Content
Another Piece in the Sippy Downs Jigsaw
20 November 2004
The official opening by the Premier of the Chancellor State
College Middle Campus this week marks another important stage in
the development of Sippy Downs.
Very gradually the vital pieces of the jigsaw are coming
together, with the town centre and technology park footprint being
the remaining two key pieces on which there needs to be some urgent
agreement.
The Sippy Downs area could not be a much better example of the
Smart State in operation at a regional level. The emplacement of
the jigsaw pieces began in 1994 with the planning of the
University, and the parallel planning that led to State Government
gazettal of a DCP in 1996.
Since then, Siena College has been developed, links with Matthew
Flinders have always been strong, sports facilities have been
provided, the Incubator has been built and a number of
consultancies to check and recheck the directions have been
completed.
This week, it is reinforcing the importance of Chancellor
College and its close links with the University. These are already
impressive. From that partnership will flow further joint
facilities for education and community use.
This week the University also signed an agreement with Lensworth
to relocate and develop environmentally sensitive Bundilla
landscape to the University where the Science Faculty will be
closely involved in enhancing further the potential of the Project
- with education, community and research benefits.
The proximity at Sippy Downs of education facilities, sporting
opportunities, a growing urban fabric, and a technology precinct
will do much to address in a practical way the concern that too
many people are turning their backs on future careers and education
in favour of jobs. That latter concern and trend has to be arrested
if we are really to move to a Smart State.
In recent years, as employment opportunities have improved, many
young school- leavers, in particular, are preferring to accept jobs
that provide a modest income and some prospects, rather than invest
in career and education for the long term.
It is a trend that is causing concern Australia-wide, as our
major competitors in Asia, Europe and the Americas forge ahead of
us in developing their knowledge economies.
Hopefully, at Sippy Downs, there will be a level of unsurpassed
inter-sectoral cooperation, private-public partnerships, and
inter-governmental support which could quite easily lead to Sippy
Downs becoming a unique urban centre of world class
significance.
If as educators and governments we can together work on that
cooperation and focus on technology, in particular, but not
exclusively, to generate good jobs that have an inherent attraction
for young people, who then see higher education as a natural
progression from school, then we shall really have begun to
underpin the advance of the Smart State.
But that will not happen automatically and will still require a
strong commitment to community development from all
stakeholders.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast