14 August 2008

Resource Development Queensland

We had 695 complete responses. 82% were from the south-east corner defined as the area bounded by the Gold Coast, Ipswich and Sunshine Coast, and containing Brisbane City itself. 6% were from Central Queensland defined as anywhere between Bundaberg and Bowen.

There were more males than females (64% to 36%) and most respondents were 55 years and over. The skew to the political left was not as strong as usual with 21% Greens, 27% Labor, 15% Liberal and 17% National.

Findings

We’re all environmentalists now, but in Queensland at least, we accept that we need to export minerals to keep making a good living. This is true of all sorts of voters, including Greens. However, we’re frustrated with the failure of the government to plan for population growth and provide basic physical and social infrastructure and as a result believe that the state is heading in the wrong direction.

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By contrast we’re optimistic about our own circumstances and on balance are more optimistic than pessimistic. The increase in the cost of fuel, food and housing is being felt by some, but not many, and these are more likely to be lower income and living in regional areas.

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In terms of development, we favour those that are “sustainable”, although what this word means is a little unclear. It certainly doesn’t seem to mean oil shale or coal mining, which are the worst regarded. However, coal seam gas and LNG are quite well-supported, although many see them as a fuels that buy us time while we find more sustainable forms of energy.

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There is also a sense that the world needs energy and that we cannot deny it to them, so that there is an imperative to export our resources.

When it comes to who is best to exploit those resources, we prefer our own large companies, with companies like Queensland Gas, BHP and Origin being well-regarded.

The takeout message from this research to me is that, while we are experiencing growth pains, we want to see growth continue. Development is not a dirty word in Queensland, as long as it is done right.

Posted by Graham at 05:00 PM | Comments (10)