Premier Campbell Newman is considering an ambitious plan to double the population of regional Queensland, outside of the south east corner, in response to public feedback received from The Queensland Plan project.
The Premier launched his pet project, ‘The Queensland Plan: Queenslanders’ 30-year vision’, at a Local Government Conference in Hervey Bay yesterday.
The government claims, “The plan is the culmination of the largest community engagement activity of its kind in Australian history and one of the largest in the world.”
Mr Newman said the ‘people’s plan’ provided key goals on jobs and the economy with agreement among 80,000 participating Queenslanders that they wanted their state to be the number one performing economy which provided the best job opportunities in Australia.
“People from every corner of the state contributed ideas to The Queensland Plan with a common vision to grow our regional economies, foster innovation, strengthen our education sector and encourage community connections,” Mr Newman said.
“This was a massive and exemplary exercise in listening and consulting which involved various discussion forums from summits and community think tanks to boardroom workshops and robust family debates.”
“They also want a doubling of our regional population outside South East Queensland which will require integration with innovative plans such as RegionsQ and close co-operation with the Federal Government to build stronger regional economies,” the Premier said.
Chief Executive of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), Michael Roche, said he was, “…delighted with the appointment of QRC Vice President Laura Tyler to the Queensland Plan Ambassadors’ Council.”
Ms Tyler’s home is in Townsville and she is asset president for BHP Billiton’s Cannington Mine in North West Queensland.
“We are pleased to see such a strong emphasis on regional Queensland in the plan,” Mr Roche said.
“Over the next 30 years, the world’s focus is going to be on the Asia-Pacific region and Queensland has a golden opportunity to be part of an economic revolution promising to lift billions of people out of poverty.”
The government will respond to The Queensland Plan later in the year.
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