After dodging questions about political issues and distractions, Premier Campbell Newman finally has something he is more than happy to talk about.
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After almost 18 months of work, The Queensland Plan is here.
Mr Newman will launch the state’s blueprint for the next three decades - “the people’s plan, developed by Queenslanders for Queenslanders” - in Hervey Bay on Thursday.
How the government plans to respond to the issues - and targets - set out in the document, will be announced later this year.
But since announcing the initiative in February, Mr Newman has pointed to the plan as an example of the government’s willingness to consult and involve Queenslanders in its decision making process.
“It’s a road map for Queensland’s future that will shape how our state grows and prospers over the next 30 years,” Mr Newman said in a statement.
Not included in Thursday’s launch are plans to help settle migrants in the state’s regional areas.
The idea, of possibly accepting more migrants, on the proviso they live and work in regional Queensland was raised during the plan’s formation.
Mr Newman has written to federal Immigration Minister Scott Morrison about the issue, but a spokesman for the Premier said discussions were ongoing.
But the Plan does include “ambitious” targets to improve the quality of life of all Queenslanders, including ensuring Aboriginal, Torres Strait, Islander and regional Queenslanders have the same life expectancy as non-indigenous Queenslanders.
Male indigenous Queenslanders have a life expectancy of 68.7 years at birth, compared with 79.4 years for non-indigenous men, while indigenous women have a life expectancy of 74.4 years, still almost a decade less than non-indigenous women who have an average lifespan of 83 years.
People living in the south-east corner, where resources, amenities and facilities are flush, live, on average, until they are 82.3, an extra two years over the rest of Queensland.
Research for the plan also shows that the state’s population is aging and the working population is shrinking. This year, there are 4.7 million Queenslanders of working age to support every Queenslander over 65. But in 2044, the number of working age Queenslanders to those over 65 is expected to drop to 2.9 million.
The LNP government has been adamant the Queensland Plan, formed after extensive public consultation, is completely different to Towards Q2, which was the previous Labor government’s 20-year plan for the state, formed after extensive public consultation.
The Queensland Plan used community engagement, including a school module, online surveys, and forums to shape its final form, in what the government calls the ‘largest community engagement activity of its kind in the nation and one of the largest in the world with input from residents in every corner of the state’.
Towards Q2 relied more heavily on experts. But both plans call for a fairer, greener and better Queensland, with more focus on the regions and better planned growth.
Not everyone has been fans. Former town planner Brian Feeney, who has released his own analysis of the Plan’s consultation process, has questioned the process the government used to consult the community.
“Rather than carry out a proper statistical survey, the government relied on an online survey,” he said.
“These surveys can’t give an accurate picture of community attitudes.”
