Economy of Queensland
Encyclopedia
The economy of Queensland
was one of the fastest growing economies within Australia
, with growth outstripping that of the wider Australian economy
in every financial year between 1995–96 and 2007-08. In 2009, the global financial crisis slowed Queensland's economic growth
. A downturn in tourism, low housing construction starts and the cancellation of a number of mining projects is hampering Queensland's economic growth. The states's most recent annual growth figure of 0.8% is its worst economic performance in 18 years.
Queensland generated 19.5% of Australia's gross domestic product in the 2008-09 financial year. The economy is primarily built upon mining
, agriculture
, tourism
and financial services
. Queensland's main exports are coal, metals, meat and sugar.
Western Australia
and Queensland are often referred to as the "resource states" because their economies are currently dependent on exports of resources such as coal, iron ore and natural gas. However, of the two states, Queensland has a more diversified base. In 2006, exports from Queensland totaled A$49.4 billion. By 2009 this figure had grown to A$65.5 billion. Queensland faces a sustained period of budget deficits, increasing taxes and a shortage of both skilled labour and new housing.
to the southern border and is the state's biggest rural commodity. Queensland produces 94% of Australia's total raw sugar production. Customers in the Asia-Pacific region can be supplied all year round through the use of storage facilities at bulk port terminals. Most of the state's sugar crop is marketed through Queensland Sugar, which until 2006 compulsorily acquired all sugar grown in the state under a single desk arrangement.
Cattle grazing for beef
and sheep grazing for wool
production are spread across inland areas. Wheat
is grown in the Darling Downs region, an area that has seen mining activities expand. This has produced a boom in construction work for the region despite the global downturn but created conflict between farmers and mining companies. The Lockyer Valley is a significant horticultural region, although persistent drought
is forcing the local economy to diversify. Farms around the coastal town of Bowen
produce Australia's largest winter crop of vegetables. Other major crops produced in Queensland include bananas, cotton and citrus crops. Southern coastal regions include mixed forestry and farming land uses.
In the 2006-07 financial year mining contributed 9% of Queensland’s GSP. Queensland has significant coal
, coal seam gas and bauxite
deposits and some oil shale
and natural gas
reserves. Coal production in the 2008-09 financial year totalled 159 million tonnes leading to exports to 38 countries. Queensland exports half the world's coking coal which is used to make steel.
Minerals including copper, lead, silver, zinc, bauxite, gold, phosphate rock, magnesite and silica sand are mined in the state. Dimension stone
, that is, stone that can be cut for domestic use, including granite, marble, sandstone and slate are produced in various locations across the state.
Queensland has the largest onshore oil
and gas potential in the country as the state is relatively under-explored. Oil was discovered in the south west of the state in the early 1980s, leading to the construction of an oil pipeline
from the Cooper Basin
and Eromanga Basin
s to Brisbane
. A series of gas pipelines, which began operating in the late 1990s, connects users in Mount Isa and Brisbane to the south west.
Gemstones such as sapphire
, opal
and chrysoprase
are also mined in commercial quantities. The state's first iron ore mine near Cloncurry
will begin production in late 2011 and full-scale operation by early 2013. In the 2008-09 financial year Queensland collected A$3 billion in mining royalties.
and Surat Basin
are becoming intensively developed by the mining industry as Queensland's coal seam gas industry booms. In the ten from 2000, about 1200 wells have been sunk in the western Darling Downs, with that figure set to rise to 20 000 over the following decade. In 2010, coal seam gas was generating 30% of the state's electricity. Several international energy companies are investing in multi-billion-dollar projects to convert the coal seam gas to liquified natural gas and export it via the Port of Gladstone. Landowners have raised concerns with the mining development ranging from a lack of compensation, property access, construction of gravel roads on farming land, water runoff from drill sites and the potential problems from the millions of tonnes of salt that will be brought to the surface each year.
, was built at Gladstone
in 1967. Bauxite for the refinery is transported from Weipa to Gladstone via sea. Also located here is Australia's largest aluminium smelter, Boyne Smelters. The state's largest oil refinery
, which is owned by BP
, is located at Bulwer Island in Brisbane. Near Townsville is a major nickel
and cobalt
refinery known as the BHP Billiton Nickel Refinery.
developed in the state early industries depended on seaports to get their products to market. The largest ports in Queensland are the Port of Gladstone
, followed by the Port of Brisbane
and then the Port of Townsville
. Some Central Queensland
ports have experienced significant backlogs in recent years. For example in 2007 there were 50 ships waiting off the coast to be loaded. In 2008, the Federal Government
provided Queensland an extra $20 billion for major capital works to address port and rail infrastructure shortcomings.
The tourism industry plays a key role in the economies of regional areas
and supports thousands of small businesses. Queensland experiences the second highest volume of tourists after New South Wales
. Foreign backpacker
s and students on working holiday visa
s make up a large proportion of international visitors. The tourism industry in Queensland employs 5.7% of the workforce, or about 119,000 people and accounts for 4.5% of the state's GSP, directly generating A$$8.8 billion to the state’s economy. Tourism Queensland
is the government agency responsible for the development of the state's tourist industry.
Queensland is blessed by natural beauty, especially along the eastern coastline and it is home to a number of well-known amusement park
s. Many tourists visit Queensland to see the Great Barrier Reef
. Some of Queensland's top tourist attractions include Dreamworld
and Australia Zoo
in South East Queensland. Places that are highly dependant on tourism include the Gold Coast
, Noosa and in Far North Queensland in the Cairns district there is the Kuranda Scenic Railway
, Kuranda Skyrail
and the Daintree Rainforest
. Fraser Island and Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays and further south Hervey Bay, famous for its whale watching, are also popular destinations. Australia's only Club Med
resort is on Lindeman Island
.
. Economic policy priorities for Queensland are to develop a diverse economy, to create more jobs and to manage both urban growth and develop Queensland's regions.
Queensland is predicted to be in deficit until the 2015-16 budget. The deficit has been partly caused by decreases in the prices for both coking coal and thermal coal.
Declining GST revenue is another cause that is partly attributed to the deficit. Strong population growth and the demands this has placed on infrastructure spending as well as reductions in mining royalties have also strained recent state budgets, resulting in the loss of the state's AAA credit rating
. Poor planning including the canceled Traveston Crossing Dam
and cost blowouts in the budgets for the Gold Coast desalination plant
, Wyaralong Dam
, Tugun Bypass
and Airport Link
projects has not helped the bottom line.
In 2009, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh
announced plans for the privatisation of a number of government owned assets including Queensland Motorways
, Queensland Rail
's coal rail business QRNational, the Port of Brisbane
, the Abbot Point
coal terminal and Queensland Forestry Plantations. The asset sale is expected to raise A$15 billion. There has been widespread public criticism of the sell-off which has led to slump in the Premier's popularity. Unions and economists criticised the plans as unjustified and poorly timed.
Although there was a rise in the number of unemployed people, the labour market expanded 2.2% in the 2008-09 financial year. The Queensland labour market
was hit by skilled labour shortages in 2007. A lack of people completing apprenticeships in the construction industry is a current concern. The problem is particularly acute because the state is already dealing with an inadequate supply of new housing to cope with its population growth
. In the past there have been shortages of doctors, nurses, teachers as well as shortages in the agriculture and hospitality sectors. A lack of university places is another factor limiting that is affecting the availability of skilled labour in some regions.
The average weekly earnings for a full-time adult person in Queensland in 2009 was $1,177.00. While Queensland generally does not have high cost of living, housing is expensive compared to other states. Housing in Queensland is the least affordable of any state or territory. The average Queensland homeowner had to pay 40.5% of their household income
towards home loan repayments and tenants on average paid 26.5% for rent during the first quarter of 2008.
. From the Darling Downs in the 1840s, squatters
and pioneering families were establishing cattle stations up until the 1870s, as far north as the Gulf Country
. The early settlers of Queensland faced many problems ranging from a lack of labour, a lack of transport facilities to markets, attacks by aboriginals, a climate that was too wet, drought and falling commodity prices to name a few. An Australian wide trend towards recession hit Queensland particularly hard from July 1866. Immigration faltered, unemployment rose and business activity contracted. It wasn't long before gold discoveries signaled a turn around in Queensland's economic activity.
Gold was discovered in the state in 1861 at both Peak Downs
near Clermont
and at Gympie
in 1867. Many gold miners left Victorian goldfields in the 1870s as surface gold had become scarce in that state and moved to Queensland to try their luck. During the American Civil War
a shortage of cotton
created a cotton boom in Queensland. Copper was discovered at Cloncurry in 1869.
In 1863, the first sugar cane plantation was established and the first South Sea Islanders, referred to as kanakas
, arrived to provide cheap labour. The sugar cane industry expanded northwards along the coast with a plantation and mill operating at Innisfail
in 1881 and in the following year a mill opened in Bundaberg. By 1890 developments in refrigeration technologies had opened new markets for produce which was previously spoiled on the two month long journey to England.
During the early 1880s the Dingo Fence
was constructed to protect livestock across south east Australia. It protected southern Queensland, aiming to stop attacks on sheep from Australia's native dog. The fence was maintained up until the 1970s. Today it is estimated that $60 million in losses occurs annually in Queensland due to dingoes that have penetrated the barrier. In 1886, the introduced rabbit reached the southern Queensland border causing yields from pasture production to decrease. The rabbit also contributed to soil erosion through overgrazing.
water to western Queensland, transforming an otherwise mostly arid landscape into a more productive area. Refrigeration and regular steamer services between Brisbane and London allowed Queensland to become Australia's largest exporter of meat in the same year. The Franco-British Exhibition
of 1908 was a good opportunity for Queensland to promote itself, particularly the desirable climate and expanses of fertile land. Tourism was promoted under the banner of "the Winter Paradise of the Southern Hemisphere". A souvenir guide from the show boasted that Queensland cultivated the richest of fruits including pineapples, bananas, mangoes, grapes and citrus fruit.
Australia's largest airline, Qantas
was founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services in Winton
in 1920. Silver, copper and lead were being mined from Mount Isa by 1925. Wool became an important export for Queensland during the early 20th century, contributing to half of the state's total exports by 1930. The 1950s saw a resurgence of whaling in Australia. A new whaling station was setup at Tangalooma
on Moreton Island
to process slaughtered whales. In 1963 the world's richest deposit of bauxite was discovered at Weipa. Dairying, once an important local industry in the state, declined towards the end of the 20th century. The Queensland economy last contracted during the 1990-91 financial year at a rate of -0.7%.
outbreak forced farmers to destroy every citrus
tree in the Emerald
region. This amounted to half a million commercial trees being destroyed during an eradication program that lasted five years. The banana industry was devastated in 2006 from the flooding and crop destruction left in the wake of Cyclone Larry
. 90% of the country's banana crop was destroyed. The price of bananas doubled to A$6 a kilogram as a result. In the 2006-07 financial year, the nominal value of the Queensland economy surpassed A$200 billion for the first time. In early 2009, Queensland's credit rating
was downgraded by rating agency Standard and Poor to AA+ after the state's budget deficit increased to more than A$1.5 billion. In 2009, the Townsville-based Storm Financial
financial services company collapsed, leaving thousands of investors experiencing economic loss.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
was one of the fastest growing economies within Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with growth outstripping that of the wider Australian economy
Economy of Australia
The economy of Australia is a developed, modern market economy with a GDP of approximately US$1.23 trillion. In 2011, it was the 13th largest national economy by nominal GDP and the 17th largest measured by PPP adjusted GDP, representing about 1.7% of the World economy. Australia was also ranked...
in every financial year between 1995–96 and 2007-08. In 2009, the global financial crisis slowed Queensland's economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
. A downturn in tourism, low housing construction starts and the cancellation of a number of mining projects is hampering Queensland's economic growth. The states's most recent annual growth figure of 0.8% is its worst economic performance in 18 years.
Queensland generated 19.5% of Australia's gross domestic product in the 2008-09 financial year. The economy is primarily built upon mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
. Queensland's main exports are coal, metals, meat and sugar.
Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and Queensland are often referred to as the "resource states" because their economies are currently dependent on exports of resources such as coal, iron ore and natural gas. However, of the two states, Queensland has a more diversified base. In 2006, exports from Queensland totaled A$49.4 billion. By 2009 this figure had grown to A$65.5 billion. Queensland faces a sustained period of budget deficits, increasing taxes and a shortage of both skilled labour and new housing.
Agriculture
Sugar cane is harvested in coastal areas from Far North QueenslandFar North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
to the southern border and is the state's biggest rural commodity. Queensland produces 94% of Australia's total raw sugar production. Customers in the Asia-Pacific region can be supplied all year round through the use of storage facilities at bulk port terminals. Most of the state's sugar crop is marketed through Queensland Sugar, which until 2006 compulsorily acquired all sugar grown in the state under a single desk arrangement.
Cattle grazing for beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
and sheep grazing for wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
production are spread across inland areas. Wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
is grown in the Darling Downs region, an area that has seen mining activities expand. This has produced a boom in construction work for the region despite the global downturn but created conflict between farmers and mining companies. The Lockyer Valley is a significant horticultural region, although persistent drought
Drought in Australia
Drought in Australia is defined as rainfall over a three month period being in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that region in the past. This definition takes into account that drought is a relative term and rainfall deficiencies need to be compared to typical rainfall patterns...
is forcing the local economy to diversify. Farms around the coastal town of Bowen
Bowen, Queensland
Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...
produce Australia's largest winter crop of vegetables. Other major crops produced in Queensland include bananas, cotton and citrus crops. Southern coastal regions include mixed forestry and farming land uses.
Mining
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, coal seam gas and bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
deposits and some oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
reserves. Coal production in the 2008-09 financial year totalled 159 million tonnes leading to exports to 38 countries. Queensland exports half the world's coking coal which is used to make steel.
Minerals including copper, lead, silver, zinc, bauxite, gold, phosphate rock, magnesite and silica sand are mined in the state. Dimension stone
Dimension stone
Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements...
, that is, stone that can be cut for domestic use, including granite, marble, sandstone and slate are produced in various locations across the state.
Queensland has the largest onshore oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and gas potential in the country as the state is relatively under-explored. Oil was discovered in the south west of the state in the early 1980s, leading to the construction of an oil pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
from the Cooper Basin
Cooper Basin
The Cooper Basin is a sedimentary geological basin in Australia. The basin is located mainly in the north-east part of South Australia and extends into south-west Queensland. It is named after the Cooper Creek which is an ephemeral river that runs into Lake Eyre. Part of the Cooper Basin is...
and Eromanga Basin
Eromanga Basin
The Eromanga Basin is a large Mesozoic sedimentary basin in central and northern Australia. It covers parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and New South Wales, and is a major component of the Great Artesian Basin...
s to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. A series of gas pipelines, which began operating in the late 1990s, connects users in Mount Isa and Brisbane to the south west.
Gemstones such as sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
, opal
Opal
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
and chrysoprase
Chrysoprase
Chrysoprase, chrysophrase or chrysoprasus is a gemstone variety of chalcedony that contains small quantities of nickel. Its color is normally apple-green, but varies to deep green. The darker varieties of chrysoprase are also referred to as prase...
are also mined in commercial quantities. The state's first iron ore mine near Cloncurry
Cloncurry, Queensland
-Notable residents:*Writer Alexis Wright grew up in Cloncurry.*Association Footballer Kasey Wehrman was born in Cloncurry . He went on to play domestically and in Scandinavia. His achievements include winning a NSL Championship in 1996-1997 with the Brisbane Strikers and being capped several times...
will begin production in late 2011 and full-scale operation by early 2013. In the 2008-09 financial year Queensland collected A$3 billion in mining royalties.
Coal seam gas
Despite being positioned under prime agricultural land the Bowen BasinBowen Basin
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal...
and Surat Basin
Surat Basin
The Surat Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous...
are becoming intensively developed by the mining industry as Queensland's coal seam gas industry booms. In the ten from 2000, about 1200 wells have been sunk in the western Darling Downs, with that figure set to rise to 20 000 over the following decade. In 2010, coal seam gas was generating 30% of the state's electricity. Several international energy companies are investing in multi-billion-dollar projects to convert the coal seam gas to liquified natural gas and export it via the Port of Gladstone. Landowners have raised concerns with the mining development ranging from a lack of compensation, property access, construction of gravel roads on farming land, water runoff from drill sites and the potential problems from the millions of tonnes of salt that will be brought to the surface each year.
Refineries
One of the largest alumina refineries in the world, Queensland AluminaQueensland Alumina Limited
Queensland Alumina Limited is one of the largest alumina refineries by alumina production capacity in the world, located in Gladstone, Australia. Operating since 1967, the refinery has a capacity to produce 3.95 million tonnes of alumina a year....
, was built at Gladstone
Gladstone, Queensland
- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...
in 1967. Bauxite for the refinery is transported from Weipa to Gladstone via sea. Also located here is Australia's largest aluminium smelter, Boyne Smelters. The state's largest oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
, which is owned by BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, is located at Bulwer Island in Brisbane. Near Townsville is a major nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
and cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
refinery known as the BHP Billiton Nickel Refinery.
Ports
Until an extensive rail networkRail transport in Queensland
Rail transport in Queensland began in 1865. Today it is one of the largest narrow gauge railway network in the world.-Public float:On 2 June 2009 the Queensland Government announced the 'Renewing Queensland Plan', with Queensland Rail's commercial activities to be separated from the Government's...
developed in the state early industries depended on seaports to get their products to market. The largest ports in Queensland are the Port of Gladstone
Port of Gladstone
The Port of Gladstone is Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and the fifth largest multi-commodity port in Australia. It is the world's fourth largest coal exporting terminal. It forms and integral part of the City of Gladstone in Central Queensland and is located about 525 km north of...
, followed by the Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the shipping port of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. It is located in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River on reclaimed land that was once called Fisherman Islands at the mouth of the river. It currently is the third busiest port in Australia and the nation's...
and then the Port of Townsville
Port of Townsville
Port of Townsville is a seaport in Townsville, Queensland. It is the third largest seaport in Queensland after Port of Brisbane and the Central Queensland Port in Gladstone. Port of Townsville handles numerous imports and exports mainly, Mineral Ores, Fertiliser, Concentrates, Sugar and Motor...
. Some Central Queensland
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
ports have experienced significant backlogs in recent years. For example in 2007 there were 50 ships waiting off the coast to be loaded. In 2008, the Federal Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
provided Queensland an extra $20 billion for major capital works to address port and rail infrastructure shortcomings.
Tourism
Regions of Queensland
The Regions of Queensland refers to the geographic areas of the Australian state of Queensland. Due to its large size and decentralised population, the state is often divided into regions for statistical and administrative purposes. Each region varies somewhat in terms of its economy, population,...
and supports thousands of small businesses. Queensland experiences the second highest volume of tourists after New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Foreign backpacker
Backpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
s and students on working holiday visa
Working holiday visa
A working holiday visa is a travel permit which allows travellers to undertake employment in the country issuing the visa for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds....
s make up a large proportion of international visitors. The tourism industry in Queensland employs 5.7% of the workforce, or about 119,000 people and accounts for 4.5% of the state's GSP, directly generating A$$8.8 billion to the state’s economy. Tourism Queensland
Tourism Queensland
Tourism Queensland is the state government agency responsible for the marketing of Queensland tourism destinations and the development of the tourist industry in the state. The agency was established in 1979 as the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation. Tourism Queensland was once part of the...
is the government agency responsible for the development of the state's tourist industry.
Queensland is blessed by natural beauty, especially along the eastern coastline and it is home to a number of well-known amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
s. Many tourists visit Queensland to see the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
. Some of Queensland's top tourist attractions include Dreamworld
Dreamworld
Dreamworld is a large theme park situated on the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is currently Australia's largest theme park with over 27 rides including 4 roller coasters. The park is made up of several themed lands: Ocean Parade, Kid's World, Wiggles World, Gold Rush Country, Rocky Hollow, Tiger...
and Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association , and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the...
in South East Queensland. Places that are highly dependant on tourism include the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Noosa and in Far North Queensland in the Cairns district there is the Kuranda Scenic Railway
Kuranda Scenic Railway
The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a name for the railway line that runs from Cairns, Queensland, Australia to the nearby town of Kuranda. The tourist railway snakes its way up the Macalister Range and is no longer used for regular commuter services. It passes through the suburbs of Stratford,...
, Kuranda Skyrail
Kuranda Skyrail
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a scenic cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park from the Cairns suburb of Caravonica to Kuranda, Queensland. The development of Skyrail was controversial as some local residents believed that damage may be done to World Heritage listed rainforest...
and the Daintree Rainforest
Daintree Rainforest
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest on the north east coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Mossman and Cairns. At around 1200 square kilometres the Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent...
. Fraser Island and Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays and further south Hervey Bay, famous for its whale watching, are also popular destinations. Australia's only Club Med
Club Med
Club Méditerranée , commonly known as Club Med, is a French corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. It is considered the original all-inclusive resort.-Foundation:...
resort is on Lindeman Island
Lindeman Island
Lindeman Island is an island in the Lindeman Group of the Whitsunday Islands off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The islands was named by Captain Bedwell after his sub-lieutenant, George Sidney Lindeman whilst aboard the Royal Navy vessel HMS Virago....
.
State budget
The Queensland Treasury is the state government department that devises economic and financial policy advice, prepares the state budget, organises revenue collection and provides statistical research. The current Queensland Treasurer is Andrew FraserAndrew Fraser (Queensland politician)
Andrew Peter Fraser is an Australian politician in the Queensland State Parliament. He was first elected into the Queensland Legislative Assembly on the 7 February 2004...
. Economic policy priorities for Queensland are to develop a diverse economy, to create more jobs and to manage both urban growth and develop Queensland's regions.
Queensland is predicted to be in deficit until the 2015-16 budget. The deficit has been partly caused by decreases in the prices for both coking coal and thermal coal.
Declining GST revenue is another cause that is partly attributed to the deficit. Strong population growth and the demands this has placed on infrastructure spending as well as reductions in mining royalties have also strained recent state budgets, resulting in the loss of the state's AAA credit rating
Credit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
. Poor planning including the canceled Traveston Crossing Dam
Traveston Crossing Dam
Traveston Crossing Dam was a proposed water project that was initiated by the government of Queensland, Australia, in 2006 as a result of a prolonged drought situation which saw South-East Queensland's dam catchment area receive record-low rain...
and cost blowouts in the budgets for the Gold Coast desalination plant
Gold Coast desalination project
The Gold Coast desalination project is a reverse osmosis, water desalination plant that supplies water to the Gold Coast and South East Queensland via the South East Queensland Water Grid, located in Tugun....
, Wyaralong Dam
Wyaralong Dam
The Wyaralong Dam is a water project that was initiated by the Queensland Government in 2006 as a result of a prolonged drought which saw the catchment areas of South East Queensland's dams receive record low rain....
, Tugun Bypass
Tugun Bypass
The Tugun Bypass is 7.5 km long, bypassing through the suburb of Tugun on the Gold Coast, Australia. The speed limit on the Tugun bypass is 100 km/h and provides a high-speed motorway link between the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, separating interstate vehicles from local...
and Airport Link
Airport Link, Brisbane
The Airport Link is a tunnelled motorway grade road which is under construction in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It will connect the Brisbane central business district and the Clem Jones Tunnel to the East-West Arterial Road which leads to the Brisbane Airport...
projects has not helped the bottom line.
In 2009, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh
Anna Bligh
Anna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...
announced plans for the privatisation of a number of government owned assets including Queensland Motorways
Queensland Motorways
Queensland Motorways is company wholly owned by the Government of Queensland, Australia which operates and owns the Gateway Bridge and 20 km of the Gateway Motorway, Gateway Extension and Logan Motorway. The company began operating in 1980....
, Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail, also known as QR, is a government-owned railway operator in the state of Queensland. Under the control of the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates the inner-city and long-distance passenger services, as well as some freight operations and gives railway access to other...
's coal rail business QRNational, the Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the shipping port of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. It is located in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River on reclaimed land that was once called Fisherman Islands at the mouth of the river. It currently is the third busiest port in Australia and the nation's...
, the Abbot Point
Abbot Point
Abbot Point is the most northerly deepwater coal port of Australia, situated 25 kilometres north of Bowen, Queensland. It consists of a rail in-loading facility, coal handling and stockpile areas, and a single trestle jetty and conveyor connected to a berth and shiploader, located 2.75km off-shore...
coal terminal and Queensland Forestry Plantations. The asset sale is expected to raise A$15 billion. There has been widespread public criticism of the sell-off which has led to slump in the Premier's popularity. Unions and economists criticised the plans as unjustified and poorly timed.
Taxation
Historically Queensland has been viewed as the lowest-taxing state. Queensland has slid to third place behind Victoria and Western Australia in a comparison of taxation competitiveness between other states and territories. A measure of tax per capita from 2002 to 2007 has seen the figure rise 70%, from $1,321 up to $2,226, per person. Payroll tax, which is payable when an employer's total annual wage payout is greater than A$1 million and has been described as "crippling" by some businesses, accounted for 26% of Queensland government tax revenue in the 2007-08 fiscal year.Labour market
| Financial year | GSP Gross state product Gross state product is a measurement of the economic output of a state or province... growth rate (%) |
Average unemployment rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 4.0 | 4.9 |
| 2005-06 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| 2006-07 | 6.8 | 4.0 |
| 2007-08 | 5.1 | 3.7 |
| 2008-09 | 0.8 | 4.4 |
Although there was a rise in the number of unemployed people, the labour market expanded 2.2% in the 2008-09 financial year. The Queensland labour market
Labour economics
Labor economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the market for labor. Labor markets function through the interaction of workers and employers...
was hit by skilled labour shortages in 2007. A lack of people completing apprenticeships in the construction industry is a current concern. The problem is particularly acute because the state is already dealing with an inadequate supply of new housing to cope with its population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
. In the past there have been shortages of doctors, nurses, teachers as well as shortages in the agriculture and hospitality sectors. A lack of university places is another factor limiting that is affecting the availability of skilled labour in some regions.
Household income
Household income
Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamps, and investment gains.Average household income can...
towards home loan repayments and tenants on average paid 26.5% for rent during the first quarter of 2008.
19th century
One of the first industries to spread across the state was pastoralismPastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
. From the Darling Downs in the 1840s, squatters
Squatting (pastoral)
In Australian history, a squatter was one who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock. Initially often having no legal rights to the land, they gained its usage by being the first Europeans in the area....
and pioneering families were establishing cattle stations up until the 1870s, as far north as the Gulf Country
Gulf Country
The Gulf Country is the name given to the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia...
. The early settlers of Queensland faced many problems ranging from a lack of labour, a lack of transport facilities to markets, attacks by aboriginals, a climate that was too wet, drought and falling commodity prices to name a few. An Australian wide trend towards recession hit Queensland particularly hard from July 1866. Immigration faltered, unemployment rose and business activity contracted. It wasn't long before gold discoveries signaled a turn around in Queensland's economic activity.
Gold was discovered in the state in 1861 at both Peak Downs
Peak Downs
Peak Downs may refer to:* Shire of Peak Downs, a Local Government Area of Queensland, Australia* Peak Downs Mine, a mine in Queensland, Australia...
near Clermont
Clermont, Queensland
Clermont is an agricultural town in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 274 km south-west of Mackay on the junction of the Gregory and Peak Downs highways...
and at Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
in 1867. Many gold miners left Victorian goldfields in the 1870s as surface gold had become scarce in that state and moved to Queensland to try their luck. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
a shortage of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
created a cotton boom in Queensland. Copper was discovered at Cloncurry in 1869.
In 1863, the first sugar cane plantation was established and the first South Sea Islanders, referred to as kanakas
Kanakas
Kanaka was the term for a worker from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia , Fiji and Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
, arrived to provide cheap labour. The sugar cane industry expanded northwards along the coast with a plantation and mill operating at Innisfail
Innisfail, Queensland
Innisfail is a town located in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the major township of the Cassowary Coast and is well renowned for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns...
in 1881 and in the following year a mill opened in Bundaberg. By 1890 developments in refrigeration technologies had opened new markets for produce which was previously spoiled on the two month long journey to England.
During the early 1880s the Dingo Fence
Dingo Fence
The Dingo Fence or Dog Fence is a pest-exclusion fence that was built in Australia during the 1880s and finished in 1885, to keep dingoes out of the relatively fertile south-east part of the continent and protect the sheep flocks of southern Queensland. It is one of the longest structures in the...
was constructed to protect livestock across south east Australia. It protected southern Queensland, aiming to stop attacks on sheep from Australia's native dog. The fence was maintained up until the 1970s. Today it is estimated that $60 million in losses occurs annually in Queensland due to dingoes that have penetrated the barrier. In 1886, the introduced rabbit reached the southern Queensland border causing yields from pasture production to decrease. The rabbit also contributed to soil erosion through overgrazing.
20th century
A drought in 1902 drastically reduced agricultural productivity. By 1906, maize covered 25%, sugar cane 23.8% and wheat 20.5% of cropping land in the state. In 1908, 700 bores were supplying artesian basinGreat Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...
water to western Queensland, transforming an otherwise mostly arid landscape into a more productive area. Refrigeration and regular steamer services between Brisbane and London allowed Queensland to become Australia's largest exporter of meat in the same year. The Franco-British Exhibition
Franco-British Exhibition (1908)
The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London in the early years of the 20th Century. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France....
of 1908 was a good opportunity for Queensland to promote itself, particularly the desirable climate and expanses of fertile land. Tourism was promoted under the banner of "the Winter Paradise of the Southern Hemisphere". A souvenir guide from the show boasted that Queensland cultivated the richest of fruits including pineapples, bananas, mangoes, grapes and citrus fruit.
Australia's largest airline, Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
was founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services in Winton
Winton, Queensland
-Qantas:Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline Qantas. The first board meeting was held at the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.-Waltzing Matilda:...
in 1920. Silver, copper and lead were being mined from Mount Isa by 1925. Wool became an important export for Queensland during the early 20th century, contributing to half of the state's total exports by 1930. The 1950s saw a resurgence of whaling in Australia. A new whaling station was setup at Tangalooma
Tangalooma, Queensland
Originally a whaling station, Tangalooma is a resort township on the west side of Moreton Island in Queensland, Australia. It lies on the eastern shore of Moreton Bay and is known for its resort accommodation, dolphin-feeding program, sand dunes and wreck diving. Swimming is popular along the...
on Moreton Island
Moreton Island
Moreton Island is a large sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of south-east Queensland, Australia. Moreton Island lies 58 kilometres northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. The island is 95% National Park and a popular destination for four wheel driving, camping,...
to process slaughtered whales. In 1963 the world's richest deposit of bauxite was discovered at Weipa. Dairying, once an important local industry in the state, declined towards the end of the 20th century. The Queensland economy last contracted during the 1990-91 financial year at a rate of -0.7%.
2000 onwards
In 2004, a citrus cankerCitrus canker
Citrus canker is a disease affecting citrus species that is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis. Infection causes lesions on the leaves, stems, and fruit of citrus trees, including lime, oranges, and grapefruit...
outbreak forced farmers to destroy every citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
tree in the Emerald
Emerald, Queensland
Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....
region. This amounted to half a million commercial trees being destroyed during an eradication program that lasted five years. The banana industry was devastated in 2006 from the flooding and crop destruction left in the wake of Cyclone Larry
Cyclone Larry
Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005-06 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season. Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March and was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in...
. 90% of the country's banana crop was destroyed. The price of bananas doubled to A$6 a kilogram as a result. In the 2006-07 financial year, the nominal value of the Queensland economy surpassed A$200 billion for the first time. In early 2009, Queensland's credit rating
Credit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
was downgraded by rating agency Standard and Poor to AA+ after the state's budget deficit increased to more than A$1.5 billion. In 2009, the Townsville-based Storm Financial
Storm Financial
Storm Financial Limited was a financial advice company, based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The company was founded by Emmanual Cassimatis and his wife Julie Cassimatis in 2004. It went into administration in January 2009 and was placed in liquidation on 26 March 2009...
financial services company collapsed, leaving thousands of investors experiencing economic loss.
External links
- Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
- Office of Economic and Statistical Research Provides monthly and quarterly economic data relating to Queensland