MEADOWBROOK has been identified as a health and knowledge precinct of the future.
Why should you care? Because Meadowbrook, just 30km north-east of Jimboomba, is the place where the babies of Logan’s burgeoning south-west will be delivered, kept healthy, study and find jobs.
Investors last week flew in to attend a Logan council summit and hear the case put by health providers and representatives of three levels of government – acting mayor Cherie Dalley for Logan, Training Minister Shannon Fentiman for the state and federal opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers.
The health of Logan’s growing population is a big issue. Families are coming in search of affordable housing and children need to have the best start in life.
Logan has one of the youngest populations in Australia, with the average age of residents 34. At Yarrabilba, a city under construction, it is just 24.
Flagstone and Greenbank will follow. As these populations age, they will also need specialist health care. Meadowbrook already has a hospital and some specialist services but it is going to need more.
The summit was designed to show investors Meadowbrook’s potential and build on $2.34 billion worth of infrastructure committed to the centre and surrounds over five years by council, state and private sector.
Logan hospital, Logan TAFE and Griffith University Logan campus are already there. The council hopes to bring a private hospital and more specialist outpatient services to the region as a priority.
The health sector is one of Australia’s top employers, experiencing massive growth and expected to grow while creating jobs that are still to be imagined. Competition for the health dollar Australia wide is fierce. Did Logan make its case? Stay tuned.
- CAPTION: Logan acting mayor Cherie Dalley and Meadowbrook Summit keynote speaker, demographer Bernard Salt. Photo: LCC