Nod to Peter Beattie in Anna Bligh's call to innovate

ANNA Bligh has reached back to her predecessor's sometimes-maligned "smart state" strategy

ANNA Bligh has reached back to her predecessor's sometimes-maligned "smart state" strategy to declare that Queensland must have a future beyond resource development.

With a nod to Peter Beattie, who was on hand for yesterday's ALP campaign launch, she said the state could now boast more researchers and scientists per capita than the OECD average.

"That's an awful lot of intellectual firepower in the economy," Ms Bligh said.

She said Labor's commitment to a new head-and-neck cancer centre at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital would put Queensland at the forefront of the search for a cure for those diseases.

Ms Bligh announced that, if re-elected, the Labor government would fund a "smart connect program" to link up top researchers with businesses.

"It will fund our PhD, masters and honours students into our workplaces and they will build a bridge between research and results for those businesses," Ms Bligh said.

"With these grants of up to $100,000 each we will see the new ideas of the industries growing right here in Queensland, in industries like pharmaceuticals, medical research, in aviation, in information technology, in biofuels and renewable energy, in the creative sector and in manufacturing . . . this is the economy of tomorrow."

Ms Bligh said international experience showed that where there was innovation, economic growth followed.

Strong economies in the 21st century would be knowledge-based, she said.

"We've got to work with Queenslanders to make sure they've got the skills to compete because it's the brains and the skills of our people that generates innovation and productivity," Ms Bligh said.

"It is people who build better ways of doing things, it is people who create new technology and build better jobs. We know that innovation is what drives productivity in economies."

Julia Gillard endorsed the theme in her own speech to the Labor faithful.

Queensland was "on the cusp" of ensuring a fairer, stronger and more prosperous future, the Prime Minister said.

"But if the wrong choices are made for the future of this state then in the blink of an eye you could slide back 20 years," she said.

"It's a choice as to whether or not this state is going to leap ahead or languish.

"It's a choice as to whether or not Queensland is going to seize the future or slide back to the past."