We convened senior leaders at Queensland Parliament on 29 October under the Chatham House Rule. Here are some aggregated themes and practical implications.
Power, fibre and concrete
Compute demand is outpacing physical capacity. Securing an extra 2 MW of power can be difficult while enterprise demand is arriving in 200 MW chunks. Fibre is tight and construction productivity is a brake. Queensland can make itself more compelling for data-factory builders by addressing these constraints.
Talent and the skills pipeline
Queensland’s ability to attract AI engineers has softened as the state’s cost-of-living advantage narrows. One fix is to expand domestic supply quickly: scale industry-linked AI programmes and higher ed pathways. UNSW and Deakin were cited as benchmarks.
Capital, and the story we tell
Capital is moving faster in AI. Jurisdictions that signal priority, showcase wins and cut friction attract both people and money.
Frontline proof points
Clinicians trialling AI scribing in emergency departments are reporting striking time savings per patient. Across the system, these efficiency gains translate into more care and better patient experience. This is the sort of use case Queensland can scale quickly.
Transforming service delivery
Contrary to stereotype, research shows public servants are itching to get on with adoption. Standard guardrails and a bias to ship can unlock momentum. Suppliers are already realising efficiency gains. Government should capture a fair share of that value in vendor contracts to improve taxpayer returns.
Leading with problems
Government can harness AI to not only to increase the speed, volume and quality of service delivery, but also to provide entirely new kinds of services that were not previously feasible. There’s scope to lead with Queensland’s big, unique, ‘wicked’ problems and invite the business and tech community to step up with AI-powered solutions.
The tone in the room was pragmatic. The message was clear. If government and industry treat AI as real economy infrastructure and act with urgency, the benefits for Queenslanders will be material and widely shared.
