Robert Charles Manning (born 16 October 1945) 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 Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, and attended Edge Hill State School, and

Cairns State High School Cairns State High School (CSHS) is an independent public secondary school located near the centre of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It was founded in 1917 and is the oldest high school in Cairns. The school caters for grades 7 though 12 and ha ...

. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

. Manning served three years in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

including service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

from 1970 to 1971.

Career

Manning's first major position was as CEO of the

Longreach Shire Council The Shire of Longreach was a local government area located in central western Queensland, centred on the town of Longreach, from which the shire was administered. It covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1900 until 2 ...

for eight years. In 1984 he returned to Cairns and became Secretary and then CEO of the

Cairns Port Authority Ports North, the trading name of the Far North Queensland Ports Corporation Limited, is a Queensland Government statutory corporation that is responsible for the Cairns Marlin Marina and the Cairns Cityport project and the ports in Cairns, Cap ...

(including the

Cairns Airport Cairns Airport is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busies ...

) for eighteen years from 1984 to 2002. After resigning his role at the port as a stand against "bullying tactics" by the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

, 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 (including

Larnaca International Airport Larnaca International Airport – Glafcos Clerides is an international airport located southwest of Larnaca, Cyprus. Larnaca International Airport is Cyprus' main international airport and the larger of the two commercial airports in the area ...

and

Paphos International Airport Paphos International Airport (; ) is a joint civil-military public airport located south-east of the city of Paphos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is the country's second largest airport, after Larnaca International Airport. Papho ...

) in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

until 2008. He has had a lengthy involvement with the

Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of Airport authority, airport authorities, informing members of industry practices and airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Ca ...

from 1993 to 2000 (including president, vice-president and vice-chairman) and was the director/chairman of Tourism Tropical North Queensland (previously Far North Queensland Promotion Bureau) 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 Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...

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 (CCC) 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 The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for "service to the community of the Cairns region through the development and promotion of the tourism, maritime and aviation industries".

References

External links

Official ProfileFacebook ProfileLinkedIn Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Bob Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 1945 births Living people Mayors of Cairns