Queensland on track for future growth, says new data

An annual report says South East Queensland is on track with its existing urban footprint to meet the demands of population growth in the future.

A new report says there is plenty of land to cope with population growth in South East Queensland.

A NEW report has found South East Queensland is set to cope with population growth with plenty of residential and industrial land available.

The annual Land Supply and Development Report, which provides data on density and diversity of land supply, confirmed the needs of the state were being met with the existing urban footprint.

Minister for Planning Cameron Dick said it was vital that infrastructure, housing and jobs in the right locations would maximise the potential for South East Queensland.

“For the next 15 years, we have enough land available to manage urban and industrial growth in the current urban footprint,” he said.

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By 2041 more than 5.4 million people are expected to call South East Queensland home, so we need to be responsibly managing that growth for our communities to thrive.

“The increase that we’re seeing in diverse housing options means more choice for people when it comes to how they want to live, retire or raise a family.

“We also have more than 9000 hectares of vacant and planned industrial land available, which will provide us well for more jobs in more industries.”

The report allows residents to review the planning and development for all areas of South East Queensland including regional areas.

SEQ Housing Supply Expert Panel independent chair Julie Saunders said this year’s report was enhanced with updated data, improvements to the methodology and a new market factors report.

“The panel has worked closely with all stakeholders this year and the enhancements to the reporting are being seen in the results,” she said.

“This is nation-leading work and goes a long way to ensuring industry and community are working together to achieve quality urban growth.”

Social commentator and demographer Bernard Salt said it was important governments took a proactive approach to growth monitoring and planning.

“You can’t wait for population growth to happen and then try and deal with it,” he said.

“Proactively ensuring the right land, housing and jobs are available is key to smart planning.

“This is great information, not just for data nerds but to build an even better Queensland for the future.”