North Queensland Mines Gold in Run Up to Olympics

Queensland’s regions are in the box seat to capitalise on the Olympic Games and the economic growth it will bring, according to a new report. 

The 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games is expected to generate $8.1 billion in economic and social benefits which will flow through to regions including Cairns and Townsville, Colliers research indicates. 

Regional Queensland is forecast to grow 11 per cent in the next 13 years, according to forecast population data.

Cairns is slated for 20 per cent growth and Townsville 19 per cent, while Ipswich is in line for a 58 per cent growth in population. 

Almost two-thirds of the $13.3 billion expected to be spent during the next financial year fromthe $89-billion Queensland Big Build Budget will be spent in areas outside Greater Brisbane. 

And about 84 per cent of the 500,000 new homes slated for the state will be outside the Brisbane local government area. Colliers Queensland state chief executive Simon Beirne said the regions were expected to boom ahead of the Olympics. 

“With many of the venues in south-east Queensland, this region is expected to benefit the most, however, Cairns and Townsville are also expected to experience growth, with neighbourhoods in suburbs near Olympic venues experiencing significant population growth,” Beirne said.

“As further infrastructure and amenities are introduced, and with the population projected to increase, some areas will experience growth at a more significant level than others.”

▲ The Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games will provide $8.1 billion in economic benefit according to forecasts.

More than 91,000 jobs will be created in Queensland building the Olympic Games infrastructure, however, it’s not just the Games luring interstate and international migrants.

“Not only are we experiencing strong overseas migration, but we are also witnessing strong interstate migration to Brisbane from people being displaced from Sydney and Melbourne due to affordability, where the median house price in the first quarter of 2023 was $1.89 million and $1.06 million respectively,” Beirne said. 

“This in turn will cause a ripple effect—people in metro Brisbane, where the median house price is currently $995,000, will migrate to wider south-east Queensland and into regional areas which offer far more affordable housing options.

“The current median house prices are $400,000 in Townsville, $520,000 in Toowoomba, $550,000 in Ipswich and $560,000 in Cairns.”

Townsville Colliers managing director Peter Wheeler said the city was “actively pursuing opportunities to secure a lasting legacy for the region”.

"Townsville is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation transformation. The hype very much remains around critical minerals and green energy, which North Queensland can provide in spades,” Wheeler said. 

“There is no doubt that the ongoing interest in all areas of the local property market is being driven by these sectors.

“While properties continue to move, the market still remains starved of both investment and vacant stock.

“Values are strong and rising for existing vacant or semi-vacant buildings that are attractive to the owner-occupier market.

“The lack of availability and the persisting construction challenges for new buildings is keeping the upward pressure on prices, but also putting the brakes on new development."

Cairns is also looking to the horizon with tourism spending and a renewables pipeline of work looming across the region. 

Queensland’s renewable energy transformation is already out of the blocks. 

In the 12 months to March 2023 a record $20-billion worth of electricity projects commenced across Australia.

Northern Queensland will capitalise on the state’s $14-billion-a-year transition to renewable energy, but the state will need an additional 27,000 construction workers to make it happen, as well as new housing and infrastructure in the regions. 

A CSIRO-Construction Skills Queensland report into the renewables runway shows the state needs to ramp up its renewable capacity from 3.8gW to 196gW, a 50-fold increase, by 2050.