July 31, 2014
The State Government today unveiled its “Queensland Plan” vision for the next 30 years which includes a proposal to double the population of regions outside South-East Queensland.
“The Queensland Plan: Queenslanders’ 30-Year Vision” was launched at the Local Government Association of Queensland’s Regional and Economic Conference in Hervey Bay.
It is the culmination of an 18-month long community engagement program involving 80,000 Queenslanders.
The Queensland Plan outlines long-term goals in education, community, regions, economy, health, environment, people, infrastructure and governance.
Premier Campbell Newman said formulating the plan “was the largest activity of its kind in Australian history, and one of the largest in the world”.
He said it was a “people’s plan” which provided key goals on jobs and the economy.
Participants said they wanted the State to be the number one performing economy which provided the best job opportunities in Australia.
Mr Newman said other feedback received was that Queenslanders wanted to maximise natural talents and assets, and envisaged a State that was focussed on industry development and diversification, with centres of excellence that drove innovation.
He said The Queensland Plan offered many challenges to government with targets such as doubling the population of regions outside South East Queensland, while other goals would require new thinking by all levels of government.
He said the community’s vision would be driven by an :Ambassadors Council”, which would be chaired by Public Service Commission Chief Executive Andrew Chesterman and included people such as Professor Ian Frazer, tourism chief Daniel Gschwind and former Labor Minister and Mt Isa Mayor Tony McGrady.
The minister responsible for The Queensland Plan, Andrew Powell, said the plan set bold targets that would take a dedicated focus to achieve, but he was confident Queenslanders would rise to the challenge.
“Queenslanders told us they want an education target of 100 per cent of children having basic literacy and numeracy in primary school,” Mr Powell said.
“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 government will respond to The Queensland Plan later in the year.
The plan can be downloaded in PDF format from the Queensland Plan website.
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Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, today welcomed the launch of the Queensland Plan as “one of Queensland’s most important planning documents”.
“I was so pleased to be involved in this event today,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“It reflects a range of community aspirations and will play a key role in helping unite business, industry, community and government activities right across the state.
“Queenslanders have set ambitious goals to help drive our state forward over the next three decades. Through The Queensland Plan process, we now have a long-term vision for the state that essentially all Queenslanders have signed on for, and that’s a powerful thing which we should all be excited about.
“It offers a wonderful opportunity for regions like the South Burnett to think outside the square in how we grow our economy and strengthen our community connections.”
Mrs Frecklington said that while Queenslanders wouldn’t always agree on how to achieve all goals, it was important to keep the conversation going to find common ground and new ways to collaborate.
“The Queensland Plan Ambassadors Council has been announced and it is their role to engage with the community and government to oversee the plan’s implementation and encourage participation from across the State,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“I encourage everyone to work with the ambassadors and to read The Queensland Plan and think about how you can contribute. And I look forward to working with the people of our community to make our vision a reality.”
