August 2, 2019
The Gross Regional Product for the Toowoomba Region was more than $10.81 billion last year, mayor Paul Antonio revealed in his annual State of the Region address on Thursday night.
This represents a growth of 4.5 per cent during the past 12 months.
Mayor Antonio was speaking at a Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) Enterprise Evening in Toowoomba which attracted more than 250 business leaders.
He also officially launched the Southern Queensland Innovation in Export Hub (SQ Export Hub), a new program designed and delivered by TSBE to support small to medium-sized businesses exploring export opportunities.
The Federal Government provided $840,000, matched dollar-for-dollar by TSBE, to set up the Hub.
The theme of Mayor Antonio’s State of the Region address was “Strength, Stability and a Mighty Future”.
He said he was pleased to report the regional economy was very strong.
“We continue to outperform similar regional centres and our numbers rank well against State and National indicators,” he said.
“With job growth expected to outpace population growth, our Council will play a key role in delivering and improving lifestyle attributes that will continue to attract skilled workers.
“Our region’s competitive advantages are enhanced by our leading education, health and retail facilities.
“The education sector has seen upgrades at many State and private schools, as well as TAFE and USQ’s recent substantial investment.
“Similarly, the city’s private hospitals have completed multi-million dollar upgrades.”
Mayor Antonio said he was delighted the development application for the Qantas Pilot Training Academy was starting to move.
“This is a project, not only of regional importance but one of state and national significance,” he said.
“Our region has undergone significant change in recent years and we have been fortunate to secure unprecedented investment into the region.
“How could we have known in 2012 that an airport would be built, that the Federal Government would finally approve the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, that we would have a new datacentre, solar farms, or the initial approvals to commence construction of the Inland Rail in our region?
“The question arises, what will be next? What will our planning policies need to accommodate over the next six to 10 years? Autonomous vehicles? Fast Rail? Smart Technology? Will it be intensive agriculture, and what will this look like?”
Mayor Antonio predicted that rail would play a big part in the region’s future.
“I was excited to hear recently at a Darling Downs and South West Queensland Council of Mayors forum that the resumption of rail freight operations to western and south-west Queensland is imminent,” Mayor Antonio said.
“The important part of this reinvigoration of rail transport is that it will be driven by the private sector looking at opportunities where there is a gap in the market.”
The Mayor also spoke about the importance of TSBE.
“Partnerships are important in any Economic Development Strategy and I consider TSBE as one of the most important partners for progress,” Mayor Antonio said.
“Since its establishment as a wholly owned subsidiary of Council, TSBE has grown considerably to be regarded as the leading regional economic development organisation across Australia.”
