Sunshine Coast economy second-best regional in Queensland

Reader Lindon Swayt commented on the article, asking if the Sunshine Coast’s economy had picked up. “I heard that was its main problem,” he said.

Mr Swayt would be pleased to hear that the announcement by the government confirms Mr Foster’s predictions, as it follows a series of public hearings into how the growth is being adapted into society and whether it is environmentally sustainable.

John Alexander OAM MP, committee chair of the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities said the hearing was coming to its conclusion, and was recognising the importance of regional centres as important to Australia’s prosperity.

“Capital cities have hit upon a number of liveability and sustainability issues as they have expanded to accommodate growing populations and we’d like to ensure smaller cities learn from these mistakes and reorient urban development to best practice approaches,” Mr Alexander said.

The Sunshine Coast Council stated in a submission to the inquiry that “the region experienced a 10.1 per cent growth in population over a five-year period (2008–13),” with more growth forecast for the future.

“The way of accommodating growth on the Sunshine Coast will change, from the historic pattern of being accommodated through urban expansion, to a pattern of growth being primarily accommodated through urban consolidation and infill development (which is predicted to accommodate 62 per cent of all population growth),” the submission noted.

This news follows a conversation Smart Property Investment had with Stephen McGee, who claimed the market has bounced back.

“The Sunshine Coast, I would say up until 2016, was quite a depressed market, but it’s certainly not the case now,” Mr McGee said.