NEW figures showing the Cairns population will grow to more than 200,000 people in 10 years highlights the urgent need to build new infrastructure projects, community leaders say. How do you think Cairns will cope?

The new State Government report, Population Projections 2011, predicts the population of Cairns will reach 207,756 people by 2021, up by about 50,000 people on the current estimates of between 150,000 and 160,000.

Potential employment opportunities in health, public service, fly-in, fly-out mining, tourism, education and closer ties with Papua New Guinea will be key drivers of the population growth.

Division 1 councillor Paul Gregory, whose division covers most of the area south of Cairns, said another corridor into Cairns and an eastern bypass from Edmonton to Cairns should be considered to cater for the extra traffic.

He also supported the Nullinga Dam project, west of Mareeba as it was a potential water source for the Tableland and Cairns. New sporting facilities, schools and a hospital at Edmonton were also priorities.

By 2031, the population will grow to 241,494. Most of the growth is expected to be funnelled into the
southern corridor between Edmonton and Gordonvale. The report also predicted the Tableland would grow from 43,507 to 53,464 by 2021 and 59,873 by 2031, while the Cassowary Coast would expand from 29,642 to 33,198 by 2021 and 34,841 by 2031.

The Hinchinbrook and Cook electorates will experience smaller growth rates.

The report said population concentration in southeast Queensland was expected to continue, but at a slower pace, while major regional centres would expand.

"The larger regional cities of Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba will continue to grow and centres such as Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Mackay and Gladstone are also projected to attract population as a result of the lifestyle and employment opportunities they offer,’’ the report said.

Queensland’s population was expected to more than double to 9.1 million by the middle of the century and could rise as high as 11.1 million, according to new forecasts prepared by Queensland Treasury.

The report said the higher number assumed high birth and migration levels which, if lower than expected, could see the population rise to 7.3 million.

Cairns will be Queensland’s eight largest city in 2021, behind Townsville (241,684) and ahead of Toowoomba (198,591) and Mackay (156,117).

Cr Gregory said new schools and a hospital should be "front and centre" of future infrastructure projects because they would generate employment and provide essential services.

"Planning is under way, but we don’t want to be caught napping during a sudden growth spurt," Cr Gregory said. "We need to be able to deliver these projects so we need to look at this issue with a sense of urgency."

In the report, regional Queensland along the east coast was described as having many attractive lifestyle destinations and relatively good housing affordability.

"The larger regional centres (including Cairns) have strong industrial, educational and tourism sectors, which create jobs and encourage people to reside in the region, leading to ongoing population growth," the report said.

"Population growth in the region is concentrated in and around the larger cities and towns. Overall growth in eastern regional Queensland is projected to remain strong, averaging more than 30,000 new people a year over the projection period.

"The resident population of this region was 1.3 million people in 2006. By 2031, the population is projected to grow to 2.1 million people, an increase of 800,000 people over the 25 year period.

"This is substantially higher than the growth of almost 500,000 recorded over the previous 25 years.

"The region is projected to consistently account for around one third of Queensland’s population. The three most populous LGAs of Townsville, Toowoomba and Cairns made up 35 per cent of the region’s population in 2006 and this is projected to grow."

Treasurer Andrew Fraser, in the report’s foreword, said the rise of the regions through decentralisation of industry and the mining boom was a trend that was unlikely to reverse. "For policy-makers, the challenge now is to continue the long-term planning needed to foster that growth," he said.

"Investment in infrastructure around $50 billion over the past three years has been the State Government’s main policy driver in supporting jobs and building local economies,’’ he said.

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