About one-third of Queenslanders are migrants or the children of migrants. The warm climate, a relaxed way of life and the economic prospects of decentralised Queensland also attract residents from other parts of Australia. Queensland s population growth in the year 1991-92 was 2.4 per cent, compared with the national average of 1.4 per cent. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise about 2.4 per cent of the population and many who live in clan group communities retain their traditional way of life. More than half of Queensland s population lives outside the greater metropolitan area of Brisbane - a large proportion compared with the rest of highly urbanised Australia.
Distance plays a part in the strength of regional influences in Queensland.
The Torres Strait islands are 2000 km north of Brisbane. Cairns, the major city of the far north, is further from Brisbane than is Melbourne, the capital of Victoria on the southern coast of the continent. The south-east corner is the most densely populated part of the State. The Parliament of Queensland consists of the State Governor, representing the Sovereign, and the Legislative Assembly, consisting of 89 elected members. Queensland s cities, towns and shires are run by 134 councils elected every three years.