Uh oh, Australia’s very own Cyber Jaya

Every few years, some people in some part of the world come up with the fantastic concept of building a scientific community from scratch, and Australia has whipped itself into a froth over a brand new brain city in the outskirts of Brisbane.

The Vice Chancellor of UQ has impressive engineering credentials, but he should study history a little more. These grand plans at best turn into property development projects, or at worst, some grand politician’s 10 percent plan. Land prices at St Lucia is at a premium, and some one over at Pinjarra Hills is going to profit handsomely from this little announcement.

Attracting top scientists has never been limited by issues of where they can live and work, but rather, what kind of funding is available, how supportive is government of future funding and what kinds of teams and skills are already in place.

Before a single stone is turned, I hope the Vice Chancellor would study similar projects overseas before make an honest assessment whether this scientific park is going to be a bigger distraction than it’s promises.