NEWS

“A few years ago Augathella cattleman Doug Cameron was waiting in line to pay for fuel at a service station in Roma, having just sold another line of store cattle into a tough market for a barely profitable return…”

South West Queensland is a large region that epitomizes outback lifestyle and charm.

It enjoys strong economic growth that outpaces Queensland and numerous other regions thanks to its diversified agricultural industry and booming resource sector.

This growth has led to both private and public sector organisations seeking to expand their local workforce.

These forces have combined to create strong demand for rental properties across many of the towns in South West Queensland. Currently, there is demand for over 600 new residential dwellings across the region.1

“Blocks of land for sale in outback Queensland, that attracted hundreds of inquiries from across the globe, have sold for up to six times their reserve price.

The council-owned land in Quilpie, 900 kilometres west of Brisbane, was marketed as "essentially free" on the condition that buyers built a new house and live there for at least six months.

The reserve price was $12,500 — the same amount as a new homeowner grant the council is offering.

Six blocks in Curlew Estate — each about 1,000 square metres — sold at an online auction today for between $45,000 and $70,000 each…..”

There is strong demand for housing across the South West Queensland region, stemming from local businesses expanding and seeking to hire additional staff as well as from a number of government agencies that require housing for their growing staff numbers. The Queensland Police Force, Department of Health, Department of Education and numerous local governments all have new staff requirements and need housing for them.

It’s no secret that getting into the property market is incredibly hard with skyrocketing prices, but one region is offering hope for young Aussies.

When Max Jones was looking for his next place to invest in, he passed up a coastal city for Charleville.

"...there's a whole lot of opportunities but I think we're going to need investors who are probably more aware of the market than we are," says John Travers, manager of Vanderfield in St George.

Strong global demand for sheep and goat meat could see the value of the industry in Queensland double within five years. The state government has launched its sheep and goat meat strategy to maximise growth in local small stock industries, thanks to investments in exclusion fencing across the west. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development Mark Furner said the government recognised the importance and accelerated growth of the industries in recent years.

He said he was confident the strategy would help regional Queensland recover after years of drought.

"It's a very important industry to back in," Mr Furner said.

South West Queensland’s, Anthony Glasson, says “…commodity prices have taken off and finally we can see a gap in those margins again and start investing back into the business to make it more productive, the future is a lot brighter than it was 20 years ago that’s for sure.”

“It is official. Australian farmers are having a record-breaking good time.

Government economists at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) now expect the agriculture industry will grow a whopping $73 billion worth of produce this financial year.”