2015–16 Activity Statement—Regions

Our regions are one of Queensland’s greatest strategic assets to position the state for growth in a new century. Queenslanders’ vision for our regions is that they will have strong and diverse economies with sustainable economic growth and reliable, accessible infrastructure. Our regions are key population centres and transport, communication and service hubs, critical to Queensland’s economy and future. However, our regions also face challenges in maintaining a critical mass of population as more people move to cities.

The Queensland Government is committed to tackling infrastructure constraints and delivering projects that will be catalysts for economic growth and jobs in our regions. In 2015–16, the Queensland Government:

Creating jobs and a diverse economy

• promoted Queensland agriculture by supporting trade missions to key markets (including China, Japan and India), and by hosting international business people and delegations from a range of countries
• promoted expansion of tourism in the regions by hosting overseas investment delegations, such as a Chinese investment mission which inspected a range of tourism and ecotourism investment opportunities in Cairns, the Whitsundays and the Gold Coast in June 2016
• established a North West Minerals Province Taskforce and interdepartmental committee to assess the options to meet the changing environment of the resource sector in the North West
• delivered workshops to 447 owners and staff (307 businesses) to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business development and growth, including on:
• Tendering to Government
• Capability Statement Development
• Business Growth
• Joint Ventures (in collaboration with the Queensland Resources Council)
• Traditional Owner Governance and Development (with the Queensland Resources Council).
• implemented the Exploration Industry Expenditure Concession that removes some cost pressures being faced by the exploration sector due to the global commodity downturn
• announced an investigation into the possibility of a new State Development Area around the Port of Bundaberg
• commenced a competitive tender process in the Gulf Water resource plan area for up to 264,500 megalitres of unallocated water to support economic development in the region
• provided grants to the Mackay and Rockhampton Regional Councils to upgrade cycling infrastructure

Delivering quality frontline services

• Gulf Developmental Road (Croydon to Georgetown)
• Wills Developmental Road (Burke and Wills Junction to Gregory)
• Burke Developmental Road (Burke and Wills Junction to Normanton)
• Wills Developmental Road (Julia Creek to Burke and Wills Junction)
• Gregory Downs – Camooweal Road
• Richmond – Winton Road
• Cloncurry – Dajarra Road (Cloncurry to Duchess)
• Diamantina Developmental Road (Bedourie – Boulia)
• Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie – Birdsville)
• Diamantina Developmental Road (Charleville – Quilpie)
• Diamantina Developmental Road (Quilpie – Windorah)
• Diamantina Developmental Road (Charleville – Quilpie)
• Bulloo Developmental Road (Cunnamulla – Thargomindah)
• Balonne Highway (Bollon to Cunnamulla)
• Mitchell Highway (Barringun – Cunnamulla)

Protecting the environment

• assisted industry to achieve environmental certification of their wood products by providing grants as part of the Queensland Timber and Forest Industry Plan to help businesses develop systems and complete audits needed for certification
• delivered more than $23 million in infrastructure to support parks and forests conservation and visitor experiences, including refurbished visitor facilities at Carnarvon National Park and Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park, and upgrading day-use and camping areas at Danbulla State Forest on the Atherton Tablelands and The Knoll in Tamborine National Park
• transferred 54,500 hectares of state-owned Sandstone East land to Traditional Owners (April 2016)
• collaborated with Indigenous councils to finalise the first ever planning schemes for six Indigenous Councils in Cape York, Torres Strait and Central Queensland
• endorsed Catalyst Infrastructure Program funding to support development of the Palmview residential development on the Sunshine Coast and the transformation of the James Cook University campus in Townsville
• worked in collaboration with the Townsville City Council and the Port of Townsville Authority to finalise the development scheme for the Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area, unlocking 97 hectares of land for urban renewal and economic development in the Townsville CBD

Building safe, caring and connected communities

• commenced the development of Regional Transport Plans which will respond to the unique opportunities and challenges facing Queensland’s diverse regions and shape the development of the transport network over the next 15 years
• increased Transport Infrastructure Delivery Scheme funding to $70 million per annum, effectively doubling investment in regionally-significant local government road and transport infrastructure, with funding contributing to 279 projects across the state in 2015–16
• completed the development of a suite of Principal Cycle Network Plans covering almost 99% of Queenslanders and undertook collaborative prioritisation of the Principal Cycle Network to inform draft action plans for state and local governments
• expanded the Cycle Network Local Government Grants Program (previously South East Queensland only) to include all local governments with a Principal Cycle Network, awarding $2.7 million towards 12 cycling infrastructure projects nominated by local governments outside of South East Queensland
• established a Memorandum of Understanding with Maranoa Regional Council to support the delivery of a number of transport projects
• held 13 Regional Employment Forums to hear directly from regional communities about ideas and opportunities to drive employment growth, which led to the announcement of the Back to Work Regional Employment Package, a two-year $100 million package to drive employment growth and provide an economic stimulus
• delivered the Building our Regions Program, with more than $70 million funding committed to support 42 projects, and the investment expected to attract a further $158 million in investment from local governments and other organisations
• established the $180 million Significant Regional Infrastructure Projects Program under the State Infrastructure Fund
• assisted 38 local governments to respond and recover following eight natural disaster events
• successfully negotiated a policy exemption allowing local governments to use their own staff to deliver reconstruction works under the Federal Government’s Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements
• worked in collaboration with local governments to complete three Regional Water Supply Security Assessments to assist those local governments to plan for their communities’ long term water supply needs, with a further 12 assessments now underway
• operated six retail stores in the six discrete remote communities of Woorabinda, Palm Island, Lockhart River, Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama and Doomadgee to ensure residents have access to quality food and household necessities
• invested $2.5 million through the Playing Queensland Fund in support of 1379 touring arts experiences in 394 visits to regional communities and $2.08 million in locally-led arts and cultural experiences in partnership with 59 local governments through the Regional Arts Development Fund

Read more about the Plan’s goals, targets and measures for regions.