2016 Annual Report
Toowoomba
The Toowoomba CSG development story: Introduction
Analysis of changes during 2016 will be presented here in June 2017. A recap of our 2015 analysis is presented here. The town data booklet - downloadable via the link shown at the left - is also being updated. It will be available here in June 2017.
Toowoomba is a large regional city in an elevated position on the Great Diving Range. The Toowoomba Regional Council area includes Toowoomba city and suburbs as well as rural and industrial areas. Those interviewed described Toowoomba as a conservative town with a strong and diverse economic base. Founded as an agricultural and government services centre, the town has developed food processing, manufacturing, transport, tourism and technology sectors. Toowoomba is a popular retirement destination and has an increasing population of the aged.
What we did and why
The Toowoomba CSG development story has been created to understand the impacts on Toowoomba from coal seam gas (CSG) development. This has been done with the help of key members of the Toowoomba and district community, including:
- Chamber of Commerce members
- Real estate agents
- Hotels, motels and other local business managers
- Police
- Staff from schools
- Employment agency managers
- Local and State government staff
These people were presented with statistical data on ‘indicators’ of social and economic impact. The ‘indicators’ are:
- Population
- Unemployment
- Income & Wages
- Business income
- Housing
- Selected offences recorded by police
- Rainfall
- Petrol prices
Working with our researchers, the people interviewed in Toowoomba discussed the accuracy of the statistical data from a local perspective. That was done in research interviews. More information about the interviews is available here.
Through the interviews, a local perspective on the Toowoomba CSG development story was created. From working with the Toowoomba community and analysing the data, here is what we found.