Where are our future jobs?

Redland City Council has released its draft Economic Development Strategy for comment and the document outlines key trends of which we, as a community, should be aware.

Issues that we need to consider include future population growth and its positive and negative effects on economic growth, and those industries that will play a part in that growth.

We have relied on construction and retailing as major industries and employers. The trends show a slowing in population growth, which economists say impacts on the residential construction sector and ultimately on the city's retail sector. So what do we do? Increase the population or look for new jobs to take up the slack?

The new City Plan will have a direct bearing on the future population growth, therefore the link between economic growth and the zoning of land for housing should be obvious and should be the subject of robust discussion during the public consultation period.

Redland City people need to make a decision if they want to work in their own city and embark on a strategy that will drastically increase the opportunities for that to happen.

We are a mature city in which a vast array of talented and entrepreneurial people live. We love our lifestyle that blends the bay with the bush and we value our environmental assets.

So what can we do to bring that all together and create jobs so that our children can live and work in the city they grew up in?

What industries do we want here and how are we going to make it happen?