12:00a.m. 2nd September 2008

The Sunshine Coast could be home to 501,200 people by 2031.

That means an additional 200,000 people living here in the next 23 years.

The prediction comes amid revelations yesterday that road infrastructure to support the new Sunshine Coast Hospital at Kawana will not be completed until 12 years after the hospital is built.

Premier Anna Bligh released population projections yesterday which showed Queensland’s population, which was 4.1 million in 2006, would increase by 2 million in the next 20 years, and double in the next 50 years.

By 2056 the state’s population was expected to reach 8 million people.

Ms Bligh said Queensland had become a “major player on the national and world stage” thanks to strong growth, both economically and demographically.

She said the state government had channelled time, energy and money into planning for the future to meet the growth.

But Sunshine Coast mayor Bob Abbot said the state government was playing catch-up to meet infrastructure needs.

“The amount of infrastructure currently being planned is a long way from delivery and very much a long way from supporting the level of growth predicted for the Sunshine Coast,” he said.

“Planning is one thing, but being able to deliver is another. In the next 12 months we need a significant commitment (from the state government) for long term planning options before we can support any move for an additional 200,000 people here in the next 20 years.”

He said local government needed to know when and where the infrastructure would be delivered and have a “guaranteed course of action” to determine who would pay for it. Treasurer Andrew Fraser said Queensland would see a growth rate of between 2.2% and 2.3% per cent each year to 2011.

He said, along with low unemployment levels, the state was witnessing a baby boom, with the number of children expected to increase by 33% by 2031.

And the Population Projections report also showed Queensland’s population was ageing, with the median age expected to jump from 36 years in 2006 to 44.6 years in 2056.

“Both of these factors need to be taken into account when planning for the future – and the future of our workforce,” he said.