GOLD COAST BUSINESS WEEK 2023

Gold Coast Business Week has been an annual business event connecting leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs across the Gold Coast since 2018.

The theme of Gold Coast Business Week is sustainable economic future. It was great to be networking with and listening to inspiring speakers as they shared how they are making profit from sustainable practices.

SEQ REGIONAL PLAN

Queensland State Government were previously using the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017 (ShapingSEQ) to inform plans for South East Queensland’s future growth. In an effort to respond to current issues including housing pressure, ShapingSEQ has been revised for a 2023 update which was recently presented to Council for review.

A Draft SEQ Infrastructure Supplement (SEQIS) will respond directly to the Draft ShapingSEQ 2023 Update and outline plans for critical regional infrastructure servicing growth and housing supply.

The Planning & Environment Committee noted the timeframes allowed for this review are inadequate to allow proper consideration of various complex policy positions. For example:

• Population projections have not been finalised nor have employment benchmarks been provided for the 2046 planning horizon
• Proposed regulatory changes have been signposted but have not been provided
• Targets for social housing have not been thoroughly considered.

The lack of detail provided in the draft plan has made consideration of the update particularly difficult. This has been compounded by the compressed timeframes associated with the review.

Addressing Southport PDA

Through the Draft SEQIS, Queensland State Government have an opportunity to prepare Southport for significant residential and employment growth. This includes incorporating strategic planning for infrastructure such as:

• Supreme Court facilities, as part of an upgraded courts precinct
• Housing projects on State owned land, including social and affordable housing
• A new vertical State college to promote complete communities and ensure that residents can live, work, learn and play within the Gold Coast CBD
• The need to manage improved network planning for bus to light rail with careful consideration of CBD place making priorities.

Meeting the Social Housing Target

To respond to existing demands and emerging needs, a social housing target needs to vary between each Local Government Area in SEQ. For the Gold Coast, it is recommended that a high target for social housing be identified that addresses the shortage of social housing within the City supplied by State Government to date.

There are currently 5,076 social housing dwellings in the Gold Coast LGA. This is proportionately lower than other equivalent South East Queensland LGAs. The Gold Coast needs another 6,000 social housing dwellings to cater for the existing demand. When taking into account the proposed population growth, this demand is significantly higher with an estimated 14,000 social housing dwellings required by 2046. Based on an additional 158,100 dwellings, this represents the need for a social housing target of at least 9% of all new dwellings to be provided as social housing up to 2046.

Council will continue to push State Government to deliver a ShapingSEQ 2023 update that sufficiently addresses the needs of not only Southport but the entirety of the Gold Coast.