The month in review: Sunshine Coast

By Herron Todd White
November, 2009

Being one of the major growth centres in Queensland, infrastructure projects and the planning for them is paramount for the Sunshine Coast. Shortsightedness through a lack of planning and inaction will have a major impact on the growth rate for the coast, and in the end,
be extremely harmful to our local economy.

As previously mentioned in various Month in Reviews, there has been a large number of main road projects completed or nearing completion on the Sunshine Coast. Three important ones are the duplication of the Maroochy River Bridge and the completion of the Caloundra and Maroochydore Road upgrades. These and other roads have greatly improved the traffic flows on the Sunshine Coast.

Planning for the Coast Connect busway project is progressing and completion of this project will be an important first step for rapid public transport to reduce road congestion.

As with many other areas in Queensland, education and health facilities are of a major importance. When it comes to education facilities, the Sunshine Coast is well catered for, however health is another story.

The new Sunshine Coast University Hospital, set down for Kawana, has been delayed for two years and is now due for completion in 2016. This incredible decision will place even further strain on the current hospitals that are already full to the brim. Press reports have stated that‘the current capacity of acute public hospital beds on the Sunshine Coast is less than half the Australian average’. The delay will not only have an impact on jobs on the coast, but will also have a major impact on people’s decisions to move to the Sunshine Coast. If they are not confident about health services, especially given our ageing population, then they may choose elsewhere to live. Given that a number of industries are heavily reliant on population growth, namely the property and housing markets with growth underpinning values, the impacts may be huge.

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