She told a QUT forum that a new Queensland was emerging from the past dominated by mining and agriculture and the region was offering a new way forward for the Australian economy.

“If we can dig it up, grow it, fatten it, herd it onto a boat or pack it in ice and ship it, then that’s what we do,” she said.

“But in the last two decades the world has changed.

“While mining and agriculture will always be a strong pillar for our economy…in order to compete on the global economic stage, our economy cannot afford to forever rely on the luck of our natural resources.

“If we do not act now to forge a new vision for what the Australian economy will look like in the next decade, our luck just may run out.”

Denholm, who also heads the Australian Tech Council, said professionals who had based themselves overseas were returning and many were migrating north. Tech Council research has shown that south-east Queensland was one of the fastest growing areas for technology jobs in Australia, with five of the top 10 regions for tech jobs growth.

“These days we have amazing world-beating companies born and bred right here in Queensland,” she said.

“Many people in Sydney and Melbourne are surprised – and perhaps a little indignant – when I tell them that south-east Queensland is a leading light in a vibrant start-up ecosystem in Australia.

Denholm said the technology sector was set to grow at a “blistering pace”, with the Tech Council of Australia setting a goal that by 2030, tech activity across all industries in Australia would contribute $250 billion a year to national GDP.

She said with the economy and workforce digitising across the board, Australia’s tech jobs had grown at double the average rate of jobs growth in the last decade.

“This past year alone we have seen an eight per cent increase in tech jobs, bringing the country’s current tech workforce to 935,000 as of February 2023,” she said.