KYLIE RAMPA: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, QUEENSLAND INVESTMENT CORPORATION
Dec 8, 2022 | Annual Leaders Survey 2022
Transitioning to a new economy.
Historically, the drivers of the Queensland economy have been agriculture, mining, and construction; with increasing contributions from tourism and educational services. These sectors will continue to play an important role, but international preferences are evolving, and Queensland is in a fortunate position that it too can modify its economic structure to take advantage of these global changes.
Climate change and shifting demographics have added two significant new global investment themes: namely, renewable energy generation and distribution and health care.
Queensland is unique in that it is the only State economy that has sizeable representations, or potential representations, in all of Australia’s traditional and emerging industries of international comparative advantage.
But it is the urgency with which we need to shift into the emerging industries that is paramount.
To fast track their development, we need to create conditions that encourage capital and skilled labour into these new growth sectors. Targeted training and skilled immigration programs are part of the answer to these sectors’ labour needs.
Queensland has a proud tradition of being among the fastest growing states (second only to WA), both in terms of the economy and the population, over the last two decades.. But we shouldn’t become blinded by a growth-for-growth’s sake mentality.
The past two decades have been dominated by a construction boom fuelled by the development of our mining and housing sectors. Construction is relatively labour intensive, which added to population demands and driven a high economic growth rate, but with productivity growth that is around the Australian average.
Our new industries: renewables, rare minerals, bio-manufacturing, health care are industries that require a skilled and highly productive workforce. If we attract capital and skilled workers into these industries, we can lift both our standard of living and the pace of economic growth.