queensland Country Bank JCU Townsville Region Scorecard is a multi-variable, multi-dimensional assessment of the performance of North Australia’s largest city (Dwyer 2008), Townsville. The reporting system recognises the crucial connections between environment, economy and society. Townsville Scorecard 2021-22 describes the performance of over 25 local variables. In 2021, eighteen variables tested positive.   There is solid optimism for continuing positive performance in 2022. Since 2009, the performance of over 65 local variables have been discussed in these reports. The Scorecard usually includes some important variables where no data is available.  We do this to advocate for more and better regional data.

Access the report on CITBA website