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Brisbane drags the chain while regions drive the recovery

There are certain things Queenslanders are just not willing to do during COVID-19. Go to the office and catch public transport are two of them, according to the Google mobility data.

Oct 08, 2020, updated Oct 08, 2020
Cairns is driving the economic recovery. (Photo: Cairns Regional Council)

Cairns is driving the economic recovery. (Photo: Cairns Regional Council)

The data, which aggregates all the movement of people using mobile phone data, also shows that while Queensland is leading the recovery Brisbane is refusing to go to work or visit shops.

According to Conus Consultancy economist Pete Faulkner, the Google indices showed a stablising trend in recent weeks.

“Queensland remains at – or close to – the top of the list of recoveries,’’ Faulkner said.

But it was the regional areas that were driving the economic recovery, not Brisbane.

Cairns, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast were leading with Brisbane languishing well below the state’s average, he said.

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According to the data, Brisbane’s use of publilc transport is down 46 per cent on the baseline and visiting the office is down 28 per cent. Retail and recreation was down 4 per cent and visiting supermarkets and pharmacies down 1 per cent.

The Gold Coast was even worse. Its retail and recreation index was down 10 per cent and supermarkets and pharmacies down 4 per cent.

Every major population centre in Queensland is still struggling to get back to the office.

Faulkner, who lives in far north Queensland said his own observations as well as domestic tourism data indicated an upsurge in domestic travel by Queenslanders which was having a positive impact on the regions.

The data also shows people were still not willing to trust public transport.

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