Future Brisbane: UQ Vice Chancellor outlines vision for 2032

In the same way our athletes have already begun their preparations, we too must put in the hard yards now to position Brisbane as one of the world’s leading lifestyle cities by 2032, writes UQ leader.

HERE in Queensland we are notoriously competitive with our southern neighbours.

So when Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, I suspect many of us thought back to the year 2000 when the Sydney Games were declared “the best ever”.

And in 10 years’ time, we will get our chance to challenge for that title.

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Preparations for Brisbane 2032 are already underway. We have an Organising Committee, a Venue Master Plan, and a staggering number of large-scale infrastructure and transport projects happening across our city and surrounding regions.

However, Brisbane 2032 is much more than just an opportunity to host a global sporting event.

A successful Games is also about accelerating the delivery of the long-term plans needed to sustain lasting growth across Queensland and deliver socio-economic benefits for all Queenslanders.

In other words, it is about leveraging the spotlight that comes with hosting a truly global event, to position Queensland as a state that can genuinely compete on the world stage.

Those of us who call Brisbane home already know what a wonderful place it is to live and work.

University of Queensland vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Terry.

It has a great climate and lots of open space, which lends itself to our celebrated outdoor lifestyle – one filled with barbecues, picnics, and trips to the beach.

And on top of that, we have great schools and higher education institutions, world-leading scientific research facilities, and a friendly, welcoming, multicultural community.

It is clear from the interstate migration figures that other Australians are waking up to the fact that southeast Queensland is a terrific place to live.

According to the latest ABS data, Queensland had the strongest net interstate migration of all the states and territories for the year ending March 31 2022, with a figure of 53,984.

But our net international migration figures remain lower than those for New South Wales and Victoria, which suggests the rest of the world hasn’t caught on yet.

Given this, Brisbane 2032 is a golden opportunity to showcase Queensland’s appeal and attract the skilled workers we need to help boost our state’s economy over the next decade and beyond.

There is a global race for talent going on, and we need to win over as many students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and qualified young professionals as we can.

We need them to bring their skills, their enthusiasm, their ingenuity, and their passions – to Brisbane and Queensland – from all over the world, to help build new industries, in knowledge-based sectors of the economy.

And to do this, we need to ask ourselves: what is important to young people?

Besides retaining the many existing advantages, it’s essential that Brisbane develops in a way that young people can find work, afford a place to live; and enjoy a city that is connected, easy to get around, and alive with culture.

These are the hallmarks of all global lifestyle capitals – and they’re also important as drivers of new industries and innovation.

Initiatives such as the South East Queensland City Deal, a collaboration between local, state, and federal governments, which will deliver a package of investments to make our region more integrated, liveable, and sustainable, are a good start.

However, we – government, industry and all major Queensland institutions - need to be thinking about what more we can do to foster culture, creativity, and innovation.

And we need to be thinking about how we can ensure that the cost of living and cost of housing are affordable for the young people we hope to attract.

It’s easy to get caught up in the physical milestones we need to hit in the lead up to hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

However, it’s important to remember that the race is not run and done once we have established the competition venues and transport networks.

While these are of course essential, the 2032 deadline shouldn’t just be about building infrastructure for the purpose of hosting a global sporting event.

Because in the same way that our athletes have already begun their preparations, we too, must put in the hard yards now to position Brisbane as one of the world’s leading lifestyle cities by the time the Games begin.

We must make sure that the transport and other infrastructure we build also works to serve our region post-Games.

And we must continue to cultivate our innovation ecosystem, educate for the jobs of the future, and invest in developing the cultural fabric of our city.

So that we can ultimately ensure that Brisbane 2032 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform our city and deliver benefits to all Queenslanders.

Professor Deborah Terry AO is the Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of

Queensland