Last week I noted how Nick Behrens of CCIQ made the good point on Steve Austin’s ABC radio show that the Queensland economy is much more than the so-called four pillars of agriculture, construction, resources (i.e. mining) and tourism. In terms of their direct contribution to industry gross value added (GVA), the four pillars account for around 25% of the Queensland economy (see my chart below based on ABS State Accounts and Tourism Research Australia data).
This chart shows the direct contribution the sectors make, without trying to undertake the difficult and conceptually challenging task of also identifying the indirect or flow-on/multiplier effects of the sectors. Peak bodies for the different sectors will of course claim that their particular sector is more important because it underpins activity in other sectors. I’ve previously posted on this argument regarding the resources sector:
RBA confirms QRC analysis – resources sector spends mega bucks domestically
Resources sector jobs multiplier
Also, see my post How important is tourism to the Queensland economy?, in which I note the calculation of multiplier impacts in controversial. Again, I’ll aim to elaborate on this point in the future.
Queensland Economy Watch 
Haha. Thanks for that. From a policy perspective I think my original post a few years ago on pillars implicitly but not explicitly queried why the pillars of Queensland related to selecting specific industries rather than aspects such as education and industrial relations which are within the actual ambit of a government?
Yes, good point, and it was remiss of me not to reference your post, sorry. Yes, the Government would be better off talking about drivers of growth or something like that rather than identifying specific industries, because I hope it wouldn’t want to be seen as picking winners. Thanks for the comment, Mark.