8 new cities to be built in Australia! 6 in New South Wales and 2 in Victoria, think of the jobs that will create.
From the ground up, sustainable smart cities at no cost to the taxpayer. Unbelievable, visit www.clara.com.au and see what could be starting within 5 years by acknowledging a problem and living in the solution.
The problem acknowledged; growing population and congestion of Sydney and Melbourne. The solution; build new dormitory cities between the 2 capitals connected by high speed rail (HSR). Commute to and from work in Sydney, Melbourne, even Canberra in minutes.
By living in the solution, funding the expected $200 billion project is recognised as a barrier. To overcome the barrier a concept called value capture is proposed. The sale of the developed assets covers the cost of the initial planning, acquisition and infrastructure (plus a profit). CLARA sounds exciting, big, bold, innovative; a trigger for greater confidence and long term economic growth in those 2 states.
What can Central Queensland benefit and learn from CLARA or perhaps value capture?
The problems CQ need to acknowledge include higher unemployment, declining property values and growing business closures or wind backs. There’s no point being in denial.
The solution involves stimulating greater population and investment growth.
Central Queensland needs at least one major asset that can achieve these goals. Good chance it doesn’t exist and needs to be built. Value capture could be how this asset is funded. With low property prices and interest rates now is arguably a good time to buy undeveloped property with the objective of developing and selling it.
What is big enough, unique enough, to stimulate people in significant numbers to want to come to CQ, ideally to live, at least visit?
Perhaps novelist the late Michael Crichton may have an answer.
Winton the home of Banjo, Australia’s most complete theropod dinosaur, what a location for a real life Jurassic Park. Too out there, both idea wise and location! What about an earlier movie Crichton wrote the screenplay for and directed, also what HBO hopes to be the next Game of Thrones, Westworld. Would a Westworld theme park, located in the Beef Capital of Australia be big enough, unique enough to significantly stimulate the population growth of CQ?
Still too out there, idea wise! The plans are already documented, the land needed identified, funding for a feasibility study is required though. I have mentioned Golden Spurs Country Park before, a $500 million dream waiting to be realised here in the Rockhampton region. A place where the Chinese middle class come and be cowboy’s for 7 days. While here sell the outback, where they can mix it with real stockmen and women or see dinosaurs on their next holiday.
Too exciting, big, bold and innovative of a project for CQ?
It is appearing this way as the proposers of the project keep getting stonewalled.
$500 million is a huge amount to risk, but if successful what value capture would that return for CQ? ‘If’, that is the consternation, a feasibility study needs to be done, possibly at a cost of $200000 to determine ‘if’ the project has legs.
$200000, possibly the return the state government would receive in one year from a casino on Great Keppel Island. Or easily raised by increasing the registration fee of vehicles owned in the south east corner of state that benefit from better road infrastructure funded from CQ mining royalties.
Do we have any politicians that acknowledge the problems CQ currently have AND will live in the solution?