2022 will see the beginning of a new era for the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership (GHHP), after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with CQUniversity (CQU) to become the new Host Organisation. Based out of their Gladstone campus, CQU will now be in charge of managing the partnership, enabling GHHP to be closer to the community it provides for.
Pictured (L-R): Professor Iain Gordon - GHHP Chair, with Leslie Walker - CQU Director, Office of Research
GHHP is a stakeholder-driven monitoring and advisory body that aims to improve the health of the Gladstone Harbour. The cornerstone project for GHHP is the Gladstone Harbour Report Card, released annually for the community and stakeholders, which scores various elements of the harbour health from Very Poor (E) to Very Good (A). Formed in 2013, the 21 partners of GHHP stem from three levels of Government, industry, community, traditional owners and the research sector.
Since its inception, the Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) has led GHHP as the Host Organisation. Fast forward nine years, as of the 1st April 2022, GHHP will be in the hands of CQU. GHHP Chair, Professor Iain Gordon, says the new arrangement assists GHHP to support the Gladstone community in understanding the health of the harbour, “CQU already has a strong relationship with the community of Gladstone, so being within an organisation that is based in the community – on the doorstep to the harbour – strengthens the opportunity to help guide future management of Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port.”
While the arrangement is stepping into new territory in terms of hosting, CQU is no stranger to GHHP, having been a major part of the partnership since 2013, “CQU has been a great supporter and partner of GHHP over the past nine years, being heavily involved with the collection and analysis of data for our annual report cards,” says Iain.
Professor Grant Stanley, CQU Vice President (Research), explains the benefits of the new arrangement for CQU, “hosting the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership provides an opportunity for us to engage more deeply with the Gladstone community, to get people involved in the research process. This means that we will be able to deliver research outcomes based on both industry and community engagement – which is really valuable.”
“On behalf of the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership, I would like to thank FBA for hosting GHHP since its inception, my experience has been that FBA has gone above and beyond in support of the Partnership,” says Iain, “and we look forward to working with CQU to ensure that GHHP continues to deliver comprehensive, independent, understandable advice on the health of Gladstone Harbour.”