Five Queensland regions are ranked the bottom 10 in the country for wellbeing, according to a new national index.
Burnett, Caboolture, Hervey Bay, the Charters Towers-Ayr-Ingham region and Queensland's Far North are in the bottom 10 of 334 regions assessed for the wellbeing index launched yesterday by public policy advisors, SGS Economics and Planning.
The index looks at seven well-being indicators:
- economy
- income and wealth
- employment, knowledge and skills
- housing
- health
- equality
- environment
Hornsby, on Sydney's upper North Shore, had the highest levels of wellbeing in the country, ahead of Pittwater, about 30 kilometres north of Sydney, and Warringah, on Sydney's northern beaches.
This was driven by high levels of home ownership and incomes, as well as high employment, according to the index.
No Queensland region made the overall top 10.
Queensland's highest areas of well-being were in Brisbane's leafy west, including the Kenmore/Brookfield/Moggill region, The Gap and Enoggera, buoyed by above-average household incomes and education levels, low homelessness rates, good health and protected green space.
Sherwood-Indooroopilly, also in Brisbane's west, scraped into the top 10 regions based on health measures.
But four Queensland areas – Maryborough, Bribie-Beachmere, Hervey Bay, and Burnett – were ranked in the bottom 10 for health.
Queensland also ranked badly for housing wellbeing, with Tablelands east-Kuranda, Sunnybank, inner Brisbane, Charters Towers-Ayr-Ingham, Surfers Paradise and Burnett all among the lowest 10 regions in the country.
Despite being home to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world's natural wonders, Queensland scored nine of the bottom 10 regions for environmental wellbeing – Sherwood-Indooroopilly, Coolangatta, Burnett, Sunnybank, Rocklea-Acacia Ridge, Holland Park-Yeronga, Carindale, Nathan and Capalaba.
"Part of this is due to limited reserve space in these areas, but part is due to the high risk of flooding and cyclone in some of the areas, particularly on the north Queensland coast and low-lying areas around the Brisbane River," the report said.
Wellbeing gaps 'characterise' Australian life
The Port-Douglas-Daintree region was in the top 10 across Australia for social connection, work-life balance and equality.
"These areas tended to have high levels of female and First Nations labour force participation, a relatively balanced share of housework between men and women and more than 20 per cent of the population volunteering and few people working more than 50 hours per week," SGS found.
"Rather than these locations driving better work-life balance, gender balance and community engagement, it is quite likely that people who wish to pursue their lives with balance choose smaller cities or pretty regional areas to live in."
SGS principal Julian Szafraniec said where people lived strongly influenced their wellbeing and how they experienced society, the economy, and the environment.
"Clear wellbeing gaps continue to characterise Australians' experience in our cities and regions, and more must be done to improve the wellbeing of rural and regional Australians.
"The power of the index is as a tool to improve policy and investment decisions by focusing beyond jobs and growth towards making lives better.
"It can help everyone understand local communities and economies, making it a valuable starting point for federal, state and local strategies, which far too often focus on broad brush and silver-bullet solutions," Mr Szafraniec said.
SGS Economics and Planning hopes to repeat its Australian wellbeing Index annually.
Mr Szafraniec said the index's aim was to achieve "happier, healthier, more successful, more productive, more sustainable lives" in Australia.
"We believe governments and businesses need a more nuanced metric that focuses on wellbeing outcomes rather than just jobs and economic growth," he said.
Data used to create the SGS Australian Well-being Index is based on the 2021-22 year.
Griffith University public health academic Jessica Lee, who was not involved in developing the index, said it painted a clear picture for people to see how inequalities in areas such as income, the environment and education could have a significant effect on people's health and well-being.
"It's interesting for the public to see how social determinants such as housing, poverty and location can impact health and well-being," she said.
