By Mitch Gaynor
THE question confronting Glasshouse Country is no longer whether growth is coming, but whether the local economy can keep pace with it.
Glasshouse Country Chamber of Commerce president Naomi Pearce said the region was already being transformed by population growth.
More people were creating opportunities for business, but also putting pressure on commercial space, infrastructure, transport and services.
“The conversation isn’t really about whether we support growth. Growth is already happening,” she said.
“The challenge is making sure our local economy grows with the population, rather than simply being impacted by it.”
Mrs Pearce said Beerwah would increasingly serve a much larger population catchment, making additional employment and industrial land important.
But she warned against defining its future simply as an “industrial hub”.
The bigger opportunity was for Beerwah to develop as an employment, business, service and transport centre for the wider region.
Industrial land needed to be accompanied by commercial space, a strong town centre, transport connections and services.
The aim, she said, should be to create an environment where businesses could “start here, employ people here and continue growing here”.
The $6.5bn investment in B2N and The Wave could dramatically expand the economic reach of Glasshouse Country, but Mrs Pearce warned new railway lines alone would not guarantee a stronger local economy.
“Better connectivity works both ways,” she said.
“It can make it easier for people who live here to work or spend elsewhere just as easily as it can bring people into Glasshouse Country.”
She said the opportunity depended on what was built around that connectivity: local jobs, commercial and industrial space, strong town centres and reasons for visitors to stop and spend.
“Connectivity creates the opportunity; the strength of the local economy determines how much of that opportunity stays here.”
Housing would also be critical.
More than 92 per cent of occupied private dwellings across the Beerwah, Glass House Mountains and Landsborough statistical areas were detached houses at the 2021 Census.
Mrs Pearce said greater housing choice was needed for younger workers, families, key workers and older residents wanting to downsize without leaving their community.
“If we build large numbers of homes but people still need to travel significant distances for work, services and everyday needs, we haven’t necessarily solved the broader challenge,” she said.
She described the chamber’s approach as “growth with guardrails”.
“I don’t think growth itself is something we should fear. There is enormous opportunity in it,” she said.
“But good growth requires foresight.”
