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Brisbane Dust Storm 2009.

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Rudd backs population growth with Brisbane to hit 4 million
October 23, 2009 01:00am | CM

BRISBANE'S population will double to 4 million and Australia will have an extra 35 million over the next 40 years, federal Treasury projections show.

Treasury secretary Ken Henry, who revealed the projection yesterday, questioned whether Australia's environment could accommodate an extra 13 million people by 2049, saying: ``With a population of 22 million, we haven't managed to find accommodation with the environment.''

``Our record has been poor, and in my view, we are not well placed to deal effectively with the environmental challenges posed by a population of 35 million.''

Melbourne and Sydney would each grow to be cities of 7 million by 2049, Dr Henry said, while Brisbane's population would double from its current size which, for the greater Brisbane area, is 1.95 million.

The population increase would ``test the limits of sustainability: economic, social and environmental'' although resources boom fuelled by China and India was likely to maintain prosperity for decades, Dr Henry said.

On the ABC's 7.30 Report on Thursday night, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd favoured strong population growth.

``I actually believe in a big Australia. I make no apology for that,'' he said.

``I actually think it's good news that our population is growing.

``I think it is good for us, it's good for our national security long term, it's good in terms of what we can sustain as a nation.''

The predictions follow a milestone reached this week when Queensland notched up 4,444,444 people.

Treasurer Andrew Fraser said Queensland’s population had increased by a record 112,666 people (2.6 per cent) in the 12 months to March 31.

That record figure includes 52,600 overseas migrants, interstate migration of 19,978 and natural increase of 40,088.

The Office of Economic and Statistical Research calculates that Queensland’s population is currently growing by one person every four minutes and 33 seconds.

[KJBrissy]

Also, to see the new South Brisbane and West End Riverside Plan, see here.

[Yosssie33]

Fresh campaign for 'Australia's new world city'

KATHERINE FEENEY
November 18, 2009 - 9:45AM (Brisbane Times - Brisbane News, Queensland News & World News)


Brisbane's Lord Mayor has backed a new campaign marketing the Queensland capital as Australia's new world city. Photo: Michelle Smith

Telling Sydneysiders and Melburnians that Brisbane is a city just like theirs has been Brisbane's biggest branding blunder, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said as he embraced the city's latest attempt to attract the tourism dollar.

As Brisbane Marketing launched its new $1 million domestic tourism campaign, Cr Newman said the key was to elevate the argument beyond the Australian context and go global.

Which was why the Lord Mayor was excited about the new tagline picked to take the sleepy town of yesterday into the wide world of tomorrow: Brisbane, "Australia's new world city".

Vote now: Is Brisbane Australia's new world city?


"It's a statement about where Brisbane is right now but more importantly it's a statement about where Brisbane's going," Cr Newman said.


"This actually will help us brand Brisbane in marketing campaigns interstate and more importantly overseas."

He said the new slogan, in use since May, would help put to rest the chip-on-the-shoulder psyche that had plagued the city for so long.


"I think Brisbane Marketing and its predecessor organisation for some years floundered a bit in coming up with a really effective brand statement for Brisbane," he said.


"There were a number of efforts in the late 90s and early 2000s that were quite bad."

Targeted at locals and visitors alike, the new tourism campaign is accompanied by a destination website, Visit Brisbane | Your guide to things to see and do in Brisbane, which featured a user-generated element known as "My Favourite Spot" based on 12 monthly themes.

The program was created in response to Brisbane's expanding 'visiting friends and relatives (VFR)' market, said Brisbane Marketing CEO John Aitken.

Mr Aitken said figures released in June showed the VFR market accounted for 34 per cent of Brisbane's domestic tourism market, generating $1.7 billion to the local economy annually.

"Brisbane is a key tourist destination in our own right and an important gateway city for our proximity to other Queensland attractions," Mr Aitken said.


"This domestic tourism program is a timely campaign to maximise awareness of the ever expanding list of attractions to a fun-seeking and influential audience."

Martin Kendall, general manager of Hilton Brisbane, said the new campaign and central brand was exactly what the city needed.


Born in Sydney and formerly of Hilton UK and Europe, Mr Kendall said the offer to relocate to Queensland in March 2008 had initially been met with trepidation.


"But in this last year and a half I can't express how much my perception of Brisbane has changed," he said.


"Originally there was the notion you flew into the city and then you went off elsewhere.

"But now the city is doing a great job in terms of creating attractions, events and opportunities that will keep people staying here.

"There are some fantastic things going on so let's not worry too much about Sydney and Melbourne and focus instead on the fact that we're a city in our own right we should be proud of what we do."

Both Cr Newman and Mr Kendall agreed that there was still work to be done before locals could offer broad off-the-cuff advice to friends, visitors and new residents about what to see and do around town.


"The first step is to get locals out and experiencing the 'new Brisbane', as such, for themselves," said Mr Kendall.