Whitsundays are a rich palette for this business banker

Think of the Whitsundays and tropical islands with pristine white sand beaches and crystal blue seas probably spring to mind.

But there’s a lot more to this region in northern Queensland. Beyond a booming tourism industry, which attracts around 900,000 visitors a year, it also plays host to businesses across the services, agriculture and resources sectors, adding up to a diverse economy worth over $4 billion a year annually. 

It's that diversity that gives Vicki Leith a buzz in her role as Senior Business Banking Manager for Westpac at the bank’s branch in Proserpine, a regional hub of 4,500 people.  

“You’ve got everything from services to mining. There’s big agriculture, both sugar cane growing and cattle. And there’s a prawn farm (soon to be the Southern Hemisphere’s largest) up the road.”

There’s also Abbot Point - about 90 kilometres north of Proserpine - an important coal export terminal that ships coal from mines in the Bowen and Galilee Basins, with plans to develop an industrial zone nearby to diversify into areas such as hydrogen production and minerals processing.

Leith relocated to the Whitsundays region from New Zealand in 1997 and has called it home ever since. 

“It’s amazing,” she says. “It’s the colours. The water is an aqua blue. Then you’ve got cane growing, which is a really vivid green, and crystal-blue days. It’s just a beautiful place to live,” Leith says in an interview with “Backing Business”, a new small biz focused magazine for Westpac’s business bankers. 
 

Leith enjoys working in a regional town, where everyone knows each other, and much of her working day is spent talking to her 92 business customers. Her clients range from tourism operators, to cattle and cane farmers, and home builders. 

“They can either text me, call me, or email me with a question - they know that I’ll get back to them. It’s about being active, being an advisor in their business as well.” 

Leith visits two or three of her customers at their premises each week to see how things are going on the ground. Some, such as cane farmers and vegetable growers, have businesses with highly seasonal incomes and Leith connects them with financial products which can help them manage their bumpy cash flow. 

Farmers can take advantage of seasonal loan payments, making multiple payments a year when they have good income and nothing in leaner months, she says. 

Tourism operators don’t face such intense income peaks and troughs, she says, although the bank can assist if an extended wet season dampens demand and constrains cash flow.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, representing 98 per cent of all Australian businesses,” says Tamara Bryden, Westpac Managing Director, Business Lending. “Most of these businesses have a turnover of less than $2 million and, for them to thrive, managing their cash flow is key.”

Cash flow, or working capital, is a key consideration for small and medium-sized enterprises, with 35 per cent of SME respondents in a recent Westpac-commissioned survey saying it was an obstacle to expanding or growing their business.

Westpac offers a range of working capital products that can provide SMEs with flexibility to finance growth projects, purchase new equipment, or bridge short-term gaps between cash coming in and going out. 

“Working capital is critical for every business. The right working capital solution allows a business to thrive,” says Anthony Miller, Westpac Chief Executive, Business & Wealth. 

“Business owners need to be confident they can fund day-to-day expenses and removing the worry of cash flow management is incredibly valuable for our customers. It’s so important we, as their bankers, have the tools and knowledge to help our customers understand what their options are. Our job is to make life easier for them, and solving the challenge of working capital is one of the best things we can do to help them succeed.”

Bright Future

As for the Whitsundays region, exciting plans are being progressed to ensure its future growth. 

They include the Whitsunday Skyway project, a tourist cable car that will offer panoramic views of the Coral Sea and Whitsunday Islands from a peak behind Airlie Beach. It’s been touted as the most significant tourist development in the area since Hamilton Island Resort was built in 1982. 

Up in Abbot Point, there’s much excitement about Gilmour Space Technologies’ first rocket launch slated for later this year. The Queensland company is building its own rockets for affordable satellite launches and opened the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in April. 

Meanwhile, a hydrogen plant and other projects proposed for the Abbot Point State Development Area are aimed at ensuring jobs remain in the area as coal is gradually phased out by the clean energy transition. 

With so much going on, it’s no surprise that Leith recommends the Whitsundays as a great place to live and work, as well as a great holiday destination. 

“Put it on your bucket list,” she says. “It’s beautiful.” 

Thanks to Jo McKinnon from Carnaby & Co for her assistance with this article.