Global insurance broker Aon has asked their insurers to put local tradies first as Townsville rebuilds following its worst ever floods, which will make sure extra investment benefits flow right through the community.

THE Townsville small business that constructed the first stage of Lendlease’s Elliot Springs didn’t just lay the foundations for roads, pipes and power, they established their reputation as one of the leading civil contractors in the Townsville region.

Employers and workers across Western Sydney are set to get a tailwind from the Western Sydney Airport when it opens in 2026, with hundreds of thousands of jobs planned for the region, which is expected to generate up to a $15.6 billion economic boom over three decades.

THERE are few local companies that illustrate Western Sydney’s impressive growth better than Borger Cranes, expanding from four workers and one crane four decades ago to 70 cranes today, 300 workers, and greater training opportunities for young workers.

The “virtuous circle” of big and small businesses generating economic activity, opportunities and jobs in Tasmania has helped the state hit its stride.

IN many ways, Tasmania has been the nation’s quiet achiever, but that all changed when the state became a “magnet” for tourists.

TOKYO has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world. For their asparagus in summer – they look to a tiny island, more than 8,500 kilometres away.

HOBART shipbuilder Incat has gone from building local boats four decades ago to now supplying the world’s best and fastest ferries to markets stretching from Trinidad to the Canary Islands, with its success helping grow a network of business suppliers in Tasmania.

WHEN Liferaft Systems Australia first started manufacturing marine evacuation slides and liferafts 26 years ago they had about six employees and a single local customer.

When mining giant Rio Tinto decided more than a decade ago to anchor one of its fly-in, fly-out hubs in the Western Australian city of Busselton, it revitalised the coastal community economically, socially, and culturally.

Nowhere does the adage of “build it and they will come’’ resonate  more than in the southern Queensland city of Toowoomba.

Gladstone is a magnet for business activity; a perfect illustration of the benefits that flow into a community when it attracts investment.

REVERSING the brain drain and attracting more business investment to South Australia are critical to ensuring the state can power ahead.