Survey respondents were asked to comment on their opinions of what public health threats they perceived as facing local communities as society progresses into the twenty first century. This was an optional, open-ended question. The content of the responses were coded and themes from the responses were identified. Respondents identified that a lack of funding; a shortage of competent public health workers; and a lack of understanding of what public health is and does on the part of the community were the main threats. Additional perceived public health threats included emerging infectious diseases, chronic disease, obesity, climate change, homelessness and unemployment.