Gold Coast on fast road to a million
THE Gold Coast will be at the forefront of southeast Queensland’s huge population increase, with an extra two million people to live in the region within 25 years.
Southeast Queensland, is tipped to swell from 3.5 million to 5.5m – more than how many now live in the entire state.
Brisbane’s population of 1.2m will grow by 29 per cent to 1.5m by 2043, but both the Gold Coast and Ipswich will add more people.
The Gold Coast’s 650,000 will leap by a whopping 427,000 – or 76 per cent – to about one million, with Ipswich more than tripling from 200,000 to 632,000. Both Moreton Bay and Logan will be larger than the Gold Coast is today.
The Sunshine Coast will rise from 300,000 to 510,00 and Toowoomba from 134,000 to 180,000.
But Gold Coast tourism leaders say fixing the city’s transport network, including the M1 will be critical to the Coast’s future and retaining its position as the nation’s tourism capital.
“The southeast Queensland of 2043 will be the same size as Sydney or Melbourne is today,” said leading demographer Bernard Salt who has conducted exclusive research for News Corp’s Future SEQ series.
“It is quickly emerging as Australia’s third global force and, as such, it will offer all the urban amenity and quality you would expect from an urban conurbation of that scale.
“And yet it is quite unlike any other city in the country.”
But with this population increase comes the need for improved infrastructure, new developments and more options to move locals and tourists around.
New Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said: “Infrastructure is critical for growth and tourism and the M1 is obvious – it is critical that all levels of government work together to address it.
“It is all about sustainable planning and it means you can accommodate both tourists and the city’s residents – we need to get ahead of the curve so they can coexist.
“This is going to be critical because tourism is our major economic driver and this will not change for decades.”
Her comments come a year after her predecessor Martin Winter warned the Coast’s reputation and visitor numbers would be hit by traffic congestion on the Pacific Motorway in just a few years if regular gridlocking was not fixed.
She also backed the continued expansion of the Gold Coast Light Rail and the ferry service, which is expected to begin operation by Christmas 2019.
The latest long-term population projections will be published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics next month. But on current trends, the southeast corner will grow by about 80,000 people every year – about twice the rate of OECD countries.
Accommodating the extra people will require 794,000 extra homes by 2043, and 954,000 more jobs.
The Coast’s growth has already been forecast to be even faster, with social researcher Mark McCrindle tipping the city to hit 1 million residents by 2034, nearly a decade earlier.
Among major projects to bridge the gap between Brisbane and the Coast are Star’s two multi-billion developments.
Brisbane’s $3 billion Queen’s Wharf is under construction while contractors will arrive onsite today at the Star’s Broadbeach site to begin its new $450 million tower.
This project will featured both a Dorsett Hotel and The Star Residences apartments.
Star CEO Matt Bekier said billions were being invested in the southeast.
“This week, the next stage of the transformation commences with builders on site for the development of the Dorsett hotel tower,” he said.
“A master plan of four further towers on Broadbeach Island also provides an opportunity to create a resort to compare with Queens Wharf in scale.
“As towering tourism beacons, Queens Wharf and a fully developed The Star Gold Coast present a wonderful chance for Queensland to showcase southeast Queensland to the world.”
Debbie Smith, Brisbane managing partner of professional services firm PwC, which conducted exclusive research and analysis for the Bulletin’s Future SEQ series, warned the surge of people would see “demands grow on current infrastructure and the natural environment, as well as placing pressure on the provision of services.
Density would be the ‘’defining characteristic’’ of SEQ 25 years from now, shei said.
“In inner-city areas, we expect to see super high-rise buildings functioning as minicities and communities – no longer single-use buildings but vertical mixed-use developments incorporating any combination of uses from schools, retirement living, gyms, shops and commercial offices to residential apartments.