Regional planning and sustainable development in Queensland

In this paper we examine some aspects of the macro state-wide policy milieu in which land use planning and environmental regulation occurs at the most decentralised i.e. local government authority (LGA) level in the northeast State of Queensland, Australia. This analysis comprises three parts. First, the strategic management of economic infrastructure on a whole of state basis and for individual regions. Secondly, the legal and strategic basis of that economic growth oversight via the office of the Coordinator-General under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971. And thirdly, the rapidly expanding topic of regional planning and which increasingly overlaps with regional development strategies of government as well as natural resource management. That is: planning expansively defined on a multi-LGA basis to manage some aspect of natural resources; promoting the economic growth and development of regions as variably defined; and, development of a higher level regional strategic and statutory plan e.g. the South-east Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 extending across some 18 city and shire councils. Key Words: Queensland, economic infrastructure, regional development, strategic land use planning, sustainable development