The Queensland Government’s new plan could see thousands of residents heading for the bush, and all the social and lifestyle improvements it holds.

A plan to get people to move to regional areas can help ease strains in a range of areas, as well as afford city-dwellers a lifestyle they may never have known existed.

The Queensland Government’s moves along those lines are the result of a summit in Brisbane in October, which considered over 78,000 submissions to The Queensland Plan. The summit of more than 600 representatives identified 10 key priorities in a 30-year vision for the state.

“In 30 years’ time, Queensland’s population will be heading past seven million. What has come out loud and clear from the summit is that Queenslanders want half of the population living outside the southeast corner,” Premier Campbell Newman said.

“Queenslanders believe our regions should be boosted to support stronger, healthier communities and attract people who want to live, study and work in them.”

The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) has welcomed the move, with LGAQ Chief Executive Greg Hallam saying it could go some way to balancing population growth and easing the strain on roads, healthcare and other services.

Mr Hallam applauded the inclusion of ideas from an LGAQ report three years ago.

“We knew back then that the key challenge of growth management was to accommodate the number of people wanting to live in Queensland without compromising liveability and affordability,” Hallam said

“You cannot achieve that outcome without a concerted effort to encourage more people to settle outside the southeast corner of the state.”

The LGAQ says it is keen to work with the Government to ensure the Queensland Plan comes to fruition as soon as possible.

The final version is expected early next year.