Talking Trade With World’s Largest Economy

Published 30 January 2023

With a GDP of $23.32 trillion, the USA is by far the world’s largest economy and Moreton Bay wants its piece of that pie.

Mayor Peter Flannery is leading a three-day trade delegation starting today through key tech startup hubs in the united states, to sell The Mill in Moreton Bay as a strategic investment opportunity.

“We will be visiting Colorado (Denver), Texas (Austin), Los Angeles and San Francisco (California) to promote Moreton Bay’s advanced manufacturing, innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities,” Mayor Flannery said.

“Our economic development team already has half a dozen strong investment leads coming out of the US, which I’m keen to explore.

“With covid behind us I want investors to know we are open for business and hungry for opportunities, so this is the right time for us to be proactively engaging with a major Australian trading partner.

“Both Denver and Austin are strong cities with immense experience in technology, innovation, and advanced manufacturing.  So I’m keen for Moreton Bay to find ways to connect into their incubator programs to pioneer new research and development in these key fields.

“In particular the Mill at Moreton Bay represents a unique opportunity for investors to get their foot in the door in South East Queensland before the Olympics, with opportunities here for large scale development across hectares of mixed-use space.

“And before Brisbane hosts the Olympics and Paralympics in 2032, LA will host the games in 2028 so I’m keen to see what they’re doing right now and what we could emulate to give Moreton Bay a competitive edge.

“This is the perfect platform to show our proximity to Brisbane Airport and the Port of Brisbane and the seamless logistical networks we have locally to trade with international markets, especially a close trading partner like the USA.

“For Council, it is vital to keep up strong relations with the USA, not only to explore new business leads, but to encourage international investment back into Moreton Bay.

“Our job is to help bilateral trade and investment grow and flourish.  We want to see our businesses grow overseas, and likewise we want to see investors grow their businesses here in Moreton Bay. 

“We have talent, we have opportunity and we have the critical growth needed to provide that compelling proposition to businesses looking to invest in Australia.”

On the Mayor’s busy itinerary are meetings with the likes of Tesla in Texas, Australian Honorary Consul James Waddell, the Denver Sports Commission, University of Colorado Business School, the architects behind Denver’s Broncos Stadium (timely before the Dolphin’s first NRL game), and more.

Mayor Flannery will then go on to join Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and the Council of Mayors SEQ on a tour of California and Canada to visit world-leading waste recycling plants, meet with companies exploring how aircraft can become taxis, understand initiative housing affordability strategies in some of the world’s most complex cities, and learn from the experiences of previous Olympic host cities like LA and Vancouver.

While Mayor Flannery is on his US Trade Mission Deputy Mayor Jodie Shipway will fulfil the role of Acting Mayor.