Queenslanders are cutting their carbon footprints but are getting fatter, according to the state government's yardstick.
In state parliament on Thursday, Premier Anna Bligh tabled the first progress report on the government's long-term mission statement, Toward Q2.
Toward Q2 was launched in September last year, spelling out targets to be achieved by 2020, in the areas of green, smart, strong, healthy and fair.
Ms Bligh said the document was about big challenges and served to keep her government's focus on the horizon.
'It is early days in our long-term strategy for Queensland but what we see 12 months after setting the baseline indicators is that we are making a good start,' she said.
The goal of making Queensland the nation's strongest economy had taken a battering in the past 12 months but so had others, Ms Bligh said.
'Despite our key trading partners facing recession, we have maintained positive growth in 08/09, with growth forecast to climb back above the national figure by 2010/11,' she said.
Progress had been made on the 'green' goals, with the average household carbon footprint falling 4.9 per cent in the 12 months to the end of 2007/08, from 13.77 tonnes to 13.10 tonnes, Ms Bligh said.
'Results like this demonstrate that the community is willing to rise to the challenge of combating climate change,' she said.
On the 'smart' goal, Ms Bligh said Queensland historically had the lowest participation in early education - 29 per cent in 2007, compared to 85 per cent for the rest of Australia.
'In the past 12 months our enrolment has remained steady at 29 per cent but our commitment to 240 new kindergartens is a comprehensive investment to ... increase enrolment and meet this target in future years,' she said.
And despite evidence that Queenslanders are eating more fruit and vegetables, the rate of obesity for both men and women has increased between 2005 and 2009.
Smoking rates had decreased by 1.4 per cent for men and 1.1 per cent for women between 2007 and 2009.
Ms Bligh said Toward Q2 charted a course for a better state in the future.
'No matter what the immediate and daily issues are that a government must deal with, these targets look to the future and guide our priorities,' she said.


