Former Brisbane City councillor Carol Cashman is the new chair of the Regional Development Australia (RDA) Sunshine Coast Committee.
Her three-year appointment will provide leadership to the regional RDA committee, help drive economic growth and maximise the potential of the Sunshine Coast region.
“I’m looking forward to working with government, business and the community to make the Sunshine Coast an even better place to live and work,” Ms Cashman said.
Ms Cashman is a consultant specialising in local government and community engagement. She served on the Brisbane City Council for 16 years where she was spokesman for planning and development.
Earlier, she was a director of a company which helped local companies export their products through international trade exhibitions in Singapore, Indonesia and Germany.
Outgoing RDA Sunshine Coast chairman Tony Riddle said he was proud of the achievements of his committee during the past three years.
He said the highlights included helping secure more than $3 million of federal funding under the Building Better Regions Fund for the Sunshine Coast Events Centre.
He said his committee played a leading role in creating a modal shift towards shared transport services, both public and private, to ease congestion on our roads, and encouraged the adoption of technology across business and the community.
“Our committee has worked hard to deliver results for the region – reflected in key achievements across 16 separate projects – and has partnered in more than 22 events,” Mr Riddle said.
The tenure of the current committee finished at the end of 2017 and Ms Cashman said she hoped to have the vacancies filled by July.
RDA committees play a key role in growing stronger regions across the nation and ensure all three tiers of government work together.
RDA consists of a national network of 55 committees designed to strongly focus on regional economic development and facilitate local projects that aim to make a difference in their local communities.