General - COUNCIL BUSINESS

Written by: Debbie Blumel

Increasing uptake of vacant industrial land

Regional Development Australia (RDA) Sunshine Coast has turned its attention to increasing the uptake of available industrial land. The Sunshine Coast has large tracts of industrial land sitting dormant at significant opportunity cost but at a price that the market cannot meet.

Following a recent briefing from State and Local Government representatives, RDA Sunshine Coast is taking action to organise a stakeholder workshop to consider the problem of low demand for industrial land and to develop regional strategies to increase uptake.

The workshop will enable a concentrated analysis of the drivers of both supply and demand as well as problem-solving opportunities for potential investors. There is strong evidence that industry and businesses want to invest, but can’t meet the market price.

RDA Sunshine Coast will publicise workshop details through our email list and on our website.

Queensland is Back in Business

I recently attended the premier’s Back in Business reception at the Parliamentary Annexe to acknowledge the role of the business community in Queensland’s recovery from recent natural disasters.

The premier advised that, in less than three months since the first floods, key industries are rebounding well. The latest agricultural prospectus update shows that natural disasters reduced gross value of production by an estimated $629 million, but provided the positive news that summer cereal grains have soared in value.

Premier Bligh also advised that tourism, which was hit extremely hard, had committed to turning the corner through the “Nothing Beats Queensland” campaign.

For small businesses, the Premier has campaigned hard to secure agreement from the federal government to provide exceptional circumstance loans of up to $650,000, including a $50,000 grant, and lifting the Category D 20 full-time equivalent definition when it comes to Queensland’s hardest hit small businesses.

Supporting these sectors is critical because of their uplift effect on the broader Queensland economy.

The premier also launched the “Buy Local – Back Queensland” campaign to shout the message that Queensland is well and truly back in business. Through this campaign, businesses can promote the fact they are Queensland made. They’ll be able to access:

a new website, www.qld.gov.au/buylocal, containing a business toolkit for recovery and tips to build future disaster resilience;

stickers and posters to display on shopfronts; and

the support of high-profile celebrity ambassadors who’ll be getting the message out there that buying local is something every Queenslander can do to support the reconstruction.

Confidence is such a critical part of Queensland’s recovery and these building blocks are all about getting our confidence back. In turn, this helps grow the confidence of our key regional, national and international markets.

Council is on a sound business footing

A recent independent credit review by Queensland Treasury Corporation assessed the Sunshine Coast Council as one of the few local governments in Queensland to have its financial position rated as “strong with a neutral outlook”. The rating means the council has a high capacity to meet its financial commitments in the short-, medium- and long-term. In these tumultuous economic times, this is good news and, I trust, reassuring to the people of this region.

One of council’s major achievements this financial year is advances in implementing the Sunshine Coast Airport master plan to create an international gateway for the region.

Council is also lifting regional capacity to participate in the digital economy by introducing fibre to the premises requirements in the three key structure plans for new Sunshine Coast communities. We have also committed more than $750 million over five years to build the infrastructure and enterprise centres for the region.

Our region is still recovering from the global financial crisis while local businesses and communities are expected to experience flow-on impacts from the devastating floods across Queensland. Despite these challenges, council will continue its part in the intergovernmental response to getting Queensland and our region back in business.