Whitsunday Population Growth Rate Has Doubled Says Demography Expert

Last Thursday, expert in demographic trends Bernard Salt was in the region and presented his views on the region and its future demographics.

“The reality is that the Whitsunday Regional Council area, which extends and includes places like Airlie, Bowen, Proserpine and areas beyond, has about 40,000 people at the moment,” he shared.

“Its rate of growth has effectively doubled, in my opinion, from prior to the pandemic, maybe around 400, 500 people a year, to closer to 1000 people per year.

“So, every 10 years at this rate, we can expect another 10,000 people and then on top of that, you have what is called the functional population.

“These would be holiday makers and visitors and backpackers and people who are more transient.

“You're looking at a population of maybe 50,000 at the moment, including the functional population rising to maybe 60 or 70,000 within 10 or 15 years.

“This is a significant increase. It's not completely expected, but this is something that requires visioning and planning, and that is the role, effectively, of a council like the Whitsunday Regional Council.”

Bernard also recognises that in communities that are rapidly growing, the community itself needs to have a vision of what they want in the future.

“In my experience I know what Australians generally want is a good quality of life. They want a place where they can move to, get a job, have a number of job options, buy a home that's affordable, raise a family and have their kids actually choose a career within the local area, if that suits them.

“In my perfect world, those kinds of aspirations would be present in any future strategic visioning of this region.”

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Bernard Salt. Photo credit: Daniel Heggie

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