Jim Turnour is a Principal Strategic Regional Planner at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University where he works with regional and First Nations communities supporting place-based approaches to local challenges.

Prior to this he spent a decade working as a Chief Executive Officer and General Manager for Aboriginal Corporations in Cape York Peninsula. He is a Director of Cape York NRM and Committee Member of the Cairns and District Chinese Association.

Jim was the Member for Leichhardt in the Australian Parliament between 2007 and 2010 representing communities including Cairns, the Douglas Shire, Cape York and the Torres Strait in the Rudd and Gillard Governments. He served on the House Economics, Indigenous Affairs and National Capital and Territories Parliamentary Committees and was Chair of the Labor Caucus Infrastructure Committee. He started his career as an agronomist and extension officer working predominantly for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries in Central and Far North Queensland.

Jim has a PhD (Economics) from James Cook University and degrees in Agriculture Science and Economics from the University of Queensland.

Research Disciplines

• Agriculture, land and farm management (3002)
• Policy and administration (4407)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Schools and learning environments (1602)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• McShane C, Turnour J, Thompson M, Dale A, Prideaux B and Atkinson M (2016) Connections: the contribution of social capital to regional development. Rural Society, 25 (2). pp. 154-169
• Thompson M, Prideaux B, McShane C, Dale A, Turnour J and Atkinson M (2016) Tourism development in agricultural landscapes: the case of the Atherton Tablelands, Australia. Landscape Research, 41 (7). pp. 730-743
• Stephens A, Oppermann E, Turnour J, Brewer T, O'Brien C, Rayner T, Blackwood G and Dale A (2015) Identifying tensions in the development of northern Australia: implications for governance. Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 17 (1).

Book Chapters

• Turnour J, Andrews K, Dale A, McShane C, Thompson M and Prideaux B (2021) Place-Based Agricultural Development: A New Way of Thinking about an Old Idea in Northern Australia. In: Leading from the North: Rethinking Northern Australia Development. ANU Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 25-44

Other research outputs

• Turnour J and Cultural Values Project Steering Committee (2016) 'Which Way Australia's Rainforest Culture': valuing the values - economic development and sustainable livelihoods. James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia [Report]
• Turnour J, Dale A, McShane C, Thompson M, Prideaux B and Atkinson M (2015) Promoting Agriculture in the Wet Tropics, North Queensland. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, ACT, Australia [Report]
• Turnour J, Dale A, McShane C, Thompson M, Prideaux B and Atkinson M (2015) A Place-Based Agriculture Development Framework. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, ACT, Australia [Report]
• Turnour J (2014) Northern Australia agriculture policy: opportunities and risks. In: Green paper on developing northern Australia: A joint submission to the Northern Australia Taskforce. The Regional Australia Institute, James Cook University, Central Queensland University, The University of Notre Dame and Ninti One, Queensland, Australia, pp. 63-74 [Report Section]
• Turnour J (2014) Old MacDonald sold the farm: so what's the future for agriculture? The Conversation, 12 February 2014.
• Robinson S, Turnour J and Towle S (2013) Improving Indigenous governence training and support in Far North Queensland: project report. James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia [Report]
• Campbell A and Turnour J (2013) We need a smarter debate on developing northern Australia. The Conversation, 13 August 2013.
• Turnour J, McShane C, Thompson M, Dale A, Prideaux B and Atkinson M (2013) Accounting for agriculture in place-based frameworks for regional development: discussion paper. Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia [Report]

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.