Bob Manning (mayor)


Robert Charles Manning is an Australian former politician who served as mayor of Cairns from 2012 until his resignation in 2023.

Early life

Manning was born in Cairns, and attended Edge Hill State School, and Cairns State High School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business from the University of Southern Queensland. Manning served three years in the Australian Army including service in the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1971.

Career

Manning's first major position was as CEO of the Longreach Shire Council for eight years. In 1984 he returned to Cairns and became Secretary and then CEO of the Cairns Port Authority for eighteen years from 1984 to 2002. After resigning his role at the port as a stand against "bullying tactics" by the Queensland Government, Manning began consulting work in Jordan and South Korea. In 2004 Manning became the General Manager of NQEA Australia Pty Ltd before heading overseas again to take up the role of CEO of Hermes Airports Ltd in Cyprus until 2008.
He has had a lengthy involvement with the Airports Council International from 1993 to 2000 and was the director/chairman of Tourism Tropical North Queensland for eleven years from 1986 to 1997.
In 2012, Manning purchased nationally acclaimed company Events NQ. In February 2015, Events NQ was put into liquidation, with staff left without their entitlements and creditors unpaid.

Mayor

In January 2012, Manning announced his intention to run for mayor of Cairns at the upcoming local government elections with a team of candidates under the name "Unity 2012". Kevin Byrne, a former mayor, had previously run his team under the banner of "Cairns Unity Team". Manning considered the Unity 2012 team to be apolitical and publicly stated that Unity 2012 had no political affiliation.
Manning was successful, being elected with 55.61% of the vote. Following his victory, he borrowed $150,000 the following year from a developer lobbyist while he was facing bankruptcy — which would have automatically disqualified him from office. Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission launched an investigation in February, after the state’s local government watchdog referred the matter as potential corrupt conduct. The lender was Ranjit Singh, a lawyer representing developers in some of Cairns biggest building projects. Authorities found the loan was interest-free, never formally documented and has not been repaid.
Manning announced his resignation, effective immediately, on 17 November 2023. He was replaced by deputy mayor Terry James.

Family and personal life

Manning is married to Claire Manning and they have two grown children, Mark and Belinda. Bob Manning's father founded Manning's Pies, a local pie shop.

Awards

In 2002 Manning was awarded Cairns Citizen of the Year.
In 2004 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to the community of the Cairns region through the development and promotion of the tourism, maritime and aviation industries".