State can cash in on big Asian expansion

QUEENSLAND is set to receive a $ 54 billion windfall that could create 230,000 jobs in the next decade if it successfully manages the growth of nearby Asian economies.

But a leading economist has warned that we should not rely on governments to make it happen.

The Confidently Queensland report from Deloitte Access Economics said the state is positioned to benefit from growing international demand from China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Speaking to the Rural Press Club in Brisbane yesterday, DAE’s Pradeep Philip said communities across Queensland should be looking at how they can find new markets for their products.

Dr Philip said the massive demand growth as a result of population and wealth increases in Asia represented a major opportunity for Queensland producers. He specifically pointed to agriculture as a sector to grow significantly.

“In China the average person eats 4kg of beef per year. Compare that to 22kg per year in Australia,” he said. “As the middle class continues to grow in China and across Asia, demand for products like beef will significantly grow.”

He said automation and robotics would change agricultural production and big data would revolutionise supply chains. But Dr Philip, who worked for the Rudd government and the Victorian state government, said businesses and communities across Queensland needed to take action themselves and could not simply rely on government.

“This report is not a report for government. It is particularly for communities to work out what they want to do to take advantage of this moment,” he said. “How do we take the assets we have and take them to new markets?

“I am confident Queensland can do this, but only if we don’t outsource all of our problems to government.”