Peter Beattie’s blueprint to lift Queensland out of COVID recession
Thirteen years after he retired from politics, former Queensland premier Peter Beattie has a blueprint he believes will lift us out of the pandemic recession, create jobs and investment and re-establish us as the smart state.
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SINCE this will be the first Queensland election that I have not voted in since I was first able to vote, I thought I might share some thoughts and then stay out of the debate leading up to the election.
It is 13 years this Sunday (September 13, 2007) since I retired from state politics and a lot has changed in that time.
Nevertheless, there are many Queensland strengths that haven’t changed and which can form the basis of a strong recovery out of the pandemic and are crucial for recovery.
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I will not go over my previous ideas for economic recovery, which still stand.
1. Queensland has to have a point of difference to attract investment locally, interstate and overseas.
We don’t have enough local capital to drive the needed job growth, so we need to attract it from Sydney, Melbourne and overseas.
Joh Bjelke-Petersen did it by abolishing death duties and my government did it through using our excellent research in our universities and by establishing world-class research institutes.
You will recall Chuck Feeney’s multimillion-dollar investments.
You can see the result of this with the vaccine research now being undertaken at UQ.
This, however, requires long-term, out-of-the-box thinking.
Queensland’s point of difference should be focused on innovation and partnering with the brain power in our university sector.
The recent appointment of Professor Deborah Terry as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland is a godsend.
She has returned to Queensland after a stint in WA and previously was part of the Smart State philosophy at UQ, which I started with former VC John Hay.
She has the potential to lead UQ to a new golden age, but she needs a partnership with government.
The new Queensland government should work with her and Queensland industry to develop new innovations in mining services, agriculture, energy, technology, education and environmental tourism, which can be value-added, commercialised and marketed nationally and internationally as we emerge out of the pandemic over the next few years.
It will also be the basis of attracting new investments.
QUT and Griffith universities both have relatively recently appointed VCs who are also excellent.
A good idea would be to form a think-tank of all our universities with industry and government to plan and implement an innovation strategy that could form the basis of Queensland’s point of difference.
We have to tap Queensland’s best brains and remember that government is not the font of all wisdom.
2. Whether we like it or not, Queensland needs tourists and investment out of Sydney.
The new Queensland government needs to sit down with the government of NSW and work out a joint strategy of mutual benefit to Queensland and NSW.
We should leave state rivalry to the NRL State of Origin field.
The pandemic means co-operation is needed more than ever before.
This will mean jobs for Queenslanders.
3. Queenslanders are among the most positive, innovative and hardworking people in the world.
The new government needs to put that optimism to work by taking Queenslanders into its confidence in every region in the state.
That means a regional recovery strategy for each key region.
This is not a time to be risk-averse.
We need long-term strategies in partnership with Queenslanders.