Executive summary: human settlements
Status 2007
Queensland has a rapidly growing population, with an average of 84 000 additional people each year from 2001 to 2006. This growth is being driven by net migration from interstate and overseas, as well as natural increases. The average age of the state's population is increasing, and at the same time the average number of people per household is declining. Around two-thirds of Queensland's population lives in the south-east corner. There has been a small but significant resurgence of growth in regional areas. This resurgence in regional areas is strongly influenced by migration; in particular, it includes retirees and others seeking 'sea change' lifestyles in coastal centres and job seekers attracted to regional employment hubs.
Over the past decade, Queensland's economy has consistently outperformed that of the rest of Australia. In real terms, the Queensland economy expanded by 27% over the five years to 2005 - 06 compared with 15.8% in the rest of Australia. The state's economic activity is concentrated in the population centres of south-east Queensland and major regional centres along the coast. Rural Queensland makes a substantial contribution to the state's economic performance, accounting for around 23% of gross state product from a population share of just over 16%. Economic growth and employment are being boosted by activities in the mining, agricultural and service industries. There is increasing recognition of the value of ecosystem services for our prosperity and wellbeing. The value of the natural environment as an industry resource in its own right is reflected in the generation of substantial economic returns from tourism (including ecotourism) and the emergence of a new industry in environmental technologies, goods and services.
The state's road network supports freight movements and private and public transport. In south-east Queensland, the road network is coming under increasing pressure from increased use. Passenger vehicle kilometres travelled in south-east Queensland grew from 47.1 million in 1992 to 80 million in 2003 - 04. Private motor vehicles continue to dominate personal travel, although public transport use is increasing annually. Freight movements are high and are expected to double in the next 15 to 20 years. Recreational boating is growing in popularity. In 2006, the number of registered recreational vessels increased by 10% from the 2003 numbers.
Queensland has abundant non-renewable and renewable primary energy fuels and resources. Energy consumption per capita is high as a result of higher personal use and industrial growth, particularly from the energy-intensive mining and electricity generation sectors. Total energy consumption in Queensland increased from 914 petajoules (10 15 joules) in 1996 - 97 to 1251 petajoules in 2004 - 05. Queensland has among the highest per capita energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
Because of the current severe drought, water security has become a major issue nationally. Much of south-east Queensland is subject to unprecedented water restrictions. The data for Brisbane and Ipswich suggest that per capita water use has been relatively stable at 80-100 kilolitres a year since 1998 - 99. However, total water use is trending upwards in line with population growth. This use is, in part, offset by increased recycling and reuse. In 2005, south-east Queensland reused 19 gigalitres of water. Recent data suggest a rapid decline in per capita usage in south-east Queensland, in response to the region's severe water shortage.
Queensland has high rates of solid waste generation. In 2004 - 05, Queensland households generated approximately 1.5 million tonnes of domestic waste; electrical power generators produced well in excess of two million tonnes of fly ash; and commercial and industrial and green and organic waste streams produced around one million tonnes each. Queensland councils sent an average of two million tonnes of waste a year to landfill during the period 2002 - 03 to 2004 - 05. Of this amount, an average of 7% of commercial and industrial wastes, 13% of domestic wastes, 26% of construction and demolition wastes, and 81% of green wastes were recycled. Paper and glass accounted for about 80% of recycled domestic waste.
Public awareness of and concern about chemicals in the environment has increased significantly and governments have started taking steps to assess the risks associated with environmental chemicals so that measures can be put in place to deal with them. Currently, 1022 Queensland industries report their chemical emissions to the National Pollutant Inventory.
Noise pollution remains an issue, particularly in the urban environment. During the period 2003 - 06, 36 643 complaints were recorded, the majority of these complaints being associated with noise generated by industrial machinery and noise from animals.
The performance of human settlements, defined by environmental quality, neighbourhood amenity and individual wellbeing, is considered high in Queensland. In spite of steadily worsening housing affordability, other factors such as environmental quality, neighbourhood amenity and individual wellbeing have helped the overall performance of human settlements to remain high. Unemployment is low (<5%) in most regions of the state and almost 62% of Queensland households currently own or are purchasing a home. However, the pressure of increasing land values and house prices may become barriers to future home ownership.
Many Queenslanders rate their health as good and are increasingly recognising the quality-of-life benefits associated with participating in recreational activities. The state's national parks, state forests, beaches, regional parks, regional trails, water reservoirs, reserves, sporting grounds and other green spaces continue to provide opportunities for outdoor recreational activities. Lower levels of community health are particularly prevalent in the small percentage of the state's population considered to be disadvantaged. Lower than average life expectancy and higher than average infant mortality rates continue to be recorded for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Major contributing factors
There is a general perception that Queensland is characterised by good liveability and a high quality of life. However, the demands of a growing population and economy can impact negatively on these attributes. Environmental quality may be compromised through land use conversion, the development of physical and social infrastructure, the consumption of water and energy, and the generation of waste and pollution. This, in turn, can impact on neighbourhood amenity and individual wellbeing. Current negative impacts include rising levels of traffic congestion, increasing demands for diminishing water resources, increasing costs and space requirements for waste disposal, increasing noise complaints, and socio-economic disparities within and between communities.
Policy response
An ageing population and shifting household formation patterns are changing the nature of Queensland's population. These changes, coupled with a growing population that is increasingly urbanised and concentrated in the south-east, pose many challenges in meeting the demand for infrastructure, services and goods in an environmentally sustainable way. Queensland's integrated planning and development assessment framework plays a key role in managing population growth and its economic, environmental and social impacts, including matters that affect or are affected by human settlement. This framework provides a number of planning tools to coordinate and integrate planning at the state, regional and local levels. The most important of these are State Planning Policies, regional planning and local government planning schemes established under the Integrated Planning Act 1997 . The report Planning for a Prosperous Queensland, A reform agenda for planning and development in the Smart State presents the findings of an extensive review of planning and development in Queensland, including the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and the Integrated Development Assessment System. The review identified a number of systemic, operational and cultural issues, underlining the need for significant reform of planning and development
in Queensland.
The government's response to Queensland's economic trends has been to work towards strengthening the state's economy by adopting the Smart State Strategy 2005 - 2015 and implementing the State Infrastructure Plan . The Smart State Strategy 2005 - 2015 establishes the conditions for enterprise to develop in Queensland toward the goals of improved productivity and global competitiveness. The central directions of the strategy are capitalising on Queensland's unique strengths; establishing collaborations; and promoting knowledge, creativity and innovation.
The State Infrastructure Plan brings a strategic and coordinated approach to the provision of economic infrastructure across the state to maximise economic development. The plan provides a strategic framework to enhance the efficiency of infrastructure provision and allocation of scarce resources to areas that will benefit most from infrastructure provision.
The housing needs of a rapidly growing population are being dealt with by the Queensland Housing Affordability Strategy . This strategy will ensure that the state's land and housing are responsive to demand and at the lowest cost by significantly reducing the timelines and associated holding costs of bringing new land to market. Under this strategy, the government will improve the efficiency of the planning and development system, increase the supply of new land, make better use of existing urban land and simplify and make infrastructure charges clearer and more transparent. Councils in south-east Queensland are responding to the trend of declining household numbers by meeting the South East Queensland Regional Plan's targets for more compact urban forms.
A number of integrated regional and local transport plans and strategies have been introduced that emphasise multi-modal forms of transport to address the issues of congestion and freight movement. The South East Queensland Regional Freight Network Strategy 2007-2012 , developed by Queensland Transport and the Department of Main Roads, is specifically focused on the freight challenges facing the region. The strategy incorporates policy development, freight network planning, transport infrastructure design, investment, enhancing freight operations and improving institutional arrangements. A similar approach is being undertaken in regional Queensland where transport planning is informing the development of the Far North Queensland Regional Plan.
The Queensland Government is encouraging people to replace private vehicle travel with public transport, walking and cycling. As part of the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program and TransLink Network Plan , the South East Queensland busway network is being extended, the CityTrain fleet will expand by approximately 30% over the next four years, and significant funding is being invested in infrastructure as part of the South East Queensland integrated regional cycle network between 2005 and 2026. For example, the Normanby Pedestrian and Cycle Link was completed in 2007.
Efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of the consumption of energy are being made through the National Framework for Energy Efficiency, a joint initiative of the federal, state and territory governments, and the range of policy measures to deploy renewable and low emission technology and greater energy efficiency in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors in ClimateSmart 2050. The pathway to reducing emissions is being achieved by producing energy from less greenhouse gas-intensive sources. The proportion of gas as an important transitional fuel will increase under the Queensland Gas Scheme, whereby Queensland electricity retailers and other liable parties will be required to source at least 18% of their electricity from gas-fired generation by 2020 (it is currently at 13%). As part of CimateSmart 2050, the government has established funds to promote renewable energy, clean coal technologies, and energy efficiency in small and medium sized enterprises. The government also will establish a Renewable and Low Emission Energy Target (RLEET) of 10% by 2020. The Environmental Protection Agency's education campaign, ClimateSmart Living, provides practical and cost-effective solutions for reducing household energy consumption. The government has also established the Queensland Climage Change Fund of at least $20 million per year to assist Queensland households and communities make the transition to a low carbon future.
The Queensland Water Plan 2005 - 2010 has introduced a range of strategies to deliver water security through planning for the future, adopting smarter use practices, pricing for sustainability, protecting water quality and ensuring compliance through regulation. The Water Act 2000 requires the preparation of water resource plans to ensure that water is equitably managed to preserve our quality of life and our aquatic ecosystems.
Factors contributing to the decline in the total amount of solid waste disposal in landfills include the implementation of Queensland's Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy 2000 , the Environment Protection (Waste Management) Regulation 2000 , the Queensland Waste Management Strategy, and local and regional waste management strategies. The Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy 2000 and the Environment Protection (Waste Management) Regulation 2000 coordinate and clarify waste management practices in Queensland and provide improved environmental safeguards. Developed with local government and industry input, the legislation benefits the Queensland community through safer disposal practices, and cost savings achieved by improved planning and management of waste services.
The primary objective of the Queensland Waste Management Strategy is to provide a framework within which waste can be managed effectively to minimise or avoid adverse impacts on the environment, while at the same time allowing economic development and improvements in the quality of life of all Queenslanders. The strategy covers two basic components essential to effective waste management: waste minimisation, which seeks to reduce, by prevention and recycling options, the volumes and toxicity of wastes that ultimately must be destroyed or disposed of; and waste containment, which seeks to handle, treat and finally dispose of wastes without adversely affecting the environment or public health. The strategy also addresses equity in the allocation of waste disposal costs so that those benefiting from activities which lead to waste generation pay the costs associated with the disposal of the wastes.
The Environmental Protection Agency is working with Environment Australia to develop new strategies for minimising waste production through reduction, reuse and recycling. A range of international and national initiatives are addressing the impact of chemicals in the environment. The National Pollutant Inventory provides information on substance emissions in Australia.
Progress is being made in relation to open space and urban design. Policies and practical initiatives are in place to maintain and improve the quality of public spaces through urban design, to link residential areas with cycle paths and pedestrian walkways, and to protect areas of green space for environmental and recreational purposes. The South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 recognises the challenges inherent in a growing population: it protects 80% of the region from urban development and promotes the use of infill development to limit the negative impacts of urban sprawl.
In response to the growing problem of chronic illness, the Australian Government, in partnership with the Queensland Government and other states and territories, is strengthening the focus of the health system on prevention, health and management of chronic disease. The Queensland Strategy for Chronic Disease 2005 - 2015 and the state's involvement in the Commonwealth's Australian Better Health Initiative are improving health outcomes for Queenslanders, while Sport and Recreation Queensland is targeting health and obesity issues by funding programs that provide opportunities for people to participate in sport and active recreation. The Queensland Government Implementation Plan for the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health is focusing on providing quality health outcomes in Indigenous communities.
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Last reviewed 12 May 2011
Last updated 9 February 2009