LIVE: Future SEQ - Bernard Salt’s keynote address at industry-leading business event

SOUTHEAST Queensland must create 'multi-CBDs' to cope with a booming population because taxpayer-funded infrastructure will not keep pace, says leading demographer Bernard Salt. SEE HOW THE FUTURE SEQ EVENT UNFOLDED

SOUTHEAST Queensland must create 'multi-CBDs' to cope with a booming population because taxpayer-funded infrastructure will not keep pace, says leading demographer Bernard Salt.

Mr Salt, speaking at the Courier-Mail’s Future SEQ event today, said residents in southeast Queensland need to be able to live, work and play all within a short distance of their homes because transport infrastructure will not be able to cope with increasing numbers of commuters.

Using Los Angeles as an example, he said tax from 19 million residents could fund infrastructure upgrades.

Bernard Salt speaking at Future SEQ

However, with only 3 million residents living in the 200km strip from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast by 2043, infrastructure funding would not keep up with road demands.

"You can't get enough tax out of three million people to fund infrastructure," he said.

"You've got to create multi-CBDs, 'container-rise' - so people can live and work entirely in their own region.

"How do you de-centralise?"

The Los Angeles concept

He suggested 'centres' be created on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and on the north and south sides of Brisbane.

Of all the top 10 long-range commuter markets in Australia, four feature in SEQ.

Eleven of the top 20 are SEQ regions

The top one is Logan to Brisbane where 51,000 people commute every day – up 5000 in the five years between 2011 and 2016

The busiest commuter roads

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The Mornington Peninsula to Melbourne is the second busiest with 50,000 daily commuters (up 7,900) with Ipswich to Brisbane coming in third (44,600 daily commuters, up 8,500 since 2011).

Brisbane to Logan was eighth busiest (20,700 commuters, up 4,000) and Brisbane to Ipswich was 10th (20,100 commuters, up 3,100)

Strategic planner Tony Holding also presented at the industry event at the Royal International Convention Centre, Bowen Hills. 

He explained the concept of a '45-minute region' where people could travel to Brisbane from the Gold or Sunshine Coasts in 45 minutes.

The key to this is super fast-rail.  He said it could cost $10-15 billion but research showed it would provide a $20 billion boost for tourism.

Salt: The nature of surburbia will shift with a baby bust: Mostly women in their 70s living alone in the 2020s #FutureSEQ

— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) October 23, 2018

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RELATED: SOUTHEAST’S BOOMING POPULATION HOTSPOTS

Meanwhile, Tourism Australia CEO John O'Sullivan said southeast Queensland isn't as 'fashionable' as what it could be.

Mr O'Sullivan, speaking on a panel of industry stakeholders, admitted the region had great destinations like islands and the Gold Coast hinterland and 'built attractions' like the cruise ship terminal and upcoming Queen's Wharf development, but it lacked something to 'turbo-charge' the sector.

"I wouldn't say it's as fashionable as it could be,' he said.

He said there was 'no silver bullet' to becoming more fashionable but Chinese tourists particularly loved nature while being connected to an urban environment.

The example he gave was one of the most popular scenes for Chinese travellers – a couple walking along Surfers Paradise beach with the skyline in the background

News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller and Courier Mail editor Sam Weir also presented at the event and a panel discussion featured Infrastructure Australia chair Julieanne Alroe, Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan De Graaff, Transurban Group CEO Scott Charlton, SEQ Council of Mayors CEO Scott Smith, The Star Entertainment Group CEO Matt Bekier and Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan.

Salt: SEQ is Los Angelean in scale. Los Angeles has 19 million people in 200km limit. SEQ has 3 million #FutureSEQ

— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) October 23, 2018

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