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Jess Caire
- The property industry in Queensland faces significant challenges, particularly in housing
supply and infrastructure development. However, there is a sense of confidence in the sector this year after four years of continuous reform.
- Construction costs remain high and demand for housing remains strong, as Queensland
continues to attract new residents.
- The priority for this year is securing a seat at the table for sensible policy reforms that
support private sector investment and enable the delivery of homes, office buildings and industrial developments to support Queensland’s growth.
- To achieve this, we must make sure we are planning housing in a way which is fit-for purpose for the future, considering infrastructure development and our growing needs.
- Additionally, we must drive down costs to facilitate new supply; tax reform is a key
policy lever to address this.
- Given the upcoming federal election, which may have both positive and negative
impacts on the industry, we must proactively advocate for a clear policy direction to provide certainty for investors and encourage long-term investment in Queensland.
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Michelle Farquhar
- Australian Industry Group has been working with businesses for 150 years.
- We recently spent two days in Canberra with 80 senior industry leaders from digital
industries, manufacturing, and care sectors, engaging government ministers and policy leaders.
- Notably, we heard about the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s technology tracker
– which monitors around 60 innovative and emerging industries critical to national security, prosperity, and social cohesion. These include: ◦ Advanced materials & manufacturing (e.g., magnets, superconductors) ◦ Biotechnology & gene technology ◦ Vaccines ◦ biofuels ◦ Advanced robotics & drones (including swarming and collaborative drones)
- These industries are considered essential for Australia’s future, but we lack the
workforce to support their growth.
- There is also a workforce shortage in housing construction, impacting our ability to
build homes.
- This is a key challenge for Australia, which will require a collaborative effort between
industry, higher education, vocational training (VET) and government to ensure we can develop the necessary workforce for the industries of the future.
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Michael Guerin
- AgForce is a state-based farming group advocating for producers across Queensland,
including as a delegate to the National Farmers Federation.
- Queensland is Australia’s largest food producer, with a growth rate suggesting this
will continue.
- Two-thirds of our production is exported, with Southeast Asia presenting significant export
market opportunities given it represents about a third of the world’s population.
- The industry faces several challenges, including a shrinking population across regional
Queensland – which has lost 10% of its population in the past decade.
- Additionally, regional infrastructure investment is lacking, making it harder to support
agricultural industry growth.
- One challenge specific to the cattle industry – relevant because Queensland has
over 50% of Australia’s cattle herd - is that it takes four years to produce a steak, with producers bearing 80% of costs and risks but only receiving 15% of returns. 40% of the total cost of beef production is borne between the farm and the consumer; producers take on most of the production costs, though don’t receive a proportional return.
- A key risk is that of supply chain fragility, exemplified by the fact that 84% of city residents
don’t know where their food comes from. If supply chains fail, supermarkets have only two weeks’ worth of food. However, shops with local supply chains will remain stocked even if centralised supply chains were to break down.
- There are several clear policy reforms which are needed to address this issue.
- Firstly, the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act needs
urgent reform to address gaps and overlaps between state and federal laws and adequately recognise the role of farmers in providing climate solutions, not just food production.
- This shift in thinking is needed as 58% of Queensland’s land is owned by producers, who
can contribute to biodiversity (which also increases food production) and climate resilience.
- The upcoming federal election presents an opportunity for meaningful policy reform to
support farmers.
- Queensland agriculture has an enormous upside and can be a world leader in sustainable
food production.
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Professor Margaret Sheil AO
- I am Chair of the Queensland Vice Chancellors’ Committee, a coalition of seven vice
chancellors across Queensland’s universities.
- When considering the role of universities, it is important to consider that Australian
universities are large by international standards - a 20,000-student university is small here but considered large globally. For example, QUT has around 50,000 students and 10,000 staff, resembling a small town in terms of population and activity.
- Universities are highly connected internationally, both through staff and students, which
means they experience global trends immediately.
- This enables rapid uptake of developments such as AI by students, which sees students
adopting it faster than universities can respond. However, this still results in a need for rapid changes to teaching, research and operations.
- After a year of softening domestic demand, domestic student demand is increasing this
year, with QTAC offers up about 5-6%. Engineering and business are the most popular degrees, along with strong demand in health.
- Last year, demand was lower due to a strong job market, but this year’s resurgence in
demand may indicate a weakening employment market. Cost of living remains a major issue for students, particularly balancing work and study.
- Last year, we were also dealing with international student market instability due
to government visa restrictions, which impacted universities’ financial stability and investment capacity. This resulted in a lot of effort being directed towards these measures, rather than into the forward-looking policy reforms under the Universities Accord.
- Caps on university enrolments were proposed but failed to be legislated.
- Since then, visa processing has improved, but there is still a catch-up effect impacting
investment in research and broader community development by universities.
- Key challenges for universities include cost pressures, global uncertainty and political
instability - which affect student mobility and funding.
- It will be critical to navigate policy changes from the federal government while staying
focused on teaching and research as the core business of universities.
- Despite these challenges, there is a high level of optimism in Queensland due to the
opportunities across research and workforce development, as well as the 2032 Olympics.
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In your 'A Home For Every Queenslander' paper released last year, you said it was critical every lever was pulled to respond to the chronic undersupply of housing – including reviewing land tax settings. Can you elaborate more on this and other options to reduce the cost of housing?
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Jess Caire
- The property industry has warned for over 20 years that housing supply would not meet
demand, but policymakers have failed to act.
- There still has not been enough acknowledgement of the cost pressures driving up the
cost of delivering new supply – in addition to planning issues.
- The key focus last year in the lead up to the election was identifying ways to reduce
costs, particularly through tax reform.
- Government fees and charges make up 33% of a house and land package in Queensland,
equivalent to $233,000 per home. This amount takes a first-home buyer nine years to repay on their mortgage.
- Local councils collect only 3% of the total tax revenue, while the state government
benefits from rising land taxes and stamp duty without reinvesting in critical physical and social infrastructure to support the growing population.
- The rising cost pressures also lead to developers struggling to make projects viable,
leading to fewer homes being built.
- Institutional private capital over a certain threshold faces land tax surcharges, even for
Australian-based developers.
- Since 2016, 33,000 homes were not built due to poor investment conditions, as capital
moved elsewhere.
- In short, tax disincentives are discouraging investment.
- To overcome this challenge, Queensland must position itself as the
most attractive investment destination in Australia.
- Instead of competing with New South Wales and Victoria, it should differentiate itself
with better tax policies. A pro-investment approach would also expand the tax base naturally through increased development.
- Removing tax barriers would also stimulate growth in multiple property sectors –
including more retirement villages, build-to-rent projects, office supply and industrial developments. This would lead to vibrant city centres and job creation.
- Planning reform alone will not solve the crisis - tax reform is essential.
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The business sector is facing a range of challenges and rapid change – not least including the changing nature of jobs/work. Can you speak about the AI Group’s 2025 Future of Jobs report – especially around the need to reskill and upskill the workforce?
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Michelle Farquhar
- We have recently seen encouraging signs from Canberra, with politicians recognising
the burden of red tape on businesses.
- Workforce transformation requires ‘backward mapping’ - identifying future industries and
skills required in the future, then aligning education and training which will deliver that today.
- Industry must be central to policymaking, ensuring stronger integration between
business, vocational education (VET), and higher education.
- We have recently seen internships and work experience decline, limiting real-world
learning opportunities for students; ensuring collaboration between industry and education will help to address this.
- We are seeing three major megatrends shaping jobs – decarbonisation, disruption and digitalisation.
- The Future of Jobs Report 2025 has revealed there is some pessimism and headwinds
being felt in 2025. This is seeing businesses get ‘back to basics’.
We found that: ◦ 40% of skills used today will no longer be relevant by 2030. ◦ 60% of businesses expect transformation through digitalisation. ◦ 20% of current jobs will disappear; one-third will require major upskilling.
- To harness this disruption, we must have a workforce which is able to pivot. However,
STEM education is lagging, with poor literacy, numeracy, and digital skills.
- It will therefore be critical to address the lack of enthusiasm for STEM - math and science
should be seen as tools for solving real-world problems and underpinning lifelong learning.
- This has been achieved in Singapore, which has invested in the workforce transition
through significant government investment. For example, this has supported mid-career workers transitioning into high-demand fields like cybersecurity.
- Other international examples of proactive workforce planning include some U.S. states
aligning education with business needs by preparing specific numbers of skilled workers and trainees (e.g., electricians, plumbers) before companies relocate to these regions.
- However, Australia’s apprenticeship system hasn’t got these settings right to allow for
this workforce development. We struggle with low completion rates and cultural bias against trades.
- Government and industry must take bold steps to embrace a step-change approach to
workforce transformation.
- There is also a real opportunity for uplifting leadership and adaptability to guide the
workforce through the fast-changing job market.
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