Benefits

• Healthy, growing communities each with a unique character and lifestyle

  Regional focus areas: Health, Housing, Education and training

  Regional infrastructure priorities:

  • Upgraded aging healthcare assets to better support contemporary healthcare models aligned with delivering care closer to home, virtual care and patient transfer between clinic and home.
  • New, innovative and affordable housing for rent or purchase for all members of the community to support the attraction and retention of workers with proposed solutions, especially in small and remote communities
  • Accommodation to support the attraction, retention and safety of staff, through the delivery of more onsite accommodation and renovating existing accommodation
  • Continued investment in education and training infrastructure that support local workforce training to meet the needs of existing industries; the growing service industries of health, disability services, aged care, tourism and hospitality; and new industry skills in AgTech, robotics, renewable hydrogen and other renewable energy technologies
  • Continued investment in childcare facilities and services, particularly for outer regional and remote areas
  • Digital and telecommunications infrastructure that improves connectivity and support the provision of services in schools, hospitals, clinics, homes and businesses, to enhance liveability, for example, in remote locations which may lack the digital capacity to increase bandwidth and can suffer from ICT outages
  • Provision of aged care facilities as well as improving and expanding existing facilities, including facilities to support ageing in place
  • Investigate options for multi-use or shared use facilities for the delivery of public, private and not-for-profit services in the one location to improve access and support for the community
  • Inclusive and sustainable arts, culture and recreation infrastructure is supported through targeted investment to enhance community access.
  • New infrastructure considers opportunities to incorporate and make sustainable use of the natural environment and support biodiversity
  • Recognition and promotion of First Nations languages through use of First Nations place names
  • Leverage local governments’ funding and delivery of sustainable infrastructure to support their economic development and community liveability, including:
    • local government infrastructure maintenance
    • trunk infrastructure, particularly in remote communities and regional communities experiencing rapid population growth.
  • Long-term strategies for sustainable infrastructure planning to underpin core and essential services, including electrical, water, telecommunication and data networks, for remote communities to support community liveability and industry sustainability.
  • Capitalising on major infrastructure projects with major workforces (relative to the community):
    • explore opportunities for support buildings (e.g. site offices, work camps, etc) to deliver benefits to community beyond the project
    • considers the capacity of the local area to accommodate and service the temporary increase in population.

• A resilient and connected region that continues to adapt to climate change and climate and the challenges of remoteness

  Regional focus areas: Climate resilience, regional connectivity

  Regional infrastructure priorities:

  • Targeted improvements to the region’s transport, freight and active travel network to increase resilience to extreme weather events improve linkages between communities and support active tourism, including:
    • Rockhampton Airport flood mitigation to improve airport access and resilience to flooding
    • investigation of resilience options in relation to upgrades for key regional road corridors to mitigate risks against extreme weather events, rising sea levels and more frequent severe bushfires
    • consideration of storm surge risks and likely sea level rises in infrastructure planning
    • infrastructure repair and replacement focussing on ‘building back better’.
  • Investigation of opportunities at the region’s airports to improve connectivity and business opportunities.
  • Digital and telecommunications infrastructure that support disaster response and recovery and visitor and resident safety (particularly in remote locations) as well as increased access to digital services such as health, education, and e-commerce.
  • Cost-effective water infrastructure, including dams, weirs and pipelines to support drought resilience of communities, growth in the agricultural and industrial sectors and the growth of new priority industries including the emerging hydrogen industry.
  • Resilience and redundancy built into core and essential services, including electrical, water, telecommunication and data networks, particularly, for remote communities.

• Diversify agriculture, mining and tourism to remain globally competitive, evolving in response to market and technological drivers

  Regional focus areas: Agriculture, Mining and Resources, Tourism

  Regional infrastructure priorities:

  • Continued investment in the region’s transport network to support industry supply chains, drive-in drive-out workforce, and tourism to enable end-to-end connectivity between key nodes and modes of the freight network, with particular focus on east-west connectivity including:
    • investigating options to improve road and rail freight efficiency and rail freight access to and from the Port of Gladstone
    • continuing to invest in the National Land Transport Network
    • continuing to invest in sealing and upgrading outback roads, which supports tourism and local economies and key roads for the transport of cattle
    • investigating the viability of extending Inland Rail to the Port of Gladstone.
  • Telecommunication infrastructure that enables access digital services such as health, education, and e-commerce, support growth and adoption of new technology in industry, and improve tourist and resident safety when travelling and working in remote areas.
  • Tourism infrastructure which recognises and celebrates the region’s historic past and matches modern aspirations and capability. This includes safe transport access and signage, ecotourism experiences and event facilities; and high-quality accommodation, modern public amenities and reliable Wi-Fi to enhance visitor experiences.
  • Increased support for local governments’ delivery and maintenance of sustainable infrastructure that supports the tourism industry.
  • Integrated arts and culture into assets such as public buildings and infrastructure.
  • Improved marine infrastructure, and public transport infrastructure and services in line with industry needs and broader population growth.
  • Strategic investment in water infrastructure to create new growth opportunities in key economic sectors and increase security of access to water across the region, including:
    • bulk water storage and water supply schemes that provide opportunities for market driven change to higher value crops and sectors
    • water supply to industry enablers to support value adding, processing and improved access to higher value markets and supply chains.
  • Development of common-user port infrastructure that supports multiple customers to facilitate industry demand such as Port of Gladstone container handling facilities and other commodity specific infrastructure
  • Development and maintenance of shipping navigation channels consistent with relevant state and federal approvals to facilitate the future growth of the Port of Gladstone.
  • Maintenance of shipping navigation channels consistent with relevant state and federal approvals to facilitate the future growth of the Port of Rockhampton.

• Harness the opportunities of decarbonisation by diversifying into renewable energy, hydrogen and clean manufacturing to become a global exporter of high-value, low-carbon products

  Regional focus areas: Renewable energy generation and storage, hydrogen production and export, clean and advanced manufacturing

  Regional infrastructure priorities:

  • New and upgraded common user energy infrastructure leveraging the Central Queensland Renewable Energy Zone region, to enable large-scale renewable energy generation, transmission, and storage integration to the SuperGrid and to support decarbonisation of heavy industries, facilitate growth of hydrogen and clean manufacturing industries, and ensure reliable and cost-effective energy supply.
  • Transmission infrastructure that unlocks the renewable energy generation potential across the region to supply significant industrial demand
  • Investigate renewable energy microgrid opportunities for small remote communities that improve energy reliability, security, and sustainability.
  • Upgraded and expanded transport network to meet the needs of the renewable energy, hydrogen, and clean manufacturing industries.
  • Investigate water supply and network infrastructure options to meet the forecast requirements of emerging industry, focusing on climate-independent bulk water sources including desalination, while ensuring the sustainable, affordable, and reliable water supplies for existing industries and the community.
  • Maximise opportunities and positive outcomes for communities and First Nations peoples through early engagement with affected local governments and Traditional Owners by industry and government undertaking infrastructure planning.