Controversy Mires Advancement
19 February 2005
Earlier this week a national newspaper carried a section on
'Technology and Business Centres', and on the same day the Sunshine
Coast Daily carried a story on a local political dispute about
which level of government had the responsibility for infrastructure
funding in the Sippy Downs area, the area identified in the draft
South East Queensland Regional Plan as a key to a future knowledge
economy here on the Coast.
The first article highlighted how technology and business
centres are forging ahead in other parts of Australia, often with a
major financial contribution from governments for them to create
the necessary foundation arrangements.
The second article highlighted the level of general disputation
about whether such initiatives are the main responsibility of
Federal, State or local governments or whether some basis for
sharing the costs ought to be established.
Most of the world's successful technology parks are associated
directly with the main campuses of a research-active and growing
universities, and the same is true for the most part in
Australia.
Perth's technology park at Bentley is now a great success story
following an initial $14 million State Government investment about
a decade ago. The Park houses ninety-two companies, with 8000
employees and a turnover of half a billion dollars. The Park's
links with Curtin University and TAFE get closer annually, and the
Park itself is almost indistinguishable from a high quality
residential estate.
In the Illawarra, in a region located near Sydney, in a similar
way that the Coast is located relative to Brisbane, an evolving
$300 million Innovation Campus is being developed by the University
of Wollongong - a university that had a much slower and more modest
beginning than this University. The New South Wales Government has
provided $16 million in infrastructure funding for 80,000 square
metres of office space for the growing number of companies wanting
to develop there.
The Gold Coast has decided on a pattern of development that is
becoming increasingly popular internationally, with a convention
centre being linked to technology park activities, with another
major injection of funds from the Queensland Government - a
conference centre that would be wonderful if replicated on the
Sunshine Coast.
But the Sunshine Coast's ability to attract major infrastructure
support from any level of government has not been impressive, and
we all hope that the new SunROC organisation will be able to mount
the compelling arguments the rest of us have as individuals
consistently failed to do, and as a community, become mired in
controversy over who has responsibility to do what, when and
where.
For the University's part, since 1994 we have increasingly tried
to pursue, for example, a technology park as part of a new
community and town centre for Sippy Downs. Such a growing community
must have proper road and sewerage systems, substantial bandwidth
connections, leisure, cultural and commercial facilities, and the
list goes on, but we still languish, and with only more houses
being provided.
As a University, we have jumped through so many hoops, sat in so
many committees, commissioned so many consultants, presented so
many reports. Yet on key next steps such as an 'Accelerator'
building to kick-start a technology park, and a properly designed
and overdue road overpass and interchange, we remain mired in
controversy whilst other technology parks develop the potential to
attract the very firms that we wish to retain or attract here, to
create desperately needed jobs.
Whilst I remain a strong 'Smart State' and Seachange-lifestyle'
advocate, I am still awaiting a major impact of the needed
strategies to be realised at Sippy Downs.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast