MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
The 4404 meeting of the Brisbane City Council,
held at City Hall, Brisbane
on Tuesday 21 May 2013
at 2pm
Prepared by:
Council and Committees Support
Chief Executive’s Office
Office of the Lord Mayor and the Chief Executive Officer
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THE 4404 MEETING OF THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL,
HELD AT CITY HALL, BRISBANE,
ON TUESDAY 21 MAY 2013
Dedicated to a better Brisbane
AT 2PM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS _____________________________________________________________ i
PRESENT: ______________________________________________________________________ 1
MINUTES: _____________________________________________________________________ 1
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: __________________________________________________________ 1
QUESTION TIME: ________________________________________________________________ 6
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS: _________________________________________ 17
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE _________________________________________ 17
A ANNUAL REPORT ON BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL ACTIVITIES UNDER THE CARBON FARMING
INITIATIVE ______________________________________________________________________ 24
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE ___________________________________________________________ 26
A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – SCATS UPDATE _________________________________________ 29
B PETITION – REQUESTING INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF TILLEY AND
GREEN CAMP ROADS, WAKERLEY ___________________________________________________ 30
C PETITION – REQUESTING INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS AT THE INTERSECTION OF
MONTAGUE ROAD AND JANE STREET, WEST END ______________________________________ 32
PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE ______________________________________________ 33
A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – NETWORK COORDINATION CENTRE – BRISBANE TRANSPORT ___ 34
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE ___________________ 35
A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION UNDER THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009: PROPOSED CENTRE
ACTIVITIES (OFFICE, SHOP AND RESTAURANT) AND BUILDING WORK ON A QUEENSLAND
HERITAGE PLACE AND ON THE SITE OF AND ADJOINING THE BOUNDARY OF A HERITAGE PLACE – 5
TO 25 WILLIAM STREET AND 15 QUEENS WHARF ROAD, BRISBANE – STATE OF QUEENSLAND __ 48
ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE ____________________________________ 51
A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – HABITAT BRISBANE PROGRAM ____________________________ 56
B THREE PETITIONS – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL UPGRADE THE CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND,
PARKLAND, PICNIC FACILITIES, BARBEQUE AND PONTOON AT THE TAYLOR BRIDGE RESERVE,
CHELMER _______________________________________________________________________ 57
C PETITION – REQUESTING FUNDING FOR THE INSTALLATION OF LIGHTING AT THE DOG OFF-LEASH
AREA AT BILL LAMOND PARK, LOTA __________________________________________________ 58
FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE _____________________________________________________________ 59
A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – THE SCIENCE OF ROAD REHABILITATION ____________________ 60
BRISBANE LIFESTYLE COMMITTEE _________________________________________________________ 61
A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BRISBANE PLANETARIUM REFURBISHMENT __________________ 62
FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ______________________ 63
A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BRISBANE – READY FOR SUMMER SEPTEMBER 2012 – MARCH 2013
_______________________________________________________________________________ 63
CONSIDERATION OF NOTIFIED MOTION – Flood warning signage: _______________________ 64
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:____________________________________________________ 68
GENERAL BUSINESS: ____________________________________________________________ 70
QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN: ________________________________ 78
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN: _____________________ 79
[4404 (Ordinary) Meeting – 21 May 2013]
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THE 4404 MEETING OF THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL,
HELD AT CITY HALL, BRISBANE,
ON TUESDAY 21 MAY 2013
Dedicated to a better Brisbane
AT 2PM
PRESENT:
The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR (Councillor Graham QUIRK) – LNP
The Chairman of Council, Councillor Margaret de WIT (Pullenvale Ward) – LNP
LNP Councillors (and Wards)
Krista ADAMS (Wishart)
Matthew BOURKE (Jamboree)
Amanda COOPER (Bracken Ridge)
Vicki HOWARD (Central)
Steven HUANG (Macgregor)
Fiona KING (Marchant)
Geraldine KNAPP (The Gap)
Kim MARX (Karawatha)
Peter MATIC (Toowong)
Ian McKENZIE (Holland Park)
David McLACHLAN (Hamilton)
Ryan MURPHY (Doboy)
Angela OWEN-TAYLOR (Parkinson) (Deputy
Chairman of Council)
Adrian SCHRINNER (Chandler) (Deputy Mayor)
Julian SIMMONDS (Walter Taylor)
Norm WYNDHAM (McDowall)
Andrew WINES (Enoggera)
ALP Councillors (and Wards)
Milton DICK (Richlands) (The Leader of the
Opposition)
Helen ABRAHAMS (The Gabba) (Deputy Leader of
the Opposition)
Peter CUMMING (Wynnum Manly)
Kim FLESSER (Northgate)
Steve GRIFFITHS (Moorooka)
Victoria NEWTON (Deagon)
Shayne SUTTON (Morningside)
Independent Councillor (and Ward)
Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON (Tennyson)
OPENING OF MEETING:
The Deputy Chairman, Councillor Angela OWEN-TAYLOR, opened the meeting with prayer, and then
proceeded with the business set out in the Agenda.
MINUTES:
617/2012-13
The Minutes of the 4403 meeting of Council held on 14 May 2013, copies of which had been forwarded to each
councillor, were presented, taken as read and confirmed on the motion of Councillor Ryan MURPHY, seconded
by Councillor Kim MARX.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Mrs Auntie Jeanette Kirk
File number: 137/220/701/146
Deputy Chairman:
I would now like to call on Auntie Jeanette Kirk who will address the Chamber
on the 150th anniversary of South Sea Islanders arriving in Queensland. Orderly.
Please proceed, Auntie Jeanette, you have five minutes.
Auntie Jeanette Kirk:
Madam Chair, LORD MAYOR and councillors, firstly I'd introduce myself. My
name is Jeanette Kirk, nee Eggmolesse. I'm a full-blood Kanaka descendent. The
Federal, in 1994 and the State Government here in Queensland in 2000
[4404 (Ordinary) Meeting – 21 May 2013]
-2recognised my people as Australian South Sea Islanders. However, my siblings
and I proudly call ourselves Kanakas. Kanakas is a Hawaiian word meaning man
or human. Madam Chair, can I ask to have a show of hands of those who are
aware of the significance 2013 is to my people? Thank you.
It is the Australian South Sea Islanders' 150th anniversary. It is the
commemoration of the first 67 young Kanaka men between the ages of 15 to 18
came up the Brisbane River, landed at Redbank—which is now Goodna Boat
Ramp. They walked from there along the Aboriginal bullock wagon track, which
is Mount Lindesay Highway, to Jimboomba. They stayed overnight, probably in
a woolshed of some sort. Then they went on to Robert Towns' cotton plantation
called Townsvale Cotton Plantation in Beaudesert. The area is now known as
Veresdale.
Between 1863 and 1907, 62,000 Kanaka men, women and children were
blackbirded from 62 different Pacific islands. My South Sea Islander peoples
have enormously worked hard labour, contributed immensely to the formation
and backbone of Queensland. I'm here today to request, on behalf of my proud
Kanaka peoples, that your libraries and other educational facilities and your
constituents do something significant to promote awareness and hopefully
recognise the contribution to my people—that my people made to the growth of
Queensland from the 20th century.
For example, my family alone, even though we had the White Australia Policy
that prevented us from doing a lot of things—my family; one mechanic, a
cabinet maker and a nurse—I was told when I was aged 16 to forget about being
a nurse by an education offer that came from Brisbane to our rural school—to
forget about being a nurse because they don't take black people. I'm glad my
parents ignored that, I ended up with three certificates; the highlight of my career
was meeting Professor Hollows when I attended a national conference in
Sydney, his lovely wife at afternoon tea and again in 1983 when I was the
administrator nursing sister of the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program
here in South East Queensland.
Thank you. I'm here today to request, on behalf of my proud Kanaka people, that
all libraries and other educations facilities in your constituency, councils et
cetera, do something significant to promote awareness and hopefully recognise
the contribution that my people made to the growth of Queensland. One brother
in particular, who was actually brought up on Phantom Island, has from 1975
until now worked in the Aboriginal affairs, even though he is a full-blood
Kanaka. Never once applied for assistance that is available and he's got a degree
in Maryborough area there.
For the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander—anything that was available to the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters wasn't available to us.
Through to today and we will continue—every one of us almost, will continue to
make contributions as voluntary workers in our communities. Thank you for
giving me the opportunity to speak today. As I see, this is a positive step towards
reconciliation. Please seriously consider the missing chapter of my history which
needs to be learnt, heard and respected.
Deputy Chairman:
Thank you, Auntie Jeanette. Councillor ADAMS, would you care to respond,
please?
Response by Councillor Krista ADAMS, Chairman of the Brisbane Lifestyle Committee
Councillor ADAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chair, but first I'd like to thank you very much, Auntie
Jeanette, for coming this afternoon and sharing your story with us. I think it's
very important that everybody in this place recognises the historic significance
of the event coming up in August and of course record the struggles that you and
your people and your achievements that you have made since you've come to
call Brisbane your home as well. As you mentioned, 1984 was the year that the
Commonwealth Government officially recognised the Australian South Sea
Islanders as a distinct cultural group and the Queensland Government had formal
recognition statement in September 2000.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-3So it is important to recognise that those two levels of government are seeing the
significant contributions that you've made to the economic, cultural and social
development of Queensland. So as you mentioned, it is 25 August that we're
looking at the 150th anniversary of your arrival in Queensland, which is very
exciting, and we're very happy to say that Council is working with the Australian
South Sea Island Secretariat to make sure that we plan some events to raise
awareness of this very important time.
So already on the books, I can say that we have got a special screening of Sugar
Slaves which is a movie, it will be shown at the Carindale Library on 6 June.
Sugar Slaves is a film about the men and women who were enticed or kidnapped
from the islands of the South Pacific, as you mentioned, what they called
blackbirding at that time, between 1963 and 1904. So there's about 60,000, I
understand, that were actually transported to the colony of Queensland at that
time and they did toil on our sugar plantations—were definitely the backbone of
our economy in Queensland.
So this is definitely a unique community and at least we are uncovering its past.
So come along and see the film, there will be a discussion about the film
afterwards and you can learn a bit about our not-so-proud history as white
Queenslanders. We're also going to have a cooking demonstration at the
Brisbane Square Library on Saturday 3 August and I understand at the moment
it's at least coconuts are going to be involved in the cooking. So I imagine that's
a very important ingredient in your culture. So for more information close to the
date, there'll be more on the website of the Council.
We've also got some weaving workshops to look at some of the traditional arts
that you have in your culture as well. So that's also going to be on 3 August as
well. We are working, at the moment, at looking at a longer exhibition in
Brisbane Square Library of a photography exhibition of a lot of the photos and
the history of the Kanakas, as you call yourself, throughout that 150 years and a
forum that we may hold during that week as well in Brisbane Square Library.
But, Madam Chair, I must say, the most significant of the events that we're very
excited about is that we do recognise all our significant cultural heritage and the
impact through Brisbane and to commemorate the actual 150th anniversary, the
LORD MAYOR will be hosting a civic reception for the Australian South Sea
Islanders and we are working with the Secretariat to hold that at City Hall on 14
August. So we look forward to seeing you there, Auntie Jeanette, to actually
recognise you and your family and the significant contributions that you make to
Brisbane.
Madam Chair, I think it's important that all councillors in this place remember
the hardship and the struggle that the South Sea Islanders suffered prior to their
acceptance as equals in Australia and I think Auntie Jeanette for coming today to
speak to us and making us more aware of your history and your contribution to
Queensland. Thank you.
Deputy Chairman:
Thank you, Councillor ADAMS, thank you Auntie Jeanette.
At that time, 2.10pm, the Chairman, Councillor Margaret de WIT, resumed the Chair.
Mr Chris McCorkindale
File number: 137/220/701/157
Chairman:
I would now like to call on Mr Chris McCorkindale who will address the
Chamber on his objections to the proposed development application at 57
Vulture Street, West End. Mr McCorkindale, you have five minutes, please
proceed.
Chris McCorkindale:
Madam Chairman, LORD MAYOR, councillors, good afternoon and thank you.
I'm Chris McCorkindale, I'm a long-time resident within the Brisbane character
housing area known as West End Estate and a home owner in Exeter Street. Our
estate is one of Brisbane's oldest, subdivided in its current form in 1863, four
years after Queensland was formed. I'm here on behalf of my fellow residents of
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-4West End Estate to bring to your attention the development application for
57 Vulture Street, West End.
We request that Council apply additional scrutiny to the assessment of this DA
to ensure the proposal complies completely with the South Brisbane Riverside
Neighbourhood Plan; I'll just call that the Plan from now on. Development and
in-fill and renewal are good, we welcome and are excited about the renewal of
this site. 57 Vulture Street is the first in-fill of development to occur within the
plan directly interfacing with the heritage buildings and historical neighbourhood
of West End.
The West End/Gabba and local plan states that the precinct contains relatively
intact, historically significant grouping of small 19th and 20th century workers'
cottages, characterised by one storey timber and tin detached houses on small,
narrow lots. These houses are to be preserved in this current form and their
setting is to be protected so that the precinct retains its original character.
Significant changes to alter form, scale and setting of the buildings are not
supported.
Many heritage places are in close proximity to 57 Vulture Street, approximately
15 metres away, 12 Exeter Street is the heritage residence of (resident’s name
removed to maintain privacy). Ten metres across Cambridge Street, at 61
Vulture Street, is the heritage shop and character house of (resident’s name
removed to maintain privacy)and I would add that the community themselves
should be heritage listed, many of them having—many of my Greek neighbours
having lived there for more than 40 years. Neither the applicant nor the Council
assessment officers have taken into consideration the historical significance of
the site, the adjoiners and the heritage sites just a few metres away.
The proposed development has fallen far short of the reasonable expectations of
the community. The development proposal includes a number of features that are
objectionable and non-compliant with the plan. These include, overdeveloping
the site by reducing the boundary setback to the four and five storey building by
40 per cent. Forty per cent on the northern side of your single-storey timber
house, imagine that. Just 12 metres to five storeys, how is this reduction
acceptable?
The Plan seeks to transition development toward the small scale adjoiners. The
developer is attempting to override this aim. This is exacerbated as the building
wall is a highly activated facade, 24 units and open balconies overlooking and
broadcasting shouts and entertainment across the adjoining neighbourhood.
Amenity of the adjoining neighbourhood will be greatly reduced. The
developer's offering for this intrusive and imposing wall is a 1.5 metre high mesh
screen on balconies; it's not good enough.
The development proposes a service truck lane through the site directly against
the timber walled neighbour for garbage trucks and delivery vehicles. The plan
states only one access point per site. The underground car park has a separate
entrance, this totals three entrances when the plan clearly dictates only one
entrance. The laneway will also create an unsafe space for antisocial behaviour,
must be removed with all entrances consolidated into one. Surprisingly, Council
assessment officers have not queries this major design flaw in its information
request.
Adding insult, a large above ground transformer is proposed in the laneway,
directly outside the bedroom of the adjoining timber house. The transformer was
queried by Council, yet the developer has refused to resite the transformer.
Inadequate car parking is also proposed. The relaxation of codes, as sought by
the developer, is inappropriate. There is no reason to deviate from the brand
new, recently adopted South Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan. The
extended assessment period is due to end this month, when a decision will be
made by Brisbane City Council.
I request that Council ensure that the heritage, character and social fabric of
West End Estate is respected and maintained and even enhanced through tasteful
and quality in-fill development. The 57 Vulture Street development has
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-5demonstrated no such sensitivity. Failure to enforce the Plan, agreed to by
community and Council, will undermine the confidence of the community and
Council to honour the agreements made. The risk is that precedent will be set
and future development adjoining West End Estate will be in the same
insensitive manner, to the determinant of the community.
This is a heritage area, held dear to many Brisbanites who love to visit the area
for its richness of culture and history. It would be prudent for Council in this
instance to refuse approval for this development in its current form and to insist
that all development interfacing with the historical neighbourhoods adhere
strictly to the agreed South Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan. Thank you.
Chairman:
Thank you, Mr McCorkindale. Councillor COOPER, would you like to respond?
Response by Councillor Amanda COOPER, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Planning and Development
Assessment Committee
Councillor COOPER:
Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I think Mr McCorkindale for coming
in to Council this afternoon. In particular, it was great to hear your very positive
attitude about redevelopment opportunities and you virtually agreeing that our
city needs to accommodate growth. We obviously have a lot of people who think
it's a highly desirable place and we want to create great places for them now and
into the future. So thank you very much for your positive views, it's much
appreciated.
Just to outline the situation currently, I believe that this application was actually
lodged with Council on 19 December last year. So that site currently has got a
two storey commercial building on it right now. It's proposing two new
buildings; one with a building of office, shop and restaurant on the ground and
47 units on the other four levels with the other building proposed to be for office.
So there's two buildings that they are trying to achieve on that site.
There have been nine submissions, I believe, including one from yourself,
raising a number of issues in relation to this proposal. I think that you flagged
issues such as amenity, road dedication, location of the transformer and the
number of vehicle crossovers, which you outlined for us this afternoon. So those
issues and the issues of the other submissions are being very carefully
considered by Council officers. There was an information request which was
issued on 21 January this year, it raised issues similar but not exactly the same as
your issues that you and your local neighbourhood residents have also raised.
So the applicants responded and provided some shadow diagrams which I think
you might have had a look at, they're available through PDonline to review
those, and did propose to make some changes relating to the buffer distance for
Exeter Street, a range of proposals that they put on the table. I think you've also
written to LORD MAYOR and he has responded to you, saying that we are
assessing the application, which of course is correct. But I probably just want to
advise you that as of late last week, we've been advised that a new architect has
actually been engaged to do some work on this particular proposal and they're
reviewing an extensive number of design matters.
So I think that will be very much welcomed by you and I think we are hoping
that that will be able to resolve, satisfactorily, a number of those issues. So early
days yet, at this point in time, and until we actually receive those revised designs
there's probably not much more that I can say, other than thank you very much
for making a submission. Your issues are certainly being considered as part of
the assessment. We have not made any decision at this point in time and we're
looking forward to some changes from the applicant. So thank you very much
for coming in, very much appreciated.
Chairman:
Thank you Mr McCorkindale. Councillor ABRAHAMS.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-6-
QUESTION TIME:
Chairman:
Are there any questions of the LORD MAYOR or the chairmen of any of the
standing committees? Councillor MURPHY.
Question 1
Councillor MURPHY:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, my question is to the
LORD MAYOR. LORD MAYOR, how are you fulfilling your election promise
to deliver safer Brisbane streets by rolling our portable VMS (variable-message
sign) flashing speed signs?
Chairman:
LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman—
Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
Madam Chairman, as the—
Chairman:
Just a moment, LORD MAYOR. When they're ready, we'll start.
LORD MAYOR:
Yes, Madam Chairman, we—I will, during the course of responding to the
question, address the interjections of the opposition as well. Madam Chairman,
can I just say that these VMS portable flashing speed signs are very much about
safer suburban streets.
As councillors—it wasn't that long ago that I was a local councillor myself—
Madam Chairman, we understand very clearly the calls that are received to our
officers on a regular basis. People ringing in saying, councillor, I have a
speeding problem in my street. Often the only way that we are able to address
that can be either via advising the police, Queensland Police Service, of that
issue, Madam Chairman, a letter to the Commissioner or whatever it might be, or
looking at street calming of one sort or another. In lots of cases, street calming
devices are not appropriate. So, Madam Chairman, other than those two avenues,
that has been it.
Now this will provide a further avenue for councillors to work with their local
community, but also work in conjunction with Council's own traffic branch. It
will provide an opportunity for each ward in this city to have a flashing speed
warning device and, Madam Chairman, that will be able to be moved on a
certain number of occasions over the course of each year. It will provide that
opportunity. The advice that comes from those devices can in turn help to
provide information to the Queensland Police Service as to the degree of the
problem.
As we all know, we can get the call at a ward office, saying that there is
speeding. Often it's very difficult to decide what is truth, just whether or not it is
a significant problem or whether it might just be one or two cars and these
devices will provide a real opportunity to ascertain the extent of those individual
problems and, as a result, perhaps get some further action from the Queensland
Police Service in a targeted way. Madam Chairman, the issue of these devices,
also because of the nature of them, will provide a deterrent to speed in
themselves.
They provide the speed of the vehicle, where that vehicle is travelling above the
designated speed limit. It will show the speed at which a vehicle is travelling. It
will ask that vehicle to slow down—or the driver of that vehicle to slow down.
Madam Chairman, so that of itself, as I guess it the case when people see a
police car, there is an automatic inclination to ease of the pedal, so it is, Madam
Chairman, with these speed signs, that they will, I think, of themselves provide a
deterrent. Madam Chairman, the trial is being conducted at two locations in
Alderley; one in Alderley Avenue and the other in Bank Street. This trial,
Madam Chairman, is not a trial to see whether it not it works, Madam Chairman,
but rather just to look at any aspects or teething issues in relation to it before the
rollout across all 26 wards occur.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-7Now, Madam Chairman, we made a commitment to do this at the last election,
and of course that's a four year term, Madam Chairman. It's a four year term
where you make commitments. To be able to have these at the end of the first
year where they will go out to each ward, Madam Chairman, that of itself is
another tick in terms of meeting those election commitments for this 2012 to
2016 term. Madam Chairman—
Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
Gee, they grumble over there, don't they—
Chairman:
Councillor CUMMING.
LORD MAYOR:
—grumble, grumble, grumble.
Chairman:
Just be quiet. Order.
LORD MAYOR:
Grumble, grumble, Madam Chairman, so—
Chairman:
Order on both sides.
LORD MAYOR:
In terms of the accuracy of these particular devices, Madam Chairman, they are
accurate to three per cent. So in other words if the speed zone is 50 kilometres
per hour, they have an accuracy up to one and a half kilometres each way of that
particular speed. They're solar powered to provide an efficiency and good
environmental outcome as well. So, Madam Chairman, I just—I commend these
devices to councillors and we will see a rollout of them across the wards of this
city. We are still working out the likely timing around the—how often those
signs can be moved.
But there will be opportunities for several movements of those signs each year to
meet the needs to residents where you see those as being of importance. Thank
you, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Thank you, LORD MAYOR. Councillor DICK.
Question 2
Councillor DICK:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, my question is to the LORD MAYOR. LORD
MAYOR, last week you said in relation to Council's finances that, I quote, we
are in more difficult circumstances, things have got tighter within our budgetary
arrangements, no doubt about that, unquote. Given Council's tight budgetary
position, will you give a guarantee today not to subject rate payers to overseas
travel costs for councillors and bureaucrats until Council is no longer in the,
quote, difficult financial circumstances, that you've described?
Chairman:
LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Madam Chairman, I won't give any guarantees of that sort at all. What I will do
is make decisions that are in the best interests of this city.
Chairman:
Just a moment please, LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Sure.
Chairman:
People in the gallery, no filming or recording at all, please. Thank you, LORD
MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Yes, thanks, Madam Chairman. So, Madam Chairman, what I will do as LORD
MAYOR of this city is to make decisions that are in the best interests of this city.
If that means that there will be times when I will undertake an overseas trip,
which will be a business mission, Madam Chairman, to generate further business
for our businesses here in this city with a view to creating additional jobs in this
city, Madam Chairman, I will do that. It is in the best interests of our city to do
that.
What I will guarantee to Councillor DICK is that I will not be gallivanting,
however, around the world to places which are not of strategic interest to this
city and this city's businesses. I have, Madam Chairman, been judicious always.
I've been in this place, what, 28 years now. I think I have, Madam Chairman
taken just a very, very small number of overseas trips at the public expense.
Madam Chairman, I have always undertaken trips which will be of strategic
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-8importance to the city. So that means that those trips will essentially be to those
with sister city relationships. Sister city relationships, Madam Chairman, where
we have already—and many of these relationships, of course, were relationships
set up by the Labor Party.
So I don't know whether Councillor DICK believes, having seen the Labor Party
set up those relationships that I now should ignore those relationships, that we
should not pay our proper respects in terms of those relationships and indeed
grow opportunities for business out of those relationships. So, Madam Chairman,
that's the reality. I will, where I believe it is proper and fitting, undertake those
trips in the interests of this city. Now, Madam Chairman, it is also a head in the
sand approach that Councillor DICK takes.
When things are tough, it is important that we look to every opportunity to grow
our economic development take in this city. That's what we ought to be doing,
that is what leadership is about. But Madam Chairman, I'm not going to be going
off as Councillor Soorley used to do to all sorts of wondrous places in the
world—
Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
—that had nothing to do with our strategic interest in the Asia Pacific region,
which had nothing to do with sister city relationships, Madam Chairman. I will
be strategic about what I do and judicious about the way I do it. On the last
occasion, Madam Chairman, I remind Councillor DICK that it was five countries
in seven days, plus a day travel each side. So it's not about hanging around and
having fun, it is about making sure that the businesses that attend achieve the
maximum outcomes.
Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
I remind Councillor DICK, the Asia Pacific City Summit which will be one
place where we'll be going to this year. Madam Chairman, it is about ensuring
that we have business outcomes as a result of that. So, Madam Chairman, that's
all I will guarantee to Councillor DICK today.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Can I have a point of order, Madam Chairman?
Chairman:
Yes, Councillor JOHNSTON.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Madam Chairman, it's now four weeks and 14 questions that Councillor DICK
has asked and you have not allowed me to ask a question in accordance with
section 14 of the Meetings Subordinate Local Law. As 14 questions have been
asked by Councillor DICK and you've allowed me not to ask any, why are you
failing to comply with the rules of procedure which say that questions must be
pro rata so that independent councillors, such as myself, can be afforded the
opportunity to ask a question?
Chairman:
Councillor JOHNSTON, I explained all this to you last week and I don't intend
to go through it again. I would also remind you that questions go from one side
of the Chamber to the other, so it is the Administration's turn for the next
question, Councillor MARX.
Question 3
Councillor MARX:
Thank you, Madam Chairman. My question is to the Chairman of the Finance,
Economic Development and Administration Committee, Councillor
SIMMONDS. Councillor SIMMONDS, I understand that the one year
anniversary of this Administration has occurred? Can you please detail for the
Chamber initiatives and programs—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor MARX:
—of this Administration that have had a significant benefit of Brisbane residents
and are you aware of any alternatives?
Chairman:
Councillor SIMMONDS.
Councillor SIMMONDS:
Thank you very much, Madam Chairman, and thank you very much to
Councillor MARX for the question because it has been, indeed, an exciting and
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
-9busy 12 months for the Administration and of course subsequently for the
Finance, Economic Development and Administration portfolio. There are many,
too many to mention them all in fact, initiatives that have made a positive impact
on the lives of Brisbane residents, thanks to this Administration. But, that said, it
is worth, in answering the question, highlighting a couple of initiatives which
stand out over the last 12 months.
Of primary concern, of course, to the finance portfolio is that we were again
recognised for our responsible financial management. We received a strong
credit rating with an upgraded credit outlook this year, as well as an unqualified
audit report. It's not to be sneezed at, we remember that unqualified audit reports
were virtually unheard of under the previous Labor administration which
involved many of the councillors sitting opposite.
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor SIMMONDS:
And of course—
Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
Councillor SIMMONDS:
And of course, the credit rating upgrade demonstrates, again, the widening void
between the rhetoric of those opposite, who dust off the same speech every time
the word debt is in a report, compared to the responsible management of those
on this side of the Chamber. QTC (Queensland Treasury Corporation) noted that
we received our rating because of our—because our new infrastructure is
appropriately financed, our demonstrated ability to deliver core services and
manage major infrastructure projects, our experienced management team and out
tight capital expenditure control.
Of course, strong financial management is not an end in itself, we always keep
that in mind, but what it does ensure is that we are able to deliver new
infrastructure for Brisbane residents. Projects like Legacy Way, like $60 million
resurfacing work, like the completion of the work here on City Hall, and $100
million in new bikeway infrastructure over the next four years. Projects and new
infrastructure that will deliver real, on the ground benefits for Brisbane residents.
Madam Chairman, again as I said, while we are used to strong financial
management over the last number of years in this place, you only have to look to
the Federal Government's budget last week to see what Labor does when it holds
the purse strings. A $19.4 billion deficit in '12-'13 and an $18 billion in '13-'14,
compared to our surplus budgets. As Councillor FLESSER very generously
pointed out in our committee this morning, if we are to apply the Federal
Government's own debt ratio of net debt to total assets to our own organisation,
we would see that Council has a ratio of 9.4 per cent compared to the Federal
Government of 47.3 per cent, Madam Chairman, under a Labor government.
If that isn't evidence enough, Madam Chairman, you only have to remember
back just 12 months ago to the election and their $250 million black hole in their
election promises, which is what made the interjections from the last question so
interesting. I suspect that they would not have got through their $1.3 billion
splurge on election promises in a single year, Madam Chairman.
But of course, the year has not been without its challenges, the most significant
of which was the Australia Day storm event. Council's priority was of course to
repair public assets as soon as possible and we were able, through our strong
financial management, to make money available for that.
The significant areas of damage included sea and river walls, which comes as no
surprise when you remember back to the images of the rough seas beating
against the bay side suburbs. But other significant damage to enclosed and open
drains, repairs to our roads, curb and channelling, culverts and also, of course,
our community facilities and the costs of the initial disaster recover work, in
total over $30 million in work has been completed or is in train currently,
Madam Chairman, to date. Which is excellent work on behalf of the Council
officers.
This of course includes the cost of the LDCC (Local Disaster Coordination
Centre) and the initial clean-up as well as over 100,000 sand bags which were
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 10 distributed. It was also—while we're on the subject—very pleasing to see the
continued success of our SMS Early Warning Alert system which garnered
another 15,106 registrations this summer alone and that, along with other
initiatives such as crowdsourcing, which was successfully put into use by our
digital team, continue—during the Australian Day storm event—continues to
add to our suite of programs assisting Brisbane residents to deal with disasters
and flood events.
In addition, we've also been working very hard to complete the Windows of
Opportunity recommendations and particularly it's worth noting on the gains that
have been made in the digital strategy components through Brisbane marketing.
Chairman:
Councillor SIMMONDS, your time has expired.
Councillor SIMMONDS:
Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Thank you. Councillor JOHNSTON.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Hooray. LORD MAYOR—
Chairman:
I could do without the sarcastic remark, thank you Councillor JOHNSTON.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Well, just asking you to follow the rules.
Chairman:
Ask the question.
Question 4
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes, Madam Chairman. LORD MAYOR, on 24 April I wrote to you asking you
to intervene to stop the removal of mature, healthy garden beds in Annerley and
Graceville. That has now occurred, but will you now direct the Council officers
to restore the landscaping that was removed while you and Councillor
McLACHLAN dallied in responding to my request?
Chairman:
LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Madam Chairman, I'd need to secure further details of that and respond to the
councillor in due course.
Chairman:
Further questions, Councillor McKENZIE.
Question 5
Councillor McKENZIE:
Thanks, Madam Chairman. My question is to Councillor SCHRINNER,
Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee. Councillor SCHRINNER, I
understand that the one year anniversary of this Administration has occurred.
Can you please detail for the Chamber, initiatives and programs of this
Administration that have had a significant benefit for Brisbane residents and are
you aware of any alternatives?
Chairman:
DEPUTY MAYOR.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
Thank you, Councillor McKENZIE for the question. It's been a very busy 12
months and we only have five minutes so I'd better be quick. Ladies and
gentlemen, fellow councillors, there's been a massive amount of work happen in
the Infrastructure Committee over the past 12 months and I just want to touch
briefly on some of those issues and projects we've been working on. Legacy
Way, for a start, is now more than 50 per cent complete and, as I mentioned
previously in this Chamber, that project has already broken numerous world
records and is going along very nicely. We've seen that project continue as one
of our key commitments to the people of Brisbane to deliver major
infrastructure, but it is also only part of the agenda that this Council has in terms
of upgrades and road projects.
We've seen over the last four years the completion of the Road Action Program
which was this Council's largest ever investment in suburban roads. Largest
ever—
Chairman:
Order.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
—in the history of the city.
Chairman:
Councillor SUTTON.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 11 DEPUTY MAYOR:
Those projects, Madam Chairman, were largely as a result of Labor inaction, I
have to say, for many, many years. We heard election after election, promises
made on these projects—
Chairman:
Order.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
—we got on and delivered them, Madam Chairman. Another issue that's—
another project that has happened—
Chairman:
Order.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
—in recent times is that we've awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the
New Farm Riverwalk, Madam Chairman, an important project for anyone that
enjoys accessing and using the Brisbane River and particularly in the New Farm
and inner city area. So that project will shortly start construction and we're
pleased to be able to do that in partnerships with the Federal Government
through Federal and State Government funding.
The Howard Smith Wharves restoration project has been completed within the
last 12 months and that project was about ensuring that that important heritage
precinct was preserved for the future and stands ready now for the next phase
which is the revitalisation phase. So we've strengthened the Wharf structure, we
stabilised the cliffs running along the back of that precinct there and we've
delivered a new boardwalk, ready for the people of Brisbane to use in the future
when that exciting precinct is revitalised.
We've seen also, Madam Chairman, work progress on the Kingsford Smith
Drive Stage 2 and Stage 3 projects. Now as councillors know, Stage 1 has been
developed, it's a project that this Administration delivered and Stage 2 and Stage
3 are now underway in terms of planning and design. We're also acquiring
properties that we need to acquire along that corridor to make sure that we can
deliver that project. That is an important economic project as well as a
congestion reduction project for our city.
We've seen work kick off on the Robinson Road Open Level Crossing
Replacement program, a very important project for this Administration and also
for the state government. We're seeing funds put in on a 50, 50 basis at the State
and Council level and that is one of two important projects, with the other being
the Telegraph Road Open Level Crossing Project. Construction will start on that
one very soon as well, within a month or two, Madam Chairman.
A small project but none the less important is the rollout of the pedestrian
countdown timers across the city, Madam Chairman. We've seen, in the CBD
and also now in Toowong, 17 different intersections now installed with those
pedestrian countdown timers and, as I said, it's a small thing but it's an important
thing that helps give pedestrians information to help them cross safely in very
pedestrian-heavy environments.
We've seen, as I mentioned, so many projects happening across suburbs, one that
was mentioned by the LORD MAYOR today is the trial of the speed warning
signs, the flashing warning signs, Madam Chairman. I think that's another
important, small but important, I guess, weapon in our arsenal when it comes to
road and traffic issues. The best thing about these devices is that they will be
portable, they can be relocated based on community and councillor feedback to
areas where there's problems and once again, another example of us getting on
with the job, delivering projects that we've promised we'd deliver.
We saw, last week, an announcement that the Ann and Gipps Street intersection
upgrade was complete, another important safety upgrade and this one in
conjunction with the Federal Government Black Spot Program. Councillor
HOWARD, myself and also the Federal member for Brisbane, Teresa
Gambaro—
Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
—were very keen to see that project delivered.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK, stop interjecting.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 12 DEPUTY MAYOR:
We've had another important suburban link, the Upper Kedron Road upgrade,
more than $3 million and I know that Councillor WINES is particularly excited
about that project, an example of us delivering out in the suburbs. We've seen
work now kick off on the $1.5 million Jane and Montague Street intersection
upgrade—
Chairman:
DEPUTY MAYOR, your time has expired.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
Thank you.
Chairman:
Further questions, Councillor DICK.
Question 6
Councillor DICK:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, my question is to the LORD MAYOR. LORD
MAYOR, your Council team has just woken up that the anniversary of the
election was around a month ago and LORD MAYOR, last week you
acknowledged as a gift to Council's well paid bureaucrats, they were receiving
bonuses of just over 10 per cent in just one year. Can you also confirm on your
belated anniversary reports that you have cut the Compliance and Regulatory
Services budget by 20 per cent, meaning there will be less front line compliance
officers to investigate breaches of Council's local laws and complaints from
residents?
Chairman:
LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Well, Madam Chairman, I must have some very bad sources, that's all I can say.
It's interesting, though, Madam Chairman, one day Labor come in here
complaining about the number of fines that this Council imposes and now they
are berating the fact that there is apparently—apparently, according to their
sources—
Chairman:
Councillor SUTTON.
LORD MAYOR:
—I'm not sure whether it's tomato or barbecue sauce—
Chairman:
Just a minute, LORD MAYOR. Councillor SUTTON, if you continue to
interject like that, you will be warned. Thank you, LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Yes, Madam Chairman, so it's a case where they—on one hand they complained
about fines, on the other hand they complain about less resources for going out
and acting on the complaints that they have in their local wards from local
residents, leading to fines. So, Madam Chairman, this is a classic case in point
where we have an opposition who, because they have no clear positions on
things, because they are not offering a clear alternative, they simply scatter gun
all around the place in terms of their questioning.
The number of contradictions, Madam Chairman, that come through in these
questions is just staggering. We just heard with question 1 about no overseas
trips from the very sister cities that they set up. Madam Chairman, the very
relationships that they wanted to engage in between Brisbane and those other
locations and now we're hearing it, Madam Chairman, after a range of criticisms
in the past about our fines, now they're somehow demeaning the fact—
Councillor DICK:
Point of order, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Yes, point of order Councillor DICK, yes.
Councillor DICK:
Back to the specific question, it wasn't about the past, it was about, is there a cut
in place? Yes or no.
Chairman:
Yes, thank you Councillor DICK. To the question, LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Yes, Madam Chairman, we're going to be bringing down a budget in a few
weeks' time. Councillor DICK, the details around that budget will be there for all
to see. I'm not going to predict—
Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
I'm not going to predict today what that budget might contain in terms of staffing
numbers, in terms of the resources, Madam Chairman, that will be allocated to
the various sectors of this Council. But I'd just say this, Madam Chairman, that
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 13 we will always resource the Council and the various components of Council
according to the needs of this city of the day. Madam Chairman, that might not
fall into Labor's standard of thinking, Madam Chairman, which varies from time
to time and varies very regularly, but we will make the decisions we need to
make in terms of human resources, in terms of the needs to follow up on
constituency matters. We will resource accordingly.
So, Madam Chairman, the leader of the opposition will have an opportunity
when I bring the budget down on the second Wednesday of next month, during
those information sessions, to find out all the details that will be contained in that
financial plan for the year ahead. I'm not going to pre-empt, today, what may or
may not be in that budget. But I do want to point out, Madam Chairman, that the
opposition have continued to have a contradictory position around cars, around
compliance and services, Madam Chairman, in this city.
On some occasions, they condemn us for fining, on other occasions—and there's
one or two examples—I think there was one example recently where Councillor
DICK said he wanted to throw the book at certain people, yet he condemned us
on other occasions when we were out there conducting fines for unsafe parking,
Madam Chairman, in other parts of his ward. He varies depending upon what
suits him, not what, Madam Chairman, the laws of this city state. As the LORD
MAYOR, I have to do what is right and proper in relation to the compliance of
the laws of this city and to resource accordingly of what we need to do to
comply with those laws.
Although, I notice, Councillor SUTTON was another one who was out asking us
to undertake certain fines in certain locations. But then collectively as a group,
they condemn us when fine revenue somehow goes up. Well you know, you
can't have it both ways, Madam Chairman, what do they want? Do they want to
see us out there, fining people that are doing the wrong thing, or do they not?
They've never stated a clear position, they've been all over the shop. So I just
simply say, Madam Chairman, the laws are there, we will make sure that we
meet the needs of this city through the compliance officers that we have on staff.
All of those will be detailed on the second Wednesday in June.
Chairman:
Further questions, Councillor WYNDHAM.
Question 7
Councillor WYNDHAM:
Thank you, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, my question is to the Chair of
Field Services, Councillor McLACHLAN. Councillor McLACHLAN, I
understand that the recent anniversary of this Administration has occurred. Can
you please detail for the Chamber initiatives and programs of Field Services
Committee that have had a significant benefit for Brisbane residents and are you
aware of any alternatives?
Chairman:
Councillor McLACHLAN.
Councillor McLACHLAN:
Oh, thank you, Madam Chairman, and say it's not so that I only have five
minutes to answer this question? I will try to touch on the achievements of all the
areas within the Field Services Group, but I'll start with the work undertaken by
our front line staff in preparation for this year's storm event and the subsequent
city wide clean up as required and touched on earlier by Councillor
SIMMONDS, and thank you Councillor SIMMONDS for making sure we had
the resources available to undertake this very important work.
Working to deal with big storm events like the Australia Day storm this year
continues to justify the decision of this Administration to unite diverse work
units under the banner of the Field Services Group to ensure the efficient
delivery of services to the residents of Brisbane. In terms of storm readiness, in
preparation for the Australia Day weather event, we filled approximately
150,000 sand bags at six different locations and distributed approximately
104,000 of those from a further four locations, making 10 locations across the
city that had sandbags available.
The green waste collection was a huge undertaking by the Urban Amenities
Branch, supported by other branches of the Field Services Group and overall
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 14 they conducted a collection of green waste across Brisbane in all some 118,000
cubic metres of green waste was collected in four weeks from 14,000 streets.
The total number of tree action requests from the Australia Day storm was nearly
10,000, which was the largest tree event in recent history for the Council and
impacted on every suburb across Brisbane.
While thankfully there was minimal impact on private property from the
flooding event in 2013 compared to 2011, there was significant damage to public
infrastructure in parks and along waterways like Kedron Brook in my ward and
shared with the Northgate and Marchant wards and that has required the
significant marshalling of FSG (Field Services Group) resources. Madam
Chairman, the construction branch has had a number of notable achievements,
one of which was the subject of discussion in committee this morning.
The traffic network services group, which is a small group but does very
important work, has upgraded all traffic signal communications and in so doing
has reduced communication errors from around 12 per cent to now being at
0.5 per cent, which has been critical to the success of the SCATS (Sydney
Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System) implementation for the better
management of traffic signals and subsequent traffic movements. A successful
trial of the use of Green Star concrete was completed, which is now allowing for
the product to be integrated into the delivery of scheduled work in footpath
delivery.
Howard Smith Wharves, Madam Chairman, the heritage traditional heavy timber
wharf reconstruction project delivered by an integrated Field Services Group
team ahead of time with 10 per cent savings. Madam Chairman, the King and
Sherbrooke Road, Willawong intersection, a high quality delivery outcome
achieved for the intersection via a one Council approach, returning significant
budget savings with completion well ahead of schedule. Our Walter Taylor
Bridge, Madam Chairman, completion of a four year restoration project,
rehabilitation, joining some cables to the suspension bridge and strengthening of
the superstructure.
Our Story Bridge remedial works, concrete repairs works carried out the
Bradfield Highway's south span soffit columns that had deteriorated through
carbonisation. Madam Chairman, Urban Amenities, the CBD and valley
cleanliness—the CBD, valley and valley continues to be noted as one of the
cleanest city centres in Australia. The work of this group has included gully
clearing which was also crucial ahead of the storm season to ensure the, what are
known as, sag gullies, were clean and able to cope with the influx of water
expected in heavy rain events, and these are maintained with regular services.
A project to make sure that our street signs in the CBD are up to scratch ahead of
the G20 next year, so some 1600 street signs have been replaced over the course
of the last 12 months. Madam Chairman, in the Asphalt and Aggregates group, a
new asphalt production process has been implemented to supplement fine sand
with recycled glass. The benefits include cost savings to Council, improved
utilisation of Council assets, reduction of waste material transferring to landfill, a
good relationship with Visy recycling—our recycling partners, and enhancing
Council's reputation as an innovator within the industry.
Also from this group, we've seen the Legacy Way spoil reuse through working
with the City Projects Office, the Asphalts and Aggregates Branch has been able
to use the spoil from Legacy Way to rehabilitate the Mount Coot-tha Quarry,
which has saved over 90,000 truck movements on local streets in support of this
project, and I note in passing that to date they've filled, so far in this financial
year, some 75,725 pot holes, Madam Chair. I'm asked about alternatives from
the other side, nothing. We hear nothing from them on this side about delivery of
services in Field Services.
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor McLACHLAN:
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 15 Question 8
Councillor DICK:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, my question is to the LORD MAYOR. LORD
MAYOR, will you confirm that your plans to slash Council's CARS budget will
lead to lower building compliance standards, more complaints about food outlet
safety, increasing dog attacks and less scrutiny of property developments and
shoddy building work?
Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:
LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:
Well, Madam Chairman, I thought that I made it fairly clear to Councillor DICK
earlier that we will do what we need to do to see that the laws of this city are
complied with. Madam Chairman, there have been, of course, changes to the
environment regulated activities, Madam Chairman, in terms of the funds
associated with that. But can I just say that we, as a Council, will continue to get
on and do what we need to do. We will be following up on issues, Madam
Chairman, as they arise. Madam Chairman, there have been differing amounts of
resources put to CARS (Compliance and Regulatory Services) over the years.
Madam Chairman, again as I stated earlier, as soon as, if you like, we're out
there doing more regulatory work, the first ones to bleat about that will be the
Australian Labor Party.
Councillors interjecting.
LORD MAYOR:
They'll say, there we are coming down on people, Madam Chairman, being
unfair. We've seen it all, haven't we, in the past. We've seen it all. So, Madam
Chairman, I just say this, that we will do what we need to do as an
Administration, we will. We have the laws in place. We will be there to service
people's requirements in terms of those laws. So, Madam Chairman, again, I say
to you Councillor DICK, that we will be setting out in our financial plan for the
coming year, next couple of weeks, what is in place.
It will be interesting to see what Labor does in terms of its response. Will it bleat
about fines, Madam Chairman, that might be budgeted for in that document.
They've done it every year to date, so I don't see why they should change in their
consistent view of being negative toward the need to fine people that do not do
the right thing in this city. But they—I'm sure they will be negative towards it
again this year. On the one hand calling for us, in the words of Councillor DICK
in one case, to throw the book at people, but in the end, Madam Chairman, they
oppose the concept of fines where they are necessary.
Chairman:
Councillor FLESSER.
LORD MAYOR:
So, Madam Chairman, we're about to get some lessons in Flessernomics, I think,
Madam Chairman. But—
Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
—again, I can't add much more than that, than to say the budget will be down in
a couple of weeks' time and I look forward to hearing what Labor have to say in
response to it.
Chairman:
Further questions, Councillor WINES.
Question 9
Councillor WINES:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, my question is to Councillor ADAMS, the
Chairman of the Brisbane Lifestyle Committee. Councillor ADAMS, are you
aware that roughly one year ago, the people of Brisbane overwhelmingly
endorsed LORD MAYOR Quirk and his team and roundly rejected the Labor
Party—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor WINES:
—Council. Can you please detail—
Chairman:
Order.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 16 Councillor WINES:
—for the Chamber, initiatives and programs of this Administration that have had
a significant benefit for the people of Brisbane and are you aware of any
alternatives?
Chairman:
Councillor ADAMS. Councillor ADAMS, you—
Councillor ADAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, and, Madam Chairman, I thank you—thank my
Deputy Council WINES for the question. I would love to speak about what we
have achieved in Brisbane Lifestyle over the past 12 months. Unfortunately, as
my colleagues have said, five minutes is not enough to tell you everything that
we have done within the Lifestyle portfolio. So I will point to some of the
highlights, I feel, as Chair over the last 12 months.
The first one, out of Unique Window or Opportunity report, we've got a
consultative group together, about 200 businesses throughout Brisbane and we
received a priority action through customer services to deliver a Brisbane
business hotline. That 133 BNE, since it commenced in July 2012, has now
spoken to 13,000 businesses and people who wanted to start a business within
Brisbane. They have received calls on a range of topics, 4000 of those have gone
to a tier 2 management where we see people seeing majorly reduced times in
their—the time that they spend with Council, dealing with Council to get back to
their work.
The feedback is overwhelmingly positive about commenting how convenient it
is, how they are able to get all of their questions answered in one phone call.
Basically, we do the connection with the departments and it's one person to
interface with our local business. So we're helping them with valuable
information, it's helping our economy grow. We've got some recent market
research that shows us from 802 business customers that we spoke to that used
the hotline, they say up from 86 per cent in 2012, we now have over 94 per cent
saying they are satisfied with their interactions with Brisbane and in particular
the Brisbane hotline.
So Madam Chairman, it is a fantastic outcome and I have to say, not aware of
any alternatives that have been put forward. I have to commend the LORD
MAYOR on the work he's doing with our Windows of Opportunity and making
business easier in Brisbane. Also, another important milestone, Madam
Chairman, was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between
Council and Queensland Rail which has enabled us to work together to actually
remove graffiti on rail corridors. Our tag team, our Taskforce Against Graffiti is
out there, removing graffiti, gathering intelligence to detect people who commit
this crime—and it is a crime, Madam Chairman. This Administration is serious
about eliminating graffiti from this great city of ours.
We are ensuring that those responsible are being caught and are being
accordingly prosecuted. Since 2011-'12, we've committed over $6 million to the
fight against graffiti. We have removed hundreds of thousands of square metres
of graffiti. We have instigated projects like Walls and Colours where we saw the
fantastic work up at Keperra and there's more, many more of those to come. We
are having great successes in our prosecutions on our long-term repeated
offenders in this space as well.
Also within the portfolio, Madam Chairman, I can't go without mentioning
Councillor SCHRINNER's favourite, the new Carindale Library that has been
opened for a year at the end of March. In that 12 months from 29 March when it
opened in 2012 we've had almost 500,000 visits, we have loaned more than
550,000 books and items and had 28,000 people attend the libraries. Madam
Chairman, this is a significant resources into our Carindale Library, over $2.6
million into a fantastic library and there is only one alternative I heard from
Labor's record on libraries, Madam Chairman, closing.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor ADAMS:
Ithaca closed, okay, Acacia Ridge, closed, and we are opening—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillors interjecting.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 17 Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
Councillor ADAMS:
The LORD MAYORS' Writers in Residence program in our library services is
going from strength to strength, totally booked out, Peter FitzSimons, Derek
Landy, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Andy Griffiths, the Hon Michael Kirby, we've also
had writing workshops with these people. We have gone from strength to
strength, 24 authors over 14 libraries in the last 12 months and many more to
come.
The list is endless, Madam Chairman, I can't go without talking about the Wi-Fi
in parks which has been rolled out to now 22 parks across the city. Since its
commencement in July 2012 there has been more than 334,000 user sessions in
our parks. This is a great initiative for residents and visitors to Brisbane to
connect with others while enjoying our great outdoor lifestyle. I did hear an
alternative to this, it was don't do it. I do believe that we heard from those
opposite that Wi-Fi in parks would mean bad parenting. Bad parenting Wi-Fi in
local parks; a very parochial view, I would say, Madam Chairman, on a very
innovative and well-embraced, obviously, initiative that we have rolled out
through 22 parks.
Lastly, Madam Chairman, I can't go without talking about the reopening of City
Hall, led very able by Councillor COOPER and her team through program [four]
through the project. I'm very happy now that in our hands in Community
Lifestyle, we are able to work through City Hall and management, we have
delivered the Mobility Centre where residents are able to hire wheelchairs,
walkers and prams for anywhere in this city.
Chairman:
Thank you Councillor ADAMS. Thank you.
Councillor ADAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Councillors, that ends question time.
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS:
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE
The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR (Councillor Graham QUIRK), Chairman of the Establishment and
Coordination Committee, moved, seconded by the DEPUTY MAYOR (Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER), that
the report of the meeting of that Committee held on 13 May 2013, be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
LORD MAYOR:
Yes, Madam Chairman, just before coming to the item in the report today, I just
wanted to mention a few things. Firstly, we saw last Sunday a very successful
Paniyiri Festival being held in Musgrave Park, Madam Chairman. That is a
festival which continues to grow each year in popularity. I can recall the
occasion, Madam Chairman, where there was a need to go from a free festival to
a charge of entry for that particular festival. The concerns that existed at that
time about how it might fail once a charge needed to be imposed. Of course that
was around the time when insurance costs were rising significantly and it needed
to be put in place to balance the books for that event.
But it has not affected it at all. It has continued to grow and there was not much
space among those many visitors to that festival on last weekend. Madam
Chairman, last week, also, a company in this city celebrated 40 years, that was
Volvo. Forty years of their existence here in Brisbane, out there at Wacol. This is
a company with 500 employees in our city. Madam Chairman, they have done a
great job in the time that they have been here.
They have now produced some 47,000 trucks at that plant at Wacol. They have
recently launched a new, high tech vehicle, the Volvo FH truck. Madam
Chairman, this is a vehicle that all of the research and development work has
been undertaken here in Brisbane. It is a truck, Madam Chairman, which is at the
leading edge of world technologies in terms of the trucking industry. So I simply
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 18 commend Volvo in the work that they are doing in employment of the workforce
out there at Wacol. A very multicultural workforce that it is, Madam Chairman,
and I congratulate the great spirit that exists within that company's workforce as
well.
During the course of the week we also saw National Volunteer Week, a one big
thank you day and, Madam Chairman, I had great pleasure to be involved in that
week and I think the Westpac who have continued to support that event year in,
year out now for a while. So once again, Madam Chairman, our thanks go to
Volunteering Queensland and to all Brisbane people that volunteer their time to
make our community a better one in our City of Brisbane.
The RSPCA had their Million Paws Walk during the week, of course that's a
fund raising event for RSPCA. They do a great job, Madam Chairman,
representing those who can't speak for themselves, I suppose, 50,000 cases of
animal cruelty that they work on each and every year, Madam Chairman, we
thank them for their efforts. Madam Chairman, also I was keen to learn today of
a new five star hotel development in Brisbane. Shayher Group have been
awarded the opportunity to redevelop the District and Supreme Courts buildings
site.
This will be a landmark site in Brisbane. They're proposing 190 rooms and five
star accommodation, Madam Chairman, that's exactly what this city needs. I
think Shayher Group for their commitment in terms of undertaking that
development. It is of interest, Madam Chairman, that the developer is the father
of an international student undertaking study in our city. This is what I have
talked about of some time, the fact that international students in our city are the
business trade and investment leaders of the future. This is one clear cut case
where we've been able to, through those relationships, Madam Chairman, see
this company take an interest and ultimately win the right to undertake the
development at the District and Supreme Court site.
Madam Chairman, lunchtime concerts in City Hall continue, being very popular
downstairs. Great to have them back here. They were, of course, being
undertaken at a number of other locations, mainly church sites, during the course
of the closure of City Hall. But people like the Australia's Got Talent runner-up,
David de Vito, jazz songstress Cate Shaw, the Queensland Conservatorium, a
showcase of Indian classical music, all of these events coming up over the
coming weeks, Madam Chairman, as part of the lunchtime concerts here at City
Hall and I commend that to the residents of Brisbane as well.
Madam Chairman, today we have—one final thing I should mention is it's great
to see the completion of the Gipps Street Black Sport Program, Madam
Chairman. This is an area where there were some 76 accidents recorded over the
last five years. It is a great program. We thank the Federal Government for their
contribution. This was a $1.9 million upgrade and it's taken a few months to
complete but it is now in place and I think all of those concerned, Madam
Chairman, for that particular job.
The item before us, Madam Chairman, is the annual report of the Brisbane City
Council activities under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). Carbon Farming
Initiative, Madam Chairman, is of course a carbon offset scheme implemented
by the Australian Government as part of its Clean Energy Future legislative
package. The CFI scheme allows farmers and land managers to create carbon
offsets, carbon credits, if you like, by storing carbon in sinks such as soils and
trees and one classic example of that was our 2 Million Trees program here in
Brisbane City Council. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture or
legacy waste, for example, methane capture and destruction at legacy landfills.
Madam Chairman, in March of last year, this Council made an application—or
rather resolved that an application be submitted, for Council to become a
recognised offsets entity under the CFI. An account in the Australian National
Registry of Emissions Units are to be opened in the name of Council and also the
Council applied for eligible carbon offsets for projects to be recognised by the
CFI. Today, as we present the annual report for the period of 2012 to 2013, we
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 19 can see there some of those aspects, Madam Chairman, of that activity. It does
relay that we are now recognised as an offsets entity.
That was undertaken on 26 June. On 10 September, an account was established
named the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units, the Brisbane City
Council as an entity within that. On 10 January this year, we saw Brisbane City
Council submit an application for the Sherbrooke Road, Willawong Landfill gas
capture and I've had the opportunity to view that particular entity and the gas
capturing process out there. The combustion project under a methodology
determination made in 13 December 2012.
Finally, Madam Chairman, on 1 March this year, the Clean Energy Regulator
declared the Sherbrooke Road Willawong Landfill gas capture and combustion
project an eligible offset. So, Madam Chairman, I am happy to move the report.
Chairman:
Further debate, Councillor DICK.
Councillor DICK:
Thanks, Madam Chairman, and I rise to speak on the only item on the E&C once
again we've seen this. Council, hard at work dealing with one item that we know
about, I'm sure these meetings last a lot longer than what we're getting here,
Madam Chairman, but we don't know that because this Council is the most
secretive in Australia.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
Madam Chairman, the annual report on the Brisbane City Council activities
under the Carbon Farming Initiative and when I first saw this when it came
through my office on Thursday, I thought, well this is the Administration being
pro-active. This is the Administration being up front. This is the Administration
saying, you know what, we're going to get in there, we're going to provide all the
information. Then something remember in my mind something triggered, I was
reading the documents and having a look and I thought—I was almost getting
ready to get up and say, first time ever that this Council is going to be pro-active
in releasing an annual report.
Then I looked at the annual report which consisted of four lines—of an annual
report, I mean, have you ever heard of anything more ridiculous than four lines.
Then I thought—
Chairman:
Just a moment, Councillor DICK. Councillor JOHNSTON, is there a problem?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Councillor DICK—
Chairman:
Is the file not there for to enable—
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Chairman:
No, well it's not appropriate during the meeting, Councillor JOHNSTON, while
someone is speaking.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK, my apology.
Councillor DICK:
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Point of order, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Yes, Councillor JOHNSTON?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Madam Chairman, the files for the Neighbourhood Planning and Development
Assessment Committee are not at the back of the room as are normally files for
councillors to review while we're in the Chamber. Madam Chairman, I was
quietly asking the Clerk why that was not the case as they are usually here—
Chairman:
Councillor JOHNSTON, you're raised your question. When Councillor DICK
finishes speaking, I will have it looked into.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
It's all right, I know, Madam Chairman, because the Clerk very helpfully told
me. Thank you.
Chairman:
Thank you, Councillor DICK.
Councillor DICK:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, so where was I? So—
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 20 Councillor interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
So I was thinking I was going to give a speech today congratulating the LNP
Council, the first time this term, for being pro-active and getting on the front foot
and releasing information. But then when I read the report, I thought, might just
have a look at the earlier decision. I might go back to 6 March last year and have
a look at the decision. Then it tweaked, then it all became crystal clear because
everyone knows that this Council is the most secretive in Australia and never
pro-actively releases information.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
We are dealing with an extensive report of four sentences because Councillor
ABRAHAMS moved an amendment that the actual information would come to
Council. So of course, of course in this fine tradition of the Administration—
Councillor interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
—I was thinking they would have done the right thing. But only, once again,
dragged kicking and screaming as a result of, once again, a pro-active and
sensible motion by Councillor Helen ABRAHAMS. Looking at the report
today—and I note the LORD MAYOR just glossed over the report today—apart
from anything else there's, as usual, typos in this report. But detail isn't a big,
heavy influence on this Administration. I would say to the Chamber, and I note
on paragraph 12 when we look at this it says—sorry, despite these changes,
Council is to maintain its status as a recognised offsets entity to ensure it is well
placed to realise opportunities that arise as the scheme matures or due to
potential legislative change following the upcoming Federal Election.
I assume the Council officers are referring to the climate changes—climate
change deniers inside the Federal Coalition which don't believe that climate
change is real, including their Federal leader, and are going to get rid of a price
on carbon.
Councillor interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
And we've just heard, here, here, from the Chair of Environment. The person—
and there you have it, right on queue. Madam Chairman, I will take that into
interjection because yes, another climate change denier on that side of the
Chamber who doesn't believe it's real, like their Federal leader. But then I also
note, if the Federal legislative changes do occur, what they won't talk about is of
course the GST increase that those opposites support. I bet we won't be seeing
that in the rates bill—I bet we won't be seeing that in the rates bill when that
comes in. They won't be allowing that in there, will they?
All the huge imposts and the costs that are going to happen to this Council if
there is a change of government and those officers—
Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
Councillor DICK:
—get in the way of increasing the GST (Goods and Services Tax).
Chairman:
Councillor DICK, this item's not about change of government, please get back to
the item.
Councillor DICK:
Well that's right, Madam Chairman, that's why I'm questioning why they would
be even mentioned in the report. But anyway, thank you for highlighting that on
section 12. Good point, Madam Chairman. The other issue that I would like a
little clarification from the LORD MAYOR, once again we're seeing a pattern
emerge when I request the formal files for this regarding the office's information
regarding the briefing notes, of course that doesn't ever materialise until after we
make the decision today. Until after the fact.
So I place the LORD MAYOR on notice, whilst it is good that as a result of
Councillor ABRAHAMS moving an amendment that you're forced to bring in
information, scant as it is, it would be, in future, when there are decisions, when
there are reports coming in, it would be the right thing to do as we continually
ask, which you continually ignore, that proper and accurate information is
delivered to elected representatives of this city.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 21 Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:
Further debate.
Councillor OWEN-TAYLOR: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Councillor OWEN-TAYLOR.
Councillor OWEN-TAYLOR: Madam Chairman, I rise to speak on item A and what is very important to note
in this report is that Council's sole Carbon Farming Initiative, our sole CFI, is
located in Parkinson Ward at the Willawong Landfill. Madam Chairman, this
methane extraction process has been one that has certainly benefitted our local
community but also our Council as a whole. Madam Chairman, just the sheer
reflection that this methane extraction will provide 14,000 Australian Carbon
Credit Units is very significant because if you converted it at today's figures,
that's approximately $316,000.
Madam Chairman, otherwise, that methane would have been sitting under the
ground in the landfill essentially doing nothing. This way it is truly working for
us in the most appropriate way forward. Madam Chairman, over the years there
have been many issues of concern raised about Willawong and particularly about
the landfill site but this is turning it around. It is actually utilising the facilities
that we have, the Council land that we have there and the circumstances from
previous administrations and turning it into a very positive outcome, not only for
our city but also for our environment.
Madam Chairman, it is very important that we do recognise that this has been an
option that has been developed and certainty it has been a successful
development for Council. I know that the Council officers are looking at other
opportunities to see where they can undertake like projects across our city. It
certainly, from my perspective, has been welcome in the area and I encourage
anyone who has not had the opportunity—I know the LORD MAYOR has been
out there to see the methane extraction plant in operation, but if any other
councillors are keen to see it, it certainly does open your eyes and provide a
completely different perspective.
Madam Chairman, I commend the report to the Chamber.
Chairman:
Further debate, LORD MAYOR—or Councillor BOURKE.
Councillor BOURKE:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, just really quickly on
item A. Madam Chairman, before us today we have the first report for our
Carbon Farming Initiative, Madam Chairman, and obviously as Councillor
OWEN-TAYLOR just spoke to, the project that there is before us is Sherbrooke
Road the Willawong Landfill Site. Madam Chairman, but it's part of, I guess,
what this Administration has done for the last four years. Before there was a
Carbon Tax, Madam Chairman, the last four to five years, Madam Chairman, we
on this side of the Chamber have actually been focussed on reducing our
greenhouse gas emission, Madam Chairman.
We've been focussed on working with the community to do that, Madam
Chairman, and we've done all that without having to implement an impost or a
tax on the people of Brisbane, Madam Chairman, to do that. So we purchased
100 per cent green power we offset all of our emissions, Madam Chairman, we
planted two million trees, we've purchased over 500 hectares of bushland,
Madam Chairman, and we've done all of that, as well as other green initiatives,
Madam Chairman, without having to implement a tax.
But, Madam Chairman, what we saw today was once again the hollow and
empty rhetoric that comes from the Australian Labor Party when it comes to the
environment, be it state, Federal or Council, Madam Chairman. All Councillor
DICK, had on this item were hollow one-liners, Madam Chairman, and it shows
his A, B, C strategy, his anywhere but Council strategy, Madam Chairman. More
interested in Federal issues, more—
Councillor DICK:
Point of order, Madam Chair.
Councillor BOURKE:
—toeing the Federal line, Madam Chairman—
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 22 Chairman:
Councillor BOURKE, back to the item. We're not talking about the Federal
Election. Thank you.
Councillor BOURKE:
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, as I was saying—
Councillor FLESSER:
Point of order, Madam Chair. Point of order, Madam Chair.
Chairman:
Yes, Councillor FLESSER?
Councillor FLESSER:
Will Councillor BOURKE take the question?
Chairman:
Councillor BOURKE, will you take the question?
Councillor BOURKE:
I'm trying to debate the subject matter and—
Chairman:
Yes or no?
Councillor BOURKE:
—rebut what the Labor Party put forward. No, Madam Chairman. But—
Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
Councillor DICK:
He is a chicken.
Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:
Thank you, Councillor BOURKE.
Councillor BOURKE:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman, we know that they couldn't organise a
chook raffle if they tried. But, Madam Chairman, as I was going to say, we've
done a lot of work here in terms of getting this project up. It's going to deliver a
good return to Council, Madam Chairman, it's something that we as an
Administration and the work that we do in the green space, Madam Chairman, in
promoting these sort of projects and in promoting everything we do as an
organisation and encouraging people across the city, Madam Chairman, to
become more sustainable. This is something that we should be very proud of and
something that we should be putting forward.
Madam Chairman, on the issue of files, though, the agenda for today's meeting
came out on Thursday. If Councillor DICK wants to ask on a Monday for the
file—sorry, on a Tuesday morning for the files for a Tuesday Council afternoon
meeting, Madam Chairman, I suggest that maybe he should—
Chairman:
Yes, point of order against you, Councillor BOURKE, yes, Councillor DICK?
Councillor DICK:
I claim to be misrepresented.
Chairman:
Councillor FLESSER, can you turn yours—you claim to be misrepresented?
Okay, thank you.
Councillor DICK:
I do.
Chairman:
Councillor BOURKE?
Councillor BOURKE:
As I was saying, Madam Chairman, if he wants to ask for the files in a timely
manner, you get the agenda for today's meeting on a Thursday, if he wants to
actually ask for them, Madam Chairman, in a timely manner so he has time to go
and see them, I suggest he does that, Madam Chairman. I suggest he does that
instead of trying to play stupid political games in this place, Madam Chairman,
where he stands up and pontificates about being open and pontificates about
wanting to know the information, Madam Chairman, when we all know that he
really doesn't care because all he wants is to play his—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor BOURKE:
—political games in this Chamber.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK?
Councillor DICK:
Madam Chairman, Councillor BOURKE just said publically that I requested the
files today. If he bothers to check, as the relevant chairperson, the request was
made Friday afternoon.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK, that is not misrepresentation, if was—misrepresentation has to
refer to something you have said in your debate.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 23 Councillor DICK:
Point of order, Madam Chair. He did that, he said that I had requested the files
and the information he gave—
Chairman:
It's not—that's not misrepresentation but I don't think I'll ever win the battle in
here. Councillor FLESSER?
Councillor FLESSER:
Thank you, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, I am absolutely flabbergasted
that Councillor BOURKE got up to speak about this. Madam Chairman, by his
interjection before, he doesn't even believe that global warming is due to human
interference of this world, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, not only that, we
know that a lot of his colleagues feel the same way, Madam Chair. So him
coming—
Chairman:
Councillor—yes, Councillor BOURKE.
Councillor BOURKE:
I'll do two points of order, if I can? One is I claim to be misrepresented and the
second one is I don't think he's actually speaking to the item before us.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor FLESSER:
Well, Madam Chairman, he was talking about files.
Chairman:
Just hold on. Councillor FLESSER, look, let me go through the rules in this
place. The LORD MAYOR can speak on anything. A chairman can speak on
anything related to their portfolio when they present their chairman's report.
Anybody else speaks only—and for an E&C report, the only person who goes
around the world is the LORD MAYOR. Please keep your comments in line
with what's in the rules of procedure and that applies to everyone in this place.
Councillor FLESSER.
Councillor FLESSER:
Thank you Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it's very hard to debate a point with
climate change deniers that we have sitting on the other side of this Chamber.
Chairman:
Further debate—just a minute, Councillor ABRAHAMS, misrepresentation of
Councillor BOURKE.
Councillor BOURKE:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, I just pointed out that
we on this side of the Chamber have gotten on with dealing with the issue of
greenhouse gasses without implementing a tax on people.
Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:
Next time there is a wrong point of misrepresentation from anyone, it will not be
heard. Councillor ABRAHAMS.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I wish to talk about auditing of our
carbon efficiency including the Willawong Carbon Farming Initiative which, I
think, is the item of agenda on this E&C: the only item on the agenda on the
E&C. Madam Chair, if we were really serious to inform the community about
the auditing, we would be saying that there is very little in the audit with
Brisbane City Council that we have to audit against, because we were a leader in
the initiative of environmental sustainability when the auditing process came in.
That is because Council had introduced recycling; that is because Council had
natural gas buses and that is because Council had the most efficient methanecollecting system in Australia at that time—at Rochedale—which we achieved
through a business partnership and they are using those offsets at this time for
what we're doing with our sewage treatment at Luggage Point. All of which were
Labor initiatives. All of which set Council in an extremely good position to be
sustainable, but when it came to this audit, most of them were not able to be
audited.
What is even sadder, that the initiatives that came through when Labor and the
former Lord Mayor Campbell Newman looked at climate change seriously and
did continuous, progressive improvements where Council brought in carbon
offsets, where Council brought in green power, it was 50 per cent until Council
got rid of our water. But are now 100 per cent green power, which were brought
through on Labor’s initiative on climate change and through the resistance of the
LORD MAYOR, we still won them.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 24 That is why we have only got one item to audit at this time. But what this audit
shows, and that's why we asked to have a look at this audit, that it is since the
process has come in, we've been standing time. We haven't got any new
initiatives; we haven't got any new initiatives that we could put up to audit to
save the ratepayers of Brisbane. That's what this audit process is all about. It's so
you look at your emissions and see where you can improve. I would argue, we've
gone backwards in the built environment because when we, Labor, left it, we
were working with the built environment to really achieve significant
improvement in built environments and reducing their emissions.
There has been no improvement and, in fact, we know we have gone backwards
because we haven't even given any incentives there. So, I would say to the other
side of the chamber, it isn't a point of who owns Willawong in their ward, it is a
point that we haven't had any continuous improvement in reducing our carbon
footprint of this city, which is what the audit's about.
Chairman:
Further debate, LORD MAYOR. No. I will put the motion.
Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of the report of the Establishment and
Coordination Committee was declared carried on the voices.
The report read as follows
ATTENDANCE:
The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor (Councillor Graham Quirk) (Chairman); Deputy Mayor
(Councillor Adrian Schrinner) (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors Krista Adams, Matthew Bourke,
Amanda Cooper, Peter Matic, David McLachlan and Julian Simmonds.
A
ANNUAL REPORT ON BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL ACTIVITIES UNDER
THE CARBON FARMING INITIATIVE
131/625/273/108
618/2012-13
1.
Vicki Pethybridge, Divisional Manager, City Planning and Sustainability Division, provided
the information below.
2.
The Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) is a carbon offsets scheme implemented by the
Australian Government as part of its Clean Energy Future legislative package.
3.
The CFI scheme allows farmers and land managers to create carbon credits by:
storing carbon in “sinks” such as soils and trees, for example the 2 Million Trees
program
reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture or legacy waste, for example
methane capture and destruction at legacy landfills.
4.
The carbon credits, known as Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU), can be:
traded
used to meet carbon liabilities under the Clean Energy Act 2011
used to meet voluntary carbon neutral or greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
5.
On 6 March 2012, Council resolved that:
an application be submitted for Council to become a Recognised Offsets Entity under
the CFI
an account in the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU) be
opened in the name of Council
Council apply for eligible carbon offsets projects to be recognised under the CFI.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), was also delegated the power to manage Council’s
recognition as an offsets entity and to initiate and approve transactions on its ANREU
account.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 25 -
6.
The CEO has further delegated the power to:
manage Council’s recognition as an offsets entity to the Manager, Natural
Environment, Water and Sustainability Branch
initiate transactions in the ANREU to the Program Delivery Manager, Energy and
Carbon, Natural Environment, Water and Sustainability Branch
approve transactions in the ANREU to the Corporate Treasurer, Corporate Finance.
7.
The delegation of powers was subject to a condition requiring the CEO to ensure that an
Annual Report be presented to Council on how the activities authorised by the resolution have
been implemented.
8.
An Annual Report covering the period March 2012 to March 2013 is outlined in
Attachment A, submitted hereunder.
9.
It is therefore recommended that Council notes the Carbon Farming Initiative Annual Report
as outlined in Attachment A.
Environmental impact
10.
Council projects implemented under the CFI will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and may
provide other environmental benefits including improved air quality, water management and
biodiversity. To be declared eligible under the CFI, individual projects must be shown to not
have any negative environmental impacts.
Financial impact
11.
Annual costs of implementing CFI projects were anticipated to be between $20,000 and
$80,000 and funds were allocated in a dedicated project budget for this purpose. However, it
was subsequently determined that, under current Methodology Determinations (the detailed
rules for developing projects), there are limited opportunities for Council projects to be
recognised in the short term. The remaining project budget was offered as a saving at third
budget review.
12.
Despite these changes, Council is to maintain its status as a Recognised Offsets Entity to
ensure it is well placed to realise opportunities that arise as the scheme matures or due to
potential legislative change following the upcoming federal election.
13.
In 2012-13, approximately 14,000 ACCU are anticipated to be generated for Council’s sole
CFI project at the Willawong landfill, representing a value of $316,000 at the current ACCU
spot price of $22.60.
14.
Accordingly, the Divisional Manager, submitted the following recommendation with which
the Committee agrees.
15.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTES THE CARBON FARMING INITIATIVE ANNUAL
REPORT AS OUTLINED IN ATTACHMENT A, HEREUNDER.
Attachment A
Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) Annual Report – March 2013
The following activity has occurred in relation to the Council decision made on 6 March 2012
in the period up to 31 March 2013.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 26 -
Date
Activity
26 June 2012
The Clean Energy Regulator declared Brisbane City Council a Recognised
Offsets Entity.
10 September 2012
An account in the name of Brisbane City Council was opened in the Australian
National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU).
10 January 2013
Brisbane City Council submitted an application for the Sherbrooke Road,
Willawong, landfill gas capture and combustion project under a Methodology
Determination made on 13 December 2012.
1 March 2013
The Clean Energy Regulator declared the Sherbrooke Road, Willawong,
landfill gas capture and combustion project an Eligible Offsets Project.
Approximately 14,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) are anticipated
to be generated for this project.
Brisbane City Council is continuing to investigate viable Council projects under the CFI.
ADOPTED
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, moved,
seconded by Councillor Ian McKENZIE, that the report of the meeting of that Committee held on 14 May 2013,
be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
DEPUTY MAYOR:
Yes, Madam Chairman, last week we had a presentation on the implementation
of the SCATS traffic management system in Brisbane. This was an informative
and useful presentation which talked about the back office IT system, which
controls our 900-plus sets of traffic signals across the city. This is a very
important system and one that Council has implemented relatively seamlessly.
We are, I'm told, the largest Council to implement such a system in this way.
Traditionally other cities have done it in a much more drawn out fashion and the
quick implementation of SCATS in Brisbane is a credit to the Congestion
Reduction Unit and the officers that have been involved.
But also, look, there are benefits of SCATS as a system which we probably all
benefit from as we drive around the city each day but may not realise. A
common complaint from the residents of Brisbane is that there's no coordination
of traffic signals. You can drive from one intersection to the next and feel as
though the signals aren't being coordinated. I can tell you, with SCATS in place
that coordination is occurring. Along each corridor it is a system that helps adapt
to traffic flows, monitors the volume of traffic going through each intersection
and makes adjustments automatically to help cater for that traffic flow.
So it's a system that is working well in our city and we continue to tweak that
system to get the full advantages. We did find an interesting part of that
presentation was how SCATS tracks traffic along a corridor. Have you ever had
that feeling where you either get every red light along a corridor or every green
light? Well that is actually a reality and that can happen. We saw the way the
system works and because green and red lights are coordinated along a corridor
with SCATS, if you happen to be getting the red lights then you'll continue to get
the red lights all the way along that corridor on some occasions.
On the other hand, if you are fortunate to get the green signals, you're likely to
get green signals at various intersections along that corridor. So it was
fascinating to see the back office of that system and how it works in terms of
managing the traffic flow across our city. This is one of the tools that our
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 27 Congestion Reduction Unit uses and an important one. As I said, it is one tool
that we continue to tweak to get the maximum advantage out of. This system, to
work properly, relies on continual data being fed into the system and it relies on
continued maintenance of road detector loops, as well, to ensure that they're
working and that's a program which Council has ongoing to make sure we get
the best out of our traffic system.
So, Madam Chairman, I commend the report to the Chamber and encourage all
councillors, particularly those who weren't present, to have a read of that report.
Chairman:
Further debate, Councillor ABRAHAMS.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Seriatim - Clause B
Councillor Helen ABRAHAMS requested that Clause B, PETITION – REQUESTING INSTALLATION OF
TRAFFIC LIGHTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF TILLEY AND GREEN CAMP ROADS, WAKERLEY, be
taken seriatim for voting purposes.
Chairman:
Item B?
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
B, Madam Chair. I wish to speak on item C, which are the traffic lights on
Montague Road and Jane Street, West End. Madam Chair, I'll be quick. This
petition has taken two years for a response. The community has been waiting
almost four years for the traffic lights. I'm delighted they're going ahead, but
really two years for a response. But the thing I am concerned about, Madam
Chairman, when there was funding, in the budget, in 2010, the traffic lights were
going to cost half a million. Now, Madam Chair, three, three and a half years
later, they're costing one and a half million.
Madam Chairman, I often get up and say, if things are done in a timely manner,
they are much better value for money. I don't think anything could prove it better
than these traffic lights that have trebled in just three years.
Chairman:
Further debate, Councillor CUMMING?
Councillor CUMMING:
Yes, Madam Chair, I refer to item B. Madam Chair, I note this relates in this
item, the next Council budget that's being brought down will actually be the
tenth consecutive budget brought down by a LNP Lord Mayor, yet there's still no
progress on resolving this problem. The response is very weak; the petitioners
will be advised that Federal Government funding will be sought. There's been no
commitment by either the current Labor Government, Federal Government or
the opposition to fund this project.
The situation arises because the decision of the final Howard Government in the
2004-2007 term, to fund an upgrade on the Redlands side of the Tingalpa Creek,
in the Federal seat of Bowman, which was held by the LNP. But no funding was
provided on the Brisbane Bonner side of Tingalpa Creek. So large volumes of
traffic flood across the bridge over Tingalpa Creek, up Rickertt Road and onto
the Green Camp Road bottleneck. Heaven help any Wynnum, Manly or Doboy
resident travelling to Carindale or Mount Gravatt to work, or to Chandler for
exercise who want to turn right from Green Camp Road into Tilley Road during
the two-hour morning peak—they have no hope—they're relying on the good
will of someone to let them cross that intersection.
A set of traffic lights at that intersection would give them a chance to get through
that intersection. As it stands now, they have no chance of getting through. Now,
Madam Chairman, a set of traffic lights is not that expensive, perhaps $1 million
to $2 million would solve the problem, compared to the $3 billion Brisbane City
Council budget it could be described as very affordable. This response is even
more pathetic than I've already indicated in that paragraph 23 is states, and I
quote, “…upgrading the Tilley Road corridor would be likely to reduce
congestion on the Green Camp Road Tilley Road intersection.”
The Tilley Road corridor was upgraded in the 2008-2012 term of Council by
building Kianawah Road South, which was subsequently dubbed by some of my
constituents as the road to nowhere. This is because at one end there is no link to
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 28 the rest of Tilley Road, from Tilley Road to Manly Road, while at the other end
there is no link from Kianawah Road South to the rest of Kianawah Road
between Wondall and Wynnum Roads. Guess what? Council's already
announced that neither the two remaining stages of Tilley to Kianawah Road
link will be constructed in this term of Council. So thanks for nothing for the
useless information contained in paragraph 23.
To sum up, Madam Chair, this is a very disappointing, indeed an insulting
response to the petitioners and if it's left up to this administration, it may well be
another decade or two before this problem is dealt with.
Chairman:
Further debate, Councillor SCHRINNER.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
Madam Chairman, I thank councillors that have contributed to the debate today.
Look, in relation to both of these issues, they're both projects out in the suburbs,
the first one at item B where we're getting on with the job. Councillor
ABRAHAMS complained about the cost of the project and then at item C,
Councillor CUMMINGS said that $1 million to $2 million—
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Point of order, Madam Chair.
Chairman:
Yes, Councillor ABRAHAMS.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
I claim to be misrepresented and I think it will be a genuine one—
Chairman:
Thank you Councillor ABRAHAMS. DEPUTY MAYOR.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
And then at item C, Councillor CUMMINGS said, $1 million to $2 million is not
a lot of money, let's just get on with it. But look, in relation to item C, it's easy—
particularly from the opposition chief seats—to criticise the administration for
not doing this or that project. The reality is, as I said earlier, we have invested
more into our suburban road network than any other administration.
Councillors interjecting.
DEPUTY MAYOR:
Forget about Clem Jones; forget about Jim Soorley, or any other administration.
We have the record of investment. Now the reality is that money is tight in this
current financial situation and we will do as much as we can possible do, but in
this case we've been very clear in saying that we need the help of the Federal
Government to do this corridor properly. Now this is a big project, it's not a case
of putting in a $1 million set of lights. The entire corridor needs and upgrade and
that is not going to be cheap because the corridor will need to be upgraded to
dual carriageway standard.
So any intersection upgrade would need to be done to that standard as well. Now
I don't know if Councillor CUMMINGS had a look at the cost of intersection
upgrades lately, but as Councillor ABRAHAMS mentioned, they're not cheap
and I can tell you, $1 million to $2 million would not upgrade this intersection to
the standard that it needs to be upgraded. We've seen intersection upgrades that
are complicated and carry a lot of traffic that cost up to $30 million to
$40 million to upgrade and we've seen the Warrigal Road roundabout
replacement upgrade costing that amount.
Now I'm not saying this one will cost $30 million but it certainly will cost
several million dollars and potentially more than $10 million. The reason I say
that is because just down the road at the intersection of New Cleveland and
Tilley Road, and Tilley Road and New Cleveland Road and Dianthus Street, that
intersection there cost $8 million to upgrade and that was just a couple of years
ago. So it's not a case of a little bit of spare change here, this is a significant
project which we'd love to do but right now we don't have the funds to do.
We're calling on the Federal Government, and whoever might be the Federal
Government after September, to help us with this project and in particular with
the Tilley Road extension project. This is an overall project that is estimated to
cost in excess of $300 million. So that's to do the full Tilley Road corridor. So
that's obviously something that we can't just throw a bit of spare change at to fix.
We have spent significant money, in excess of $100 million on the Manly Road
corridor and Wynnum Road corridor, we're getting on with it as we can, but as I
said, right now we simply do not have the money to do this full corridor.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 29 Certainly, I would encourage councillors, including Councillor CUMMING and
all Labor councillors get behind the South East Queensland Council of Mayors,
Give a Beep campaign, because this is one of the projects listed in that
campaign. This is one of the projects that we're lobbying for, on the behalf of the
ratepayers of Brisbane. So instead of scoring a few cheap political points, please
get on board with the campaign and help us. Help lobby your Labor colleagues
to provide the funding; we'll certainly be lobbying our Coalition colleagues to do
the same thing. In the end, the main thing is that we get the right outcome and I
think councillors for their contribution today.
Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
The misrepresentation, thank you, Madam Chair. Councillor SCHRINNER said,
and I quote, Councillor ABRAHAMS complained about the cost. Madam
Chairman, I didn't, I gave an observation about how it had increased in three
years and called for more timely expenditure.
Chairman:
Thank you, I'll put the motion for items A and C.
Clauses A and C put
Upon being submitted to the meeting the motion for the adoption of Clauses A and C of the report of the
Infrastructure Committee was declared carried on the voices.
Chairman:
I'll put the motion for item B, all those in favour say aye.
Clause B put
Upon being submitted to the meeting the motion for the adoption of Clause B of the report of the Infrastructure
Committee was declared carried on the voices.
Thereupon, Councillors Milton DICK and Helen ABRAHAMS immediately rose and called for a division,
which resulted in the motion being declared carried.
The voting was as follows:
AYES: 19 -
The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR, Councillor Graham QUIRK,
DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, and Councillors Krista
ADAMS, Matthew BOURKE, Amanda COOPER, Margaret de WIT, Vicki
HOWARD, Steven HUANG, Fiona KING, Geraldine KNAPP, Kim MARX, Peter
MATIC,
Ian McKENZIE,
David
McLACHLAN,
Ryan
MURPHY,
Angela OWEN-TAYLOR,
Julian SIMMONDS,
Andrew
WINES,
and
Norm WYNDHAM.
NOES: 8 -
The Leader of the OPPOSITION, Councillor Milton DICK, and Councillors
Helen ABRAHAMS, Shayne SUTTON, Peter CUMMING, Kim FLESSER,
Steve GRIFFITHS, Victoria NEWTON, and Nicole JOHNSTON.
The report read as follows
ATTENDANCE:
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Adrian Schrinner (Chairman), Councillor Ian McKenzie (Deputy
Chairman), and Councillors Margaret de Wit, Milton Dick, Victoria Newton and Norm Wyndham.
A
COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – SCATS UPDATE
619/2012-13
1.
Simon Belfield, Manager, Congestion Reduction Unit, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, and
Con Calos, Senior Traffic Systems Engineer, Congestion Reduction Unit, attended the
meeting to provide an update on the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System known as
SCATS. They provided the information below on the system which has been in place in
Council since 2011.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 30 -
2.
SCATS is managed by Council’s Congestion Reduction Unit. This unit is responsible for the
management and operation of traffic signals including: design, equipment specification,
safety, programming, timing, coordination, communication and testing. This includes
918 signalised intersections or pedestrian crossings and more than 9000 embedded detector
loops. Video detection technologies are also being worked on.
3.
Details of the SCATS system were provided. The system collects and analyses information. It
reads the state of the embedded loop detectors at crossings and intersections and adjusts green
time (green light periods) for each approach. It addresses signal cycle times for intersections
and offset times between intersections. All of these functions are performed live in real time.
It also offers traffic controllers many other online features simply by pointing and clicking a
mouse at their workstations.
4.
The system was announced and launched in July 2010, and it was delivered on schedule and
under budget by the end of 2011. It has resulted in a significant saving in maintenance costs
compared to the previous system.
5.
During the 2012-13 year Council has refined all SCATS system settings and corrected
inconsistencies, converted all corridors to full adaptive control, and implemented a database
repository for all SCATS data. Work is currently underway to develop analysis tools and key
performance indicators based on National Performance Standards.
6.
A memorandum of understanding between Council and the Department of Transport and
Main Roads (DTMR) has been entered into resulting in a number of Council intersections
being operated and maintained by DTMR and Council taking responsibility for certain
DTMR intersections. Implementing a single integrated transport system platform bringing
together SCATS and the DTMR’s STREAMS system is also being considered. This
integration has taken place interstate.
7.
Images of a number of system screens, showing how operators can monitor and manage
traffic flow and congestion, were displayed.
8.
The officers answered a number of questions and the Chairman thanked them for attending
the meeting.
9.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE
REPORT.
ADOPTED
B
PETITION – REQUESTING INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS AT
THE INTERSECTION OF TILLEY AND GREEN CAMP ROADS,
WAKERLEY
CA13/41236
620/2012-13
10.
A petition from residents of Brisbane and nearby local authorities, requesting the installation
of traffic signals at the intersection of Tilley and Green Camp Roads, Wakerley, was received
during the Summer Recess 2012-13.
11.
The Divisional Manager, Brisbane Infrastructure, provided the information below.
12.
The petition contains a total of 15 signatures.
13.
The intersection of Tilley and Green Camp Roads is currently a T-intersection with one lane
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 31 -
in each direction on both roads. Green Camp Road (the major road) is an arterial route with a
70 km/h speed limit. Tilley Road (the minor road) is a suburban route with an 80 km/h speed
limit.
14.
The sightline for vehicles turning right form Tilley Road into Green Camp Road is 140 metres
and the sight line for vehicles turning left from Tilley Road into Green Camp Road is
200 metres.
15.
Traffic counts were undertaken at this intersection in 2005. The results show the peak hour
flow (northbound during the morning and southbound during the afternoon) is approximately
1500 vehicles per hour on Green Camp Road. As such, Green Camp Road is approaching
capacity for a two-lane road and consequently there are long delays for vehicles entering from
Tilley Road, especially during peak periods.
16.
A feasibility study for the upgrade of the Manly Road – Green Camp Road corridor was
carried out in 2006. This recommended widening Green Camp Road to a four-lane
median divided road with signals at the intersection with Tilley Road. Concurrently, Council
was designing upgrades to other parts of the corridor.
17.
Recent works on the corridor include:
Wynnum Road: Stanton Road to Thornlake Court widened to six lanes
Manly Road/Wondall Road: replacement of the roundabout with traffic signals
Manly Road: Wondall Road to Moss Road widened to four lanes
Manly Road/Arenga Street intersection signalisation
Tilley Road Extension Stage 1 (Manly Road to Wondall Road) and upgrade of
Manly Road/Hargreaves Road intersection.
18.
Since that time, Council has taken a decision to continue the planning for the upgrade of the
Tilley Road corridor. The later stages of this upgrade would involve re-alignment of
Tilley Road, and would likely result in a significant reduction of traffic on the Green Camp
Road/Tilley Road intersection. Stage 2 of the Tilley Road project has been subject to Council
budget funding for feasibility and preliminary design.
19.
Council has sought to obtain funding for the subsequent stages of the Tilley Road corridor
though the Council of Mayors’ ongoing dialogue with the Federal Government. This is due to
the regional significance of the upgrade for residents outside of Brisbane, namely the Redland
City Council area.
20.
Due to the current two-lane configuration of Green Camp Road, the road upgrading required
to allow the installation of signals would be considered as part of an overall upgrade of the
Green Camp Road – Rickertt Road corridor, which is unlikely to be completed until the
Tilley Road extension is further progressed.
Funding
21.
Funding for the design of the Tilley Road Stage 2 project is provided in the Moving Brisbane
program.
Consultation
22.
The local ward councillor has been consulted and supports the recommendation.
Customer Impact
23.
Upgrading the Tilley Road corridor would be likely to reduce congestion on the Green Camp
Road/Tilley Road intersection.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 32 -
Preferred option
24.
It is the preferred option that the petitioners be advised that Council is seeking Federal
Government funding in conjunction with the Council of Mayors for the Tilley Road extension
due to its regional significance for motorists outside Brisbane City Council area. This project
is likely to alleviate congestion at the Green Camp Road/Tilley Road intersection.
25.
The Divisional Manager recommends accordingly and the Committee agrees, with
Councillors Dick and Newton dissenting.
26.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT THE PETITIONERS BE ADVISED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
PREFERRED OPTION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE
REPORT.
ADOPTED
C
PETITION – REQUESTING INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS AT
THE INTERSECTION OF MONTAGUE ROAD AND JANE STREET, WEST
END
CA11/244695
621/2012-13
27.
A petition from residents of Brisbane, requesting installation of traffic signals at the
intersection of Montague Road and Jane Street, West End, to address safety issues, was
received during the Spring Recess 2011.
28.
The Manager, Transport Planning and Strategy, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provides the
information below.
29.
The petition was signed by 68 residents (representing 63 households) requesting. Of these
68 signatories, 18 reside in West End.
30.
The petitioners consider this intersection to be unsafe for West End State School pupils,
CityGlider passengers and the people shopping at the markets every Saturday.
31.
Montague Road is classified as a district access road and provides an east/west link between
Montague Road and Boundary Street.
32.
A traffic survey was conducted at the intersection in June 2010. It indicated large volumes of
traffic use Montague Road, with substantial volumes of traffic entering the intersection from
the Jane Street approaches. The traffic survey also indicated that pedestrians frequently used
this location to cross both roads.
33.
The official Department of Transport and Main Roads crash history records do not show a
high frequency of crashes at the intersection that would be resolved by the immediate
installation of traffic signals. There were four documented crashes in the last ten years that
could possibly have been a result of drivers failing to comply with the regulatory give way
signs, and may have been addressed by traffic signals. However, there was only one
documented crash in the last five years that can be attributed to a driver failing to give way.
34.
Council allocated funding for this project in the 2010-11 budget, but deferred works following
the January 2011 floods.
35.
The project has since been funded for construction in the 2012-13 Council budget. Completion of the
construction is scheduled for mid-May 2013.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 33 Funding
36.
The amount of $1.5 million is allocated under the Major Traffic Improvements – Intersections,
schedule of the 2012-13 Council budget for this work.
Consultation
37.
The Councillor for The Gabba Ward, Councillor Helen Abrahams, has been consulted and
supports the recommendation, below.
Preferred option
38.
It is the preferred option that the petitioners be advised that signals are currently being
installed at the Jane Street/Montague Road intersection, and that Council will proceed with
the installation of signals as funded in the 2012-13 budget.
39.
The Manager therefore recommends as follows and the Committee agrees.
40.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT THE PETITIONERS BE ADVISED OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED
IN THE ABOVE REPORT AND THAT COUNCIL ENDORSES THE PREFERRED
OPTION ABOVE.
ADOPTED
PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE
Councillor Peter MATIC, Chairman of the Public and Active Transport Committee, moved, seconded by
Councillor Steven HUANG that the report of that Committee held on 14 May 2013, be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
Councillor MATIC:
Thank you, Madam Chairman, before I get to the committee presentation I just
want to briefly speak to the bus review. As councillors would know, it closed at
midnight last night and so we're now going through the process of collating that
information, Madam Chairman, putting it forward as a proposal for the state
government. I know, with interest, Madam Chairman that some councillors have
undertaken their own public consultation in respect of the issue and
Councillor NEWTON did recently, last week for example.
But I note with interest on her Facebook site, there's a photo, Madam Chairman,
of Councillor NEWTON undertaking free consultations as councillors do, it's
appropriate to do so at Taigum. Standing next to her, Madam Chairman, is
Councillor CUMMINGS. Now Councillor CUMMINGS, he's come a long way
from the shores of Wynnum to Taigum, Madam Chairman, but Councillor
CUMMINGS, Madam Chairman, is supportive of the proposals that we put
forward in the submission. Thank you Councillor CUMMINGS for making that
submission and whole-heartedly supporting our process.
I'm assuming because he had nothing to say about the process, Madam
Chairman, he went to help Councillor NEWTON out at her info booth, Madam
Chairman.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor MATIC:
Well, as I was just thinking, Madam Chairman, the DEPUTY MAYOR was
talking about State prospects, that this is an awfully nice photo, Madam
Chairman, I was wondering whether it was a photo for Facebook or Councillor
NEWTON's pre-selection brochure for the State seat of Sandgate. But anyway,
Madam Chairman, time will tell. Time will tell, as Councillor BOURKE earlier
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 34 said, Madam Chairman, obviously Councillor DICK is applying the principles of
A, B, C – anywhere but Council – Madam Chairman, I understand that—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor MATIC:
—his future prospects have extended beyond Federal to State seats but we will
see, Madam Chairman, we will see. We will see whether Councillor DICK stays
with us for the next term or not, Madam Chairman.
But in respect of the committee presentation, Madam Chairman, I just want to
acknowledge the officers and thank them for a very informative presentation of
network coordination in respect of Brisbane Transport's role in that space. It is
certainly an arduous task, Madam Chairman, of 24-hour surveillance undertaken
by officers in Brisbane Transport of our network and the amount of work that it
provided is quite extensive. But also, importantly, Madam Chairman, the updates
that are provided through the control centre to the various departments and
council offices in order to keep the system moving is absolutely vital to a
growing city.
Chairman:
Further debate. I'll put the motion.
Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of the report of the Public and Active
Transport Committee was declared carried on the voices.
The report read as follows
ATTENDANCE:
Councillor Peter Matic (Chairman), Councillor Steven Huang (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors
Nicole Johnston, Steve Griffiths, Kim Marx and Ryan Murphy.
A
COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – NETWORK COORDINATION CENTRE –
BRISBANE TRANSPORT
622/2012-13
1.
Wayne Davis, Operations Manager Network Coordination, Brisbane Transport, and Alan
Geyer, Chief Operating Officer, Divisional Manager’s office, Brisbane Transport, delivered a
presentation on the Network Coordination Centre. They provided the information below.
2.
The Network Coordination Centre (NCC) coordinates and manages the day-to-day, on-road
operations of Brisbane Transport Bus Network. Bus operators are under the direction of the
NCC while on the road.
3.
The NCC is responsible for ensuring all incidents affecting Brisbane Transport services are
dealt with effectively, efficiently and with minimal disruption to customers. To achieve this,
the area is staffed by:
an operations manager (contactable 24 hours a day, seven days a week)
two senior team leaders ((contactable 24 hours a day, seven days a week)
28 full-time staff and one administration officer.
4.
The NCC communicates with bus operators by radio and this permits bus operators to also
report any incident affecting their service. If an issue is identified the NCC can then take
appropriate action to address the problem and minimize impacts on customers. All calls are
logged into the Incident Management System.
5.
All incoming radio calls are allocated a priority, and the NCC’s commitment is to respond to
all calls based on the following performance indicators:
Emergency: immediate/within 20 seconds
Bus change: within one minute and 30 seconds
Requires attention: within five minutes
Late running/urgent: within two minutes
Traffic report: within five minutes
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 35 -
-
Call back request (bus control): within 10 minutes
Late running advice: within 20 minutes
Full standing load: data recorded and deleted
Call back request: within two minutes
Response to open call: within the minute.
6.
Between the hours of 4am and 7pm, the NCC receives an average of 580 calls per day via the
radio system. Some of these calls require several follow-up contacts to ensure incidents have
been managed and are reported to the following stakeholders depending on the impact to
services and/or customers:
depot managers
divisional managers
TransLink
Chief Executive Officer
the Lord Mayor.
7.
The NCC also provides staff for mobile response vehicles. These vehicles are used to attend
on-road incidents and critical incidents. They provide assistance and support to bus operators
and network with agencies such as:
Queensland Police Service
Queensland Ambulance Service
Queensland Fire Services.
8.
Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked the officers for
their informative presentation.
9.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE
REPORT.
ADOPTED
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT
COMMITTEE
Councillor Amanda COOPER, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment
Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor Vicki HOWARD, that the report of the meeting of that Committee
held on 14 May 2013, be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
Councillor COOPER:
Yes, thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I rise to speak to this
application that came to committee last Tuesday. I'd like to particularly say at the
outset, thank you very much to the two Council officers who presented, they
actually were representatives of a much larger team who assessed this
application. Both of those officers are very experienced senior planners and they
did a fantastic job providing all the information there for us to have a look at. I
would like to particularly thank you for the result, they've got a really good
outcome for that particular site.
So, Madam Chair, this application is a very significant one for our city, it is a
significant commercial application. In fact, the information I've been told is that
this will be the largest commercial development in Queensland. So a significant
proposal for us to consider, obviously one that really does demonstrate our CBD
and our city is a very strong and very attractive place for investment. This is an
application that's come through as a result of a tender process. I believe there
were originally 13 companies that registered interest with six of those being
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 36 shortlisted with the State Government choosing to go with Cbus to realise their
vision.
The site is zone MP at city centre and it was a code assessable application and
there were no submissions received by officers. I believe that this site has
actually been designated for government development since 1974, so quite some
time, indeed. There were two State concurrence agencies as part of this
application, the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, the
Department of Transport and Main Roads; both of whom have imposed
conditions, reflected in condition 63 of the approval package.
The site, Madam Chair, as you would know, has been vacant for a very long
time and has recently been used as a car park. It is a very significant site in terms
of being an entry point to our city and I think it's great to see something of great
merit going onto this site to achieve a good outcome. This is a 45 storey
commercial building with a total GFA (gross floor area) of 96,682 square
metres. So the total floor area of the building is equal to nearly 11 Suncorp
Stadiums—that's the playing surface—and will be, as I said earlier, the tallest
commercial office building in the city.
As we heard at committee, 76,366 square metres are for office space, 1259 are
for retail across 10 tenancies and 931 square metres will make up the media
centre. The site is a constrained one, bounded on sides by William Street,
Margaret Street and Alice Street and the on and off ramps of the Southeast
Freeway, Gardens Point Road and covers nearly 7000 square metres. It's 6778 to
be exact, so the design had a number of issues to resolve, particularly flooding
and service vehicle access.
Officers talked through all of the issues and particularly noted that there will be
an indented drop off bay in William Street, there will be construction of a
vehicle turnaround on Gardens Point Road and there will be two corner
dedications on William Street, six metres by six metres. In terms of the flooding
issue, the IRFL (Interim Residential Flood. Level) is 5.2 metres AHD
(Australian Height Datum) with the basement entry point funded to RL 5.5
metres AHD. Essential services will be set at nine metres AHD and meeting, of
course, the requirements of Council's Temporary Local Planning Instrument.
There will be three basement car parks accommodating 318 car spaces
complying with City Plan for—and the employees will have a whole range of
opportunities with 39 motorcycle spaces, 600 bike spaces, 650 bike lockers and
60 showers, so, Madam Chairman that is far in excess of what Council would
require for employees. In fact, there's more than three times the number of bike
spaces required and the list goes on, in terms of bicycle facilities. This
development is aiming for five star in office design, green star and energy rating
along with three stars for water, waste and indoor environment.
In construction, this application will see approximately 1000 jobs per year, with
estimation this will mean another 4000 to 5000 jobs over the life of the project.
Madam Chairman, this is a good outcome for this site, I am delighted to see this
application come forward. I note that the local councillor is in support, we
appreciate her comments, and the LORD MAYOR certainly is a strong advocate
for this one. It's disappointing to see that in committee last week the Australian
Labor Party chose to vote against this proposal, Madam Chair. They feel—
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor COOPER:
They apparently feel, Madam Chair that it's inappropriate to locate a commercial
office building on this site, which has been basically expected to go on such a
location since 1974, Madam Chair. They feel, perhaps, a dirt car park is a
more-suitable use, we have a very contrary position, Madam Chair. So, Madam
Chair, this development will serve as a testament to design, as a key entry point
to our city, it will activate and it will revitalise this part of the CBD. We think it's
a great outcome and we look forward to seeing it eventuate. Thank you, Madam
Chair.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 37 Councillor DICK:
Well thank you, Madam Chair, and Councillor COOPER is correct in one point
and one point alone, that Labor councillors will not be supporting this
development today.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
There is a very good reason why this site hasn't been developed and it's all about
priorities. Because what we're seeing as Councillor COOPER listed these facts,
one of the largest development sites, one of the most expensive sites, one of the
most important sites. If I'm correct in reading the media reports, around
$658 million. But what it also it is the first and only major project of the
Newman Government. Not disputed at all by anyone.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
And what is that first major project? A monument, built for brand new, flashy
offices.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
Right first up; first agenda item, the first priority.
Chairman:
Order. Order.
Councillor DICK:
Front line services gone, employment gone, but we'll build brand new offices.
Madam Chair, reading through the documentation today, it's clear that this
Council is nothing more than a lapdog for the State Government.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
That's all we've become, because the traffic chaos that is going to ensue as a
relation of this development is shocking for our city. One of the busiest traffic
precincts in our city and Councillor COOPER didn't even touch on that. She
didn't talk about access, she didn't—and there's a good reason why she didn't talk
about access. Thousands of traffic movements going down to this area—she did
talk about the Gardens Point roundabout, so all the traffic for this development
being shunted and shoved all the way down there. She didn't talk about bike
access; she talked about the number of cycles going there.
We know there'll be hundreds and hundreds of cyclists, and
Councillor WYNDHAM just says that'll be good, but they'll be crashing into
vehicles or pedestrians. There is no—
Chairman:
Councillor WYNDHAM.
Councillor DICK:
—thought given to adequate planning regards traffic and pedestrian movement,
absolutely none.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
This will lead to bedlam in one of the busiest sites of our city. Madam Chairman,
we're talking around thousands and thousands of people moving into this office
building, we're also talking about thousands and thousands of vehicle
movements, each and every day. Travelling around a congested point in our
city—no brand new access points—but already a congested choke point.
What she didn't talk about was the construction phase, as well, where we will be
having a massive construction phase between 6.30am to 6.30pm during peak
traffic times. Try and get on the freeway access now. Try and look at traffic in
the morning. She has given no thought to it, why? Because Campbell Newman
told them to get this in the books quick smart, and tick and flick and get it
through. That's exactly—because those idiots in the State Government who have
made this decision—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor DICK:
Of course they're defending anything to do with—
Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor DICK:
—the LNP State Government.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 38 Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor DICK:
So the order comes down—
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor DICK:
—from Seeney to the broker – from Seeney, Nichols and Newman, just to
approve this. Of course, Councillor COOPER, as a loyal LNP servant, just
agrees to it and ticks and flicks it straight away.
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
But what else are people talking about.
Chairman:
Order.
Councillor DICK:
Of course they are agreed, they always do what they're told. They never stand up
for what's right, they always agree for the political outcome of their political
masters. This Council is now becoming a department of the State Government.
It's not an entity itself—
Councillor MURPHY:
Point of order, Madam Chairman.
Chairman:
Yes, point of order.
Councillor MURPHY:
None of this is in the report, this is way off—
Chairman:
Just a minute Councillor MURPHY. There's so much noise. Just a minute.
Councillor DICK, point of order against you. Sorry, Councillor MURPHY.
Councillor MURPHY:
Madam Chairman, none of this is in the report, this is way off.
Chairman:
Yes, thank you Councillor MURPHY.
Councillor DICK:
Madam Chairman, where—
Chairman:
Back to the report, Councillor DICK.
Councillor DICK:
Well, I'm not surprised that they're interjecting because they don't like hearing
the fact that they've become the lapdogs of the State Government.
Chairman:
Councillor DICK, get back to the report.
Councillor DICK:
Madam Chair, I want to quote what the Queensland Government architect said
when he criticised the building design. He argued that the Government acted too
hastily with the absence of a master plan for the precinct. He—oh they groan
about experts. Councillor BOURKE groans that someone dare criticise the LNP.
He criticised the proposed—
Councillors interjecting.
Councillor DICK:
He criticised the proposed office tower as architecturally-underwhelming. Very
much the outcome of economic calculations and it's certainly not a designed
outcome. So, Madam Chairman, I think when you're looking at the experts and
what they're saying perhaps the LNP, instead of jumping to their political
masters, should actually take the experts' advice in this.
Madam Chairman, what I'd also like to place on record is despite the fact that
this is a $658 million proposal, we know that the deal with Cbus includes a
99-year lease over the land. Now isn't that the preferred way of Campbell
Newman doing business. We've got all the city offices we're not paying rent for,
but now we're going to build a monument to ourselves with flashy new offices,
hundreds of millions of dollars and then charge the taxpayer for it. What a
typical response of how the LNP handles developments in the city.
Madam Chair, I won't be supporting this flawed development because it does not
stack up. It does not make sense because the traffic impacts, because of the
economic argument, but more importantly, because of the disruption that we're
going to see in our city if these proposed plans are put forward today. Now at the
committee last week, Councillor ABRAHAMS and Councillor SUTTON raised
legitimate concerns, legitimate questions and of course, asked the relevant chair
to stand back so that appropriate responses could be met, so that those issues can
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 39 be addressed, but we know under orders from the LNP State Government, none
of that was going to happen. Absolutely none.
Because this is about getting an end result as quickly as they can without a lot of
fuss. Well there will be fuss, there will be disruption and there is absolutely no
way that Labor councillors on this side of the chamber will be supporting such a
flawed development for our city.
Chairman:
Councillor MURPHY.
ADJOURNMENT:
623/2012-13
At that time, 3.59pm, it was resolved on the motion of Councillor Ryan MURPHY, seconded by Councillor
Kim MARX, that the meeting adjourn for a period of 15 minutes, to commence only when all councillors hade
vacated the chamber and the doors locked.
Council stood adjourned at 4.01pm.
UPON RESUMPTION:
At that time, 4.17pm, the Deputy Chairman, Councillor Angela OWEN-TAYLOR, assumed the Chair.
Deputy Chairman:
Further debate? LORD MAYOR?
LORD MAYOR:
Yes thanks very much, Madam Chairman. I want to enter the debate in relation
to this item. It was somewhat telling that the first words that were uttered by the
Opposition Leader in this debate were that they were, as an opposition, opposing
this because it was a question of priorities. We are not here to debate the
priorities of the State Government. We are here today to determine, on town
planning grounds, whether or not this application ought to be approved or ought
to be rejected and, Madam Chairman, it was telling that the Opposition Leader
made his case right up front as to why they were primarily intending to oppose
this item today.
I just say this: the application is on a site which has been derelict for a long time.
It is an application which, of course, by its very nature will create a significant
number of jobs, 1000 jobs in fact in this city, construction jobs. It is a
development which makes provision for 318 car parks; it makes provision for
600 bikes and associated showers in relation to this particular development.
Madam Chairman, it is a building of significance. You know, I believe in the old
adage beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so it is that Councillor DICK has
echoed a few thoughts around the building or perhaps thoughts of some other
person that commentated in relation to it, but can I say there will be a range of
views as there always are with structures around this city.
We can recount the Kurilpa Bridge, the views for and against that as to whether
it was a good thing architecturally for the city or not. Of itself, Madam
Chairman, it is a building of its own unique design and that of itself adds to the
city’s skyline. It is, as I mentioned, a significant building. It is a building which
has had the ruler put over it, in terms of the town planning aspects, and it would
not have come to committee with an approval recommendation were it not for
the planners in this place observing the various aspects of this building on a town
planning basis.
So it is here and we are here today not to debate the objectives or priorities of the
State Government or the public service or any other thing in that respect. We are
here to look at this application and assess it and determine it on those town
planning grounds, but from a city perspective, Madam Chairman, it will generate
significant job growth and that is an economic development spinoff, which we
ought to always take into account, along with the key areas of town planning
associated with these developments.
Madam Chairman, it is with those key town planning issues having been
examined by our officers, together with the economic development outcome that
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 40 it will produce is the reasons that I will very much be supporting this proposal
today.
I make the observation that the times when Councillor DICK has become
animated in this chamber today is when he’s been talking about either state or
federal issues and I don’t know he seems to be showing signs of unhappiness
here. Signs of boredom, but it is a case—
Councillors interjecting.
Deputy Chairman:
Order.
LORD MAYOR:
It is—
Deputy Chairman:
Order. Councillor DICK. Order, order.
LORD MAYOR:
I don’t want to speculate, Madam Chairman, that’s the last thing that I want to
do. I simply say that this building is one which will have significance to the city.
It is a building which is a development on a site that has been a long time in the
making in terms of a development proposal and, Madam Chairman, it carries my
support in this debate today.
Deputy Chairman:
Further debate? Councillor ABRAHAMS?
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chair. I wish to speak on this development application and
let us be very clear, Labor councillors don’t like to see dusty areas in the middle
of the CBD used as car parks. Of course, we support development, we support
good—
Councillors interjecting.
Deputy Chairman:
Order, order.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Madam Chairman, are you calling them into line?
Deputy Chairman:
I’ve called order Councillor ABRAHAMS, please continue.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Thank you very much. We certainly support development in the CBD, we
certainly support them on sites such as this and have done so in the past. Madam
Chair, we also support good development, well thought out, high quality
development and that is why we voted against it in committee.
In the committee there was no discussion on the fact that this land will be leased
and therefore the ratepayers—through the State charges—will be paying for 99
years for this building, but we kept our questions to the City Plan and I shall now
keep to the City Plan issues. But it is relevant, as someone who votes for the
State Government, that I’m appalled by that process. I also don’t like the
juxtaposition of schools being closed down and—
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS closure of schools is not contained within the report.
Refrain your—
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
I will get straight onto—
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS do not interject when I am speaking.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Madam Chair, I—
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS I am going to complete my sentence. Closure of
schools is not contained in this report. You know the rules. Contain your remarks
to the matters at hand.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Madam Chair, the report that we received on the day in the Council chamber, all
54 pages of it said in the summary that this proposal “includes a substantial
amount of publicly-accessible space within the ground and lower ground levels
to allow pedestrians to move through the site when travelling between the city
centre, the river and QUT. This space is of high design standards, includes
landscaping furniture and shelter to enhance the pedestrian experience.” End of
quote.
Madam Chair, my concern is why that is an objective, it is not being delivered.
We heard that pedestrian space is a shared space and the oversized vehicles that
cannot gain access through the main entrance to this building have access
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 41 through a shared space running beside restaurants where there are pedestrians
and workers moving in this high-quality space and where cyclists are also
gaining access to the building. Those oversized trucks may move through that
shared space all day every day whatever time.
Madam Chair, we also learned that traffic has to travel off the freeway coming
up from the Botanical Gardens, down through QUT to a roundabout to then
come back through Gardens Point Road to gain access to this building. Now
admittedly there aren’t many cars. Three hundred and fifteen is not very many
cars for 38 storeys of commercial land, but that still is major congestion and
someone who rides through there on my bike the last thing you would want is
more bikes or more vehicles going through Garden Point Road. I ask the
question: has QUT been consulted and ticked off that process?
The next issue that came out was the cyclists who are happily and where we’d
wish them to be on the Bicentennial Bikeway, how do they get to this building?
The answer was given that they can use a laneway from where the CityCat
terminal links up to Garden Point Road. Well, Madam Chair, when there are
works on the Bicentennial Bikeway they actually have to have two signalled
traffic officers to manage the interface of the CityCat pedestrians and the
cyclists, but we are now saying those 600 cyclists that is their preferred route
into this building. There is no approved way unless they're back into that lovely
open space area of the building for them to gain access from the CBD if they
came through from the north or the west of the city, not along Bicentennial.
Madam Chair, as well as that, currently William Street is used as a holding bay
for buses. That will not occur the whole time during the construction, which is
likely to be two years and there’s no consideration—no information was able to
be given to the committee as to where a holding bay could be relocated.
If you put all of those examples together, it means that the concentration on the
approval of this building has been on the building. It has not been to the traffic
issues of how any of the modes of traffic get into this building. I would suggest
that’s the best example of plonkism—you plonk a building on a site that we have
seen for a long time.
Madam Chair, when we, as Brisbane City Council, did the Brisbane Square
development I worked with the CEO, Jude Munro, for many, many meetings so
that we could actually achieve appropriate vehicle access and bikeway access to
the building. Where has that enthusiasm to do good design been with this
administration and with this development? It just isn’t there and it is easier not to
do if you don’t think about it. So that’s why, Madam Chair, I said this
development should go back and officers relook at how to do those areas better.
That’s what happened regularly under previous administrations, but no, this
Administration will never do it. They never will actually even review and see if
they can do the job better.
So when Councillor COOPER spoke I was hoping that she would say we have,
since committee, modified some of the conditions to look at an appropriate way
for the bikes to get onsite, to manage the interface of heavy vehicles and
pedestrians—people having their coffees in coffee shops—by a time limit. But
no, no change, no improvement and that is a disgrace.
Madam Chair, when the Brisbane City Council did exactly the same as what the
State Government has done here, we worked with the landlord and made sure we
had excellence when it came to environmental sustainability in the building. We
delivered which hadn’t been seen in Brisbane before. Where is it in this
building? Why wasn’t the State Government having the same opportunity and
increasing how we do environment sustainability in buildings? Because this is
just a fast job to get a memorial up or should I say a monument up and not given
any consideration to good planning.
Madam Chair, Councillor COOPER very proudly said five stars for energy
efficiency and I think three—but I hope she might forgive me because I didn’t
hear it—for water efficiency. That is miles away from what we have seen in
Brisbane Square and Green Square. What a missed opportunity by the State
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 42 Government. What a missed opportunity to actually rectify the access of public
transport and bikes and vehicles onto this site.
Madam Chair, this building cannot be approved in its current form.
Deputy Chairman:
Further debate? Councillor HOWARD?
Councillor HOWARD:
Oh thank you, Madam Acting Chairman. I rise to speak to the Neighbourhood
Planning and Development Assessment Report and particularly to Item A.
I’m excited by the debate today about this remarkable property because I think
that 1 William Street is the first step in a process that will eventually enable the
entire George Street government precinct to be redeveloped. For me, it is about
driving growth and this 75,000 square-metre office tower, which will become the
home of Queensland’s public service, will not only invigorate the precinct but
also stimulate the state’s construction industry.
As I said in my first speech in this place, Madam Acting Chairman, I stand for
the future of our cities. The more I talk with and listen to the local construction
community I see that projects like 1 William Street are needed to continue to
drive the growth and investment in the construction industry that is the backbone
and the pillar of our state.
This development certainly is the backbone of our new world city in terms of its
size and—
Councillor interjecting.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor GRIFFITHS. Councillor GRIFFITHS if you continue to interject I
will warn you. Councillor HOWARD?
Councillor HOWARD:
—and as point 2 says the building will be 45 storeys with a maximum building
height of 266.76 metres. It includes a ground floor lobby, a floor dedicated to a
media centre, 38 commercial office floors and five plant levels, 10 shop
restaurant tenancies on the ground and lower levels and, as Councillor COOPER
said, making 1 William Street development one of the largest commercial office
buildings in Queensland and one of the largest in Australia. With Cbus Property
securing the $653 million contract, I know that the building will incorporate the
latest technology and design intelligence and will stand the test of time.
Even more pleasingly as reiterated in points 4 and 5, the Cbus proposal has a
strong community focus and sound active transport initiatives with a substantial
amount of public accessible space within the ground and lower ground levels to
allow pedestrians to move through the site when travelling between the city
centre, the river and the Queensland University of Technology.
This space is of a high design standard and includes landscaping, furniture and
shelter to enhance the public pedestrian experience and a building that includes a
bicycle facility catering for 600 bicycles and associated facilities.
Residents, ratepayers and visitors to this building can be assured of a
development that will revitalise the site and the delivery of a mixed-use precinct
that will facilitate greater community use of the northern banks of the Brisbane
River.
It is indeed fortunate that the proximity of the development is so close to the
beauty of our city Botanical Gardens. I very much hope that the workers,
retailers and staff make the best use of this stunning area of the city.
Residents will also be encouraged to hear that the William Street footpath, one
of the early streets of Brisbane, will be conditioned and protected according to
point 6 and that floor levels and flood immunity have been achieved, either in
accordance with or above the requirements prescribed within the Brisbane City
Council Temporary Local Planning Instrument.
As I have just said before in this place, Central Ward values its limited space and
as I am committed to using available spaces as best we can, it makes sense to
activate this piece of land for more vibrant purposes. We activate parks, creek
reserves, the river and it just makes good economic sense to ensure this great—
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 43 Deputy Chairman:
Just a moment please Councillor HOWARD.
Warning – Councillor Steve GRIFFITHS
The Chairman then formally warned Councillor GRIFFITHS that unless he desisted from interjecting he would
be suspended from the service of the Council for a period of up to eight days. Furthermore, Councillor
GRIFFITHS was warned that, if he were suspended from the service of the Council, he would be excluded
from the Council Chamber, ante-Chamber, public gallery and other meeting places for the period of
suspension.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor HOWARD?
Councillor HOWARD:
Thank you, Madam Deputy Chairman. We activate parks, creek reserves, the
river and it just makes good economic sense to ensure that this big unused area is
brought to life. With so much existing foot traffic and some of the best—
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS.
Councillor HOWARD:
—and some of the best views of the river, this is the perfect place to refresh and
I am very pleased everyone, State Government, developer and Council, is
working together to make this happen.
I’ve often used the words of a previous mayor of Dallas when people ask where I
see the future of Brisbane and where I want to effect change. So I often use this
statement: that I want to see a city with roads as strong as our business, parks as
beautiful as our children and a city skyline as tall as our imagination.
While we are very early in the delivery process, the fast pace Cbus has set now
means that works are proceeding well ahead of the original development
program for a building that I think is as tall as our imagination. Thank you.
Deputy Chairman:
Further debate? Councillor JOHNSTON?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes, Madam Deputy Chairman. I rise to speak on this item, the proposed
development application for 5-25 William Street, Brisbane City.
Firstly can I say there are a number of issues that I’m very concerned about with
respect to this development application. Firstly, the development application
itself was lodged on 2 April. It was considered by this committee and forced
through the committee on the LNP numbers last week on 14 May. For what has
been described here today by Councillor COOPER as the tallest, most significant
commercial office building in the CBD, it is extraordinary to me that there is less
than six weeks’ scrutiny, less than six week’s scrutiny, of a major CBD
development. Now that does not, in my view, equate to good oversight, it does
not lead to good decision-making and it does not lead to good policy.
We heard the LORD MAYOR stand up here earlier and say it’s not about
priorities it’s about town planning grounds. Well for a DA of this size, I cannot
understand how it can be rushed through in such a short period of time. When
you go and look online and you look at all the documents that are listed there,
there are a number of things that are missing, which are normally in
development applications. The first is correspondence from Council to the
applicant, which normally includes an information request. There was no
information request by this Council back to the State Government town planners.
This Council did not ask one single question of the State Government’s town
planners who submitted this application.
Now out in the suburbs that would happen on pretty much every DA. Sometimes
that’s sparked by community concerns; sometimes it’s by the planners on
technical grounds. In this case it did not happen at all. Now that is poor town
planning. Why is there no scrutiny from this Council’s officials back to the State
Government’s representatives about this development application? None. That is
the first sign that there is a real problem with this DA. If this was a genuine
process there would be plenty of questions going back for the State
Government’s town planners to answer. Now that has not happened. That
identifies this as hugely problematic right off the bat.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 44 Now the second issue relates to—the third issue really—time, lack of scrutiny,
lack of independent review and questions. It’s clear that there are still a number
of issues in this report before us today. I note that as per usual when other of
these types of DAs have come to this Council, I’ve asked for some details in the
report about where the development does not comply with the relevant City Plan
codes. I know that that’s not in here again today. There is a general statement
saying that this DA generally complies with the town planning codes under the
City Plan. That’s not good enough in my view. Yes its paragraph 10, the
proposal generally complies with relevant provisions of the City Plan 2000.
Now week after week we have heard residents come into this chamber and we
have heard those residents say how this Council fails to assess developments and
uphold the standards in those codes. This is another example of this Council’s
failure to uphold the laws of this Council, which are its town planning codes and
guidelines.
There are a number of issues that I note generally of concern with respect to this
DA and that is that this is a heritage precinct at this end of William Street and
there are very significant buildings which will be overshadowed by an extremely
modern, large, commercial office tower and that includes one of the most
beautiful buildings in our whole state and that’s Parliament House, but there are
other heritage listed buildings that are close by.
I’m staggered that there seems to be very little scrutiny that’s been given to that.
I know there’s a Heritage Report and I know that they have to meet all the
conditions, but allowances have already been made because of the size of the
building vis-a-vis its proximity to a heritage place. That’s not good enough. That
is not good enough and the design could have been more sympathetic, the type
of development could have been more sympathetic and there probably was a real
opportunity here to reflect the importance of this part of our city, one of the
oldest parts of our city, and one of the most architecturally significant parts of
our city and do it in a more sympathetic way. But that’s out the window because
as we all heard Councillor COOPER say, this is the tallest, biggest commercial
office tower in the city. Big is not always better and in their rush to maximise
their GFA, and to maximise the revenue that’ll flow from this building, the
heritage significance of this precinct has been lost. That’s not good enough in
my view.
The next issue is flooding and all through the documents that have finally arrived
in Council—thank you to the clerks for getting those—there are issues about
how this building must be built to comply with Council’s flood requirements.
Again, there is a massive problem with where this building is located and the
access in particular to that building. This area does flood. The only way for the
main traffic to come in and out of this building is off a road that Council knows
floods. It says that there will be alternate access via William Street, not Gardens
Point Road through the heavy vehicle access, but, Madam Chairman, that is not
supposed to be the primary entrance, if this site floods the access will go under
water. We know that that is massively problematic. We have seen it in
January 2011 with high rise city buildings that go underwater. It’s not good
enough.
Presumably, this Council thinks it can design out the flooding requirements,
they’ll put the plant on the roof and do those sorts of things, but basically there
will be no access to this building if we have another flood that is essentially the
same size as the last flood in January 2011. Now that’s significant because that
flood was nothing compared to 1974 and that flood was nothing compared to
1893. So let’s be clear, that the design features meeting the minimum TPLI
requirements will not necessarily save this building from flooding and the design
itself recognises that water will flow into the access points to this building. So I
find it astonishing that this Council is going to approve a building it knows will
flood.
Finally, traffic and parking; having gone to university at QUT and worked at
Queensland Parliament House for quite a few years, I understand that access to
that tiny pocket of the city is very difficult. I am concerned that one of the areas
of non-compliance under the City Plan is the lack of parking in this building.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 45 Every single councillor in this place knows that it is the wrong thing to give
developers relaxations on parking because that pushes the problem out into the
streets. It is not on, it is absolutely not on and while there might be restrictions in
that part of the city, it is going to put greater pressure back on surrounding
streets and existing car parking, which in that part of the world is already under
tremendous pressure.
It’s not good enough. If the rules of this Council say there should be a certain
number of car parks per square of gross floor area, that’s what we should do. Just
because they’re your mates down at George Street does not mean that this
Council should be relaxing these requirements and allowing the developers to
build a building that does not contain sufficient parking. It’s not good enough.
I’ve been listening to what Councillor ABRAHAMS has said too and certainly I
would hope that there’s going to be some improvements with respect to the
access for bicycles and better consideration of that, but the thing that strikes me
here is a lost opportunity. I don’t understand why we are rushing. Yet again,
Campbell Newman says jump and this Council says yes sir how high—
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor JOHNSTON there is no mention of the Premier of this State in the
report. Confine your remarks to the report.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Well, Madam Chairman, as I outlined at the beginning, this is the speediest DA
approval I’ve seen in many, many years—six weeks. Why is it then, Madam
Chairman? Perhaps there’s another reason that we’re just zapping this DA
through. Perhaps this is the way that they’re all going to go now. Is every DA in
this city going to get approved in six weeks? I doubt it. What I do note, Madam
Chairman, is that the usual processes of this Council have been avoided. No
information request is absolutely staggering and I think Councillor COOPER
should stand up and explain why not a single question went back to the
applicant’s town planners.
Now, Madam Deputy Chairman, I don’t think that’s good enough. As I was
saying, I think this is a lost opportunity.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor JOHNSTON your time has expired. Further debate? Councillor
COOPER?
Councillor COOPER:
Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Chair. There have been a number of
assertions made here this afternoon. Unfortunately, a lot of them are completely
without any substance, but I know unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be that
unusual when it comes to the Australian Labor Party.
So Councillor DICK didn’t actually debate really the development application,
he just made all sorts of allegations which I thought were, as usual, without
substance. He said that we were the lapdog for the State Government. I don’t see
any reference to those sorts of issues in the DA, so it’d be good if Councillor
DICK actually paid attention to the details.
He suggested, and I quote, that there would be thousands of traffic movements,
thousands. Now if we actually pay attention to the facts of the matter, there are
not thousands of parking spaces that will be on this site. There are just over
300 parking spaces that are part of the conditions package. So if Councillor
DICK—I don’t know how he has—and I note yes 318 spaces which complies
with City Plan, Madam Chair. So, Madam Deputy Chairman, how can these
318 cars make thousands of movements? I don’t think anybody will be doing
any work in this new building. They’ll be busy driving around, circling the
block, doing laps, heading over the bridge, coming back, because they need to
generate thousands of movements to make sure that Councillor DICK actually
gets one fact correct because clearly he did not.
He suggested there would be no thought given to traffic and pedestrian
movements. Madam Chair, the Council officers, this is part of their
consideration of this application. This is part of what they do every single day
when they consider applications—
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS if you continue to interject I’ll warn you. Councillor
COOPER?
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 46 Councillor COOPER:
So it would be good, Madam Deputy Chair, if Councillor DICK gave Council
officers the credit that they deserve. If they do not feel—if they do not—yes
you’re right behind them Councillor DICK, you are certainly right behind them,
pushing them in front of you and trying to make them—to make them your—
Councillor DICK disgraceful conduct when it comes to respecting the integrity
of Council officers. He’s been on the record time and time again in this chamber.
He disputes their technical competence. He suggests that they are proposing—
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Point of order, Madam Chair?
Deputy Chairman:
Point of order, Councillor ABRAHAMS?
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Would Councillor COOPER take a question?
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor COOPER?
Councillor COOPER:
Happy to take a question, Madam Deputy Chair.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS your question?
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Councillor COOPER I’ll assume from the way you say the same thing about the
integrity of the officers that you passionately believe that Council officers are
correct 100 per cent of the time. Yes or no?
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor COOPER?
Councillor interjecting.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor KNAPP, Councillor KNAPP.
Councillor COOPER:
I believe that Council—
Deputy Chairman:
Order. Councillor COOPER has the floor and you will respect her, thank you.
Councillor COOPER:
I believe that Council officers provide the best technical advice that they can in
the situations that are put before them, Madam Chair. I answered that question—
Councillors interjecting.
Deputy Chairman:
Order. Order. If you want to ask a question Councillor ABRAHAMS remain
silent so you can hear the answer. Councillor COOPER?
Councillor COOPER:
Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Chair. May I say that Councillor
ABRAHAMS was also the person who had no objection to 40 storeys at
Woolloongabba. When the ULDA were proposing that down there that is the
site—four sides bounded by extensive, extensive road works—sorry extensive
roads. This site she felt was appropriate for 40 storeys, Madam Chair, and in her
debate this afternoon she suggested that this site was not appropriate for 318
cars. She is completely inconsistent and I also note that it was Councillor
ABRAHAMS who saw no problem with the ABC going on open space over
there at Southbank. She thought that was appropriate also because yes she
doesn’t seem to see that there’s any conflict at all with our position. So, Madam
Chair, she is—
Councillors interjecting.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS—just a moment please Councillor COOPER—
Warning – Councillor Helen ABRAHAMS
The Chairman then formally warned Councillor ABRAHAMS that unless she desisted from interjecting she
would be suspended from the service of the Council for a period of up to eight days. Furthermore, Councillor
ABRAHAMS was warned that, if she were suspended from the service of the Council, she would be excluded
from the Council Chamber, ante-Chamber, public gallery and other meeting places for the period of
suspension.
Deputy Chairman:
Councillor COOPER?
Councillor COOPER:
Thank you, Madam Chair. Well I think that really says it all. Councillor
ABRAHAMS has not got a leg to stand on when it comes to actually making any
statements that have any substance in this chamber. She says that they support
development in the CBD. She says we support good development, but it clearly
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 47 seems to me that she supported the ABC going on that site. I don’t think that
that’s a good outcome and I don’t think there are many people on this side of the
chamber that think that’s a good outcome either.
So, in terms of this proposal, a commercial building on a site that has, since
1974, been forecast for a commercial development, I would think that that would
be appropriate but apparently not according to Councillor ABRAHAMS. She
came up with her new term, plonkism. She always seems to invent new words in
this Council chamber where she suggested we were plonking a building on a site
that was not appropriate. I think quite to the contrary. I think plonkism, if we use
Councillor ABRAHAMS’ terminology, would describe the ABC site at
Southbank. So perhaps she can explain herself there.
In terms of the issues of construction management, there is a specific condition,
condition 37, which relates to requiring a construction management plan as the
Council officers always do propose on these sorts of sites in our CBD.
Councillor ABRAHAMS suggested that there’s a real challenge for bicycle
riders to actually get to the site, Madam Chair. If she actually had a look at what
is proposed, Council officers have been very careful to consider how they can
get on the site, how they can get into the cycle facility and any day of the week if
you are travelling around this city, people are riding cycles. Those bicycles can
actually get through pedestrianised environments. They actually seem to be able
to get through King George Square. They actually seem to be able to get through
Reddacliff Place. They actually seem to be able to manage that relationship
between the pedestrian and the cycle traffic quite nicely because certainly this
building is a great facility and it provides lots of important facilities for bicycle
riders in our city.
I didn’t hear any words of praise from Councillor ABRAHAMS. She’s always
on her bike, Madam Deputy Chair, but I heard not one word of her commending
the extensive facilities that have been provided on this site. I heard not one word
about the retail, the ground plan that has been able to be achieved. This is a site
which has got significant level differences and we’ve seen this proposal putting
significant landscaping into that outcome. Did I hear anything positive from the
Australian Labor Party? No, Madam Deputy Chairman, no I did not. All I heard
was some endless campaigning I think by Councillor DICK for his own political
future. I heard Councillor ABRAHAMS trying to justify the unjustifiable in her
view but clearly I think a great outcome for our city.
They have no credibility. The points that they make time and time again are
without foundation. They raise issues that are not issues. They basically question
Council officers’ professional expertise day after day in this chamber which is
disgraceful and I think this is a great outcome for our city. If they can’t
encourage investment in jobs, if they can’t encourage investment in our city,
then they should not be here. They are not good representatives for this city and I
think this is a good outcome.
We on this side of the chamber say that we are glad to see that Council officers
have exercised their professional expertise and come up with an excellent result.
Thank you very much to all the officers involved.
At that time, 4.54pm, the Chairman, Councillor Margaret de WIT, resumed the Chair.
Chairman:
I will put the motion.
Upon being submitted to the Chamber by the Chairman, the motion for the adoption of the report of the
Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment Committee was declared carried on the voices.
Thereupon, Councillors Milton DICK and Helen ABRAHAMS immediately rose and called for a division,
which resulted in the motion being declared carried.
The voting was as follows:
AYES: 19 -
The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR, Councillor Graham QUIRK,
DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, and Councillors Krista
ADAMS, Matthew BOURKE, Amanda COOPER, Margaret de WIT, Vicki
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 48 HOWARD, Steven HUANG, Fiona KING, Geraldine KNAPP, Kim MARX, Peter
MATIC,
Ian McKENZIE,
David
McLACHLAN,
Ryan
MURPHY,
Angela OWEN-TAYLOR,
Julian SIMMONDS,
Andrew
WINES,
and
Norm WYNDHAM.
NOES: 7 -
The Leader of the OPPOSITION, Councillor Milton DICK, and Councillors
Helen ABRAHAMS, Shayne SUTTON, Peter CUMMING, Kim FLESSER,
Steve GRIFFITHS, and Victoria NEWTON.
ABSTENTIONS: 1 -
Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON.
The report as follows
ATTENDANCE:
Councillor Amanda Cooper (Chairman), Councillor Vicki Howard (Deputy Chairman), and
Councillors Helen Abrahams, Geraldine Knapp, Shayne Sutton and Andrew Wines.
A
DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION UNDER THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING
ACT 2009: PROPOSED CENTRE ACTIVITIES (OFFICE, SHOP AND
RESTAURANT) AND BUILDING WORK ON A QUEENSLAND HERITAGE
PLACE AND ON THE SITE OF AND ADJOINING THE BOUNDARY OF A
HERITAGE PLACE – 5 TO 25 WILLIAM STREET AND 15 QUEENS
WHARF ROAD, BRISBANE – STATE OF QUEENSLAND
624/2012-13
1.
2.
The Acting Team Manager, Development Assessment Planning Services CityWest, reports
that a development application (distributor-retailer) has been submitted by Cbus Property
1 William Street Pty Ltd, care of Cardno HRP, as follows:
Development Aspects:
Building work (Preliminary Approval)
Material change of use (Development Permit)
General description of
proposal:
Centre activities (office, shop and restaurant) on a Queensland
Heritage Place and building work on a Queensland Heritage
Place, and adjoining the boundary of a Heritage Place site
Land in the ownership of:
The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of
Public Works)
The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of
Transport and Main Roads)
Address of the site:
5 to 25 William Street and 15 Queens Wharf Road, Brisbane
Described as:
Lot 532 on CP905886, lot 538 on B32367, lot 530 on SL7738
and road reserve (William Street), Parish of North Brisbane
Containing an area of:
6778 square metres
The application proposes a commercial office building of 45 storeys, with a maximum
building height of 266.76 metres Australian Height Datum (AHD). The building includes a
ground floor lobby (entry from William Street), a floor dedicated to a media centre,
38 commercial office floors and five plant levels. The development includes 10
shop/restaurant tenancies contained on both the ground level and the lower ground level
(Gardens Point Road), with a total gross floor area (GFA) of 1259 square metres. The overall
development has a GFA of 96,682 square metres.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 49 -
3.
The development includes a total of 318 car spaces and 39 motorcycle spaces contained
within three basement levels. Primary vehicular access is from Gardens Point Road. A
clearance of 3.4 metres under the on-ramp for the Riverside Expressway requires that higher
vehicles enter the site from a secondary vehicular access on William Street. This secondary
vehicle access also serves to provide flood-free access during a flood event. A loading dock
that services the development is located on-site within basement level one.
4.
The proposal includes a substantial amount of publicly accessible space within the ground and
lower-ground levels to allow pedestrians to move through the site when travelling between the
city centre, the river and the Queensland University of Technology. This space is of a high
design standard and includes landscaping, furniture and shelter to enhance the public
pedestrian experience.
5.
The building includes a bicycle facility, catering for 600 bicycles and associated facilities.
This is accessed through the first basement level via a separate bicycle entry tunnel from
Gardens Point Road.
6.
The development fronts the William Street road reserve, which is designated as an
Archaeological (Heritage) Place under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992, specifically as part
of the ‘Early Streets of Brisbane’ listing. As the proposal will include works in the William
Street footpath the application constitutes development on a Queensland Heritage Place. The
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP) has set conditions in this regard.
7.
The application triggered referral to the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR)
and the DEHP. DTMR and DEHP have both provided conditions which are included in the
approval package for the proposal.
8.
The application was subject to code assessment and therefore no public notification was
required.
9.
The local councillor for the Central Ward, Councillor Vicki Howard, has indicated she has no
issues with the proposal.
10.
The proposal generally complies with relevant provisions of the Brisbane City Plan 2000,
including the desired environmental outcomes, the City Centre Neighbourhood Plan, and
centre amenity and performance code.
11.
Floor levels and flood immunity have been achieved, either in accordance with or above the
requirements prescribed within the Brisbane City Council Temporary Local Planning
Instrument 01/12 – Brisbane Interim Flood Response (TLPI). The development includes flood
immunity for the basement entry to 5.5 metres AHD. All essential electrical services will be
located above the minimum level prescribed within the TLPI. Conditions have been set
accordingly.
12.
The conditions include the required CBD conditions, for example: footpath works,
construction management plan, public artwork and the provision of a digital model.
13.
The Acting Team Manager advises that relevant reports have been obtained to address the
assessment criteria and decision process prescribed by the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.
The reports outline appropriate developmental requirements, including reports from Council’s
Water and Sewer Assessment Team, regarding Sewerage and Water Supply, and from
Council’s Infrastructure Charges Team, regarding funding for trunk infrastructure for
Sewerage/Water Supply and Transport/Community Purposes/Waterways.
14.
The Acting Team Manager recommends that the application be approved subject to
compliance with appropriate City Plan codes and conditions and the issuing of infrastructure
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 50 -
charges notices. The Committee agrees with Councillors Helen Abrahams and Shayne Sutton
dissenting.
15.
RECOMMENDATION:
(i)
That it be and is hereby resolved that whereas—
(a)
(b)
a development application (distributor-retailer) was properly made on
10 April 2013 to the Council pursuant to section 260 of the
Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA), as follows:
Development Aspects:
Building work (Preliminary Approval)
Material change of use (Development Permit)
General description of
proposal:
Centre activities (office, shop and restaurant) on a
Queensland Heritage Place and building work on
a Queensland Heritage Place, and adjoining the
boundary of a Heritage Place site
Land in the ownership
of:
The State of Queensland (represented by the
Department of Public Works)
The State of Queensland (represented by the
Department of Transport and Main Roads)
Address of the site:
5 to 25 William Street and 15 Queens Wharf
Road, Brisbane
Described as:
Lot 532 on CP905886, lot 538 on B32367, lot 530
on SL7738 and road reserve (William Street),
Parish of North Brisbane
Containing an area of:
6778 square metres
the Council is required to assess the application pursuant to Part 7A and
section 313 of SPA, and decide the application under sections 324 and 326 of
the SPA;
the Council—
(A)
upon consideration of the application and those matters set forth in sections
313, 324 and 326 of SPA relevant to the application considers that:
(1)
the proposal would not create a traffic problem, increase a traffic
problem or detrimentally affect the efficiency of the road network
(2)
the proposal would not detrimentally affect the amenity of the
neighbourhood
(3)
the proposal is consistent with the general intentions of the
Brisbane City Plan 2000
(4)
the proposal does not cause conflict with the State’s planning policies,
planning regulation provisions or regional plan.
(B)
accordingly considers that were the development to accord with Council’s
developmental requirements ensured through the imposition of certain
conditions and issuing infrastructure charges notices for sewerage/water
supply and infrastructure charges notices for transport/community
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 51 -
purposes/waterways, it would be appropriate that the proposed development
be carried out on the subject land.
(ii)
Whereas the Council determines as in (i) hereof, THE COUNCIL APPROVES
THE DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) subject
to the conditions in the Development Approval Package submitted and marked
Attachment A, and accordingly will:
(a)
notify the applicant of this decision
(b)
give the infrastructure charges notices for sewerage and water supply with the
decision notice
(c)
give the Infrastructure Charges Notices for Transport, Community Purposes
and Waterways with the decision notice
(d)
notify the Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer Authority of the decision and
provide the Authority with a copy of the Infrastructure Charges Notices
(e)
notify the Councillor for Central Ward, Councillor Vicki Howard, of this
decision
(f)
notify the concurrence agencies of this decision.
ADOPTED
ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
Councillor Matthew BOURKE, Chairman of the Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee, moved,
seconded by Councillor Fiona KING, that the report of the meeting of that Committee held on 14 May 2013, be
adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
Councillor BOURKE:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Just very, very quickly a few things I
want to touch on before I get to the items in the report, but a wonderful article on
last week’s mX from Wednesday, the day after the Federal Budget; “The Root of
All Weevil”—not referring to the Federal Budget though, although that is
another matter—but highlighting the wonderful work that this Council does in
the field of biocontrol for our aquatic plants sparked out of one of the committee
presentations that we’ve had to the Environment Parks and Sustainability
Committee and keeping all of the councils involved in that committee and, of
course, this chamber informed about the wonderful work that our officers do. In
some cases, as in this case, on the cutting-edge when it comes to how we manage
and deal with the invasive species that we have to deal with across the city.
Also, Madam Chairman, last week’s committee presentation in Volunteering
Week, I thought it was important that we touch on the significant work that is
done through our Habitat Brisbane program. The committee received a
presentation about the program and some 2500 individuals, who volunteer and
give up their time. We’ve estimated the worth of that to be some $1.2 million in
labour costs, in terms of additional work that is done to restore and preserve our
natural areas. I also want to give my thanks, and I hope the thanks of all
councillors in this place, to those who give up their time freely to do that work. It
is an important role that they play in protecting and preserving the environment
and an important role that they play, I guess, in the bigger picture.
We, as a Council, since the Sallyanne Atkinson administration have gone and
purchased a significant amount of bushland across this city and in the last few
years, Madam Chairman, some 600 hectares has been added to that estate. It’s
important also that we restore and preserve that bushland. By doing so with the
volunteers through Habitat Brisbane, we’re able to achieve so much more than if
we did it by ourselves and in a much better way because the local knowledge
that a lot of those groups have, of the particular fauna and flora that’s endemic to
parcels of land across the city, is valuable and something that we should all try to
learn more about and encourage others in our community to be involved in.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 52 There are two petitions also on the agenda for today. I imagine there’ll be some
debate. One of them is for the upgrade to a children’s playground, parklands and
picnic facilities at the Taylor Bridge Reserve and the other one is funding to
install a dog off-leash area down in Lota.
Chairman:
Further debate? Councillor JOHNSTON?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes there’s definitely going to be some debate on Item B today, Madam
Chairman.
Seriatim - Clause B
Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON requested that Clause B, THREE PETITIONS – REQUESTING THAT
COUNCIL UPGRADE THE CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND, PARKLAND, PICNIC FACILITIES,
BARBEQUE AND PONTOON AT THE TAYLOR BRIDGE RESERVE, CHELMER, be taken seriatim for
voting purposes.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Firstly, I would like to draw this Council’s attention to the disgraceful time that
it has taken for this petition to be brought forward to this Council for debate. I
tabled these petitions in the Council Chamber in August 2011. I will say that
again, August 2011. That is some 21 months ago or almost two years ago. Now
all the grandstanding we’ve heard here today about how proud Councillor
BOURKE is of the past 12 months, well this is one of the things I don’t think
they can be proud about. Taking almost two years to respond to a community
based petition calling for a park upgrade is appalling—appalling. Councillor
BOURKE can’t sit there and blame Councillor MATIC for this one because
certainly he was the chairman for part of that time, but certainly for the last 13 or
14 months he’s been the chairman of this committee and it is disgraceful that this
matter has not been brought forward.
Now, Madam Chairman, what I will say is that I am extremely concerned that
this Council is choosing to only restore part of this park, the Walter Taylor
Reserve under the Walter Taylor Bridge, after the January 2011 floods. Council
did repair and they repaired it some, you know, 15, 16 months ago. That’s how
long actually the playground works have been done, but they did go and repair
the playground which basically meant hosing it out, replacing the softfall—the
bark underneath that playground and putting in some new seating and putting a
fence up to the river. Interestingly enough you can’t get a fence at any other park
but this Council decided to put a fence up at that park.
What I will say is it was very clear immediately after the floods that this Council
was not going to restore this park at all. That was the advice that I got back after
the floods, in fact from you, Councillor de WIT, Madam Chairman, when you
were heading up the flood response and that wasn’t good enough. So I’ve pushed
as hard as I could two years ago to make sure that that park actually got repaired.
Now that did happen but Council insisted it would not replace the pontoon. That
is not good enough.
My ward is bounded on two sides by the river. Most of the houses that have
public access lost their pontoons, lost their jetties, and as a result, private access
to the river and for water sport purposes was significantly impeded by the
January 2011 floods. But on top of that then this Council comes along and says
no we’re also going to cut back your public access.
Now a lot of residents out my way do like to canoe and to row and they do like
to use that pontoon to launch boats and, Madam Chairman, I think it’s appalling
that this Council refuses to replace an asset of this community after the floods
and that is essentially what this is saying today. This Council refuses to replace
an existing Council asset that was lost during the floods. I don’t think that is
good enough. A lot of Chelmer residents signed this petition and I think it’s
incumbent upon this Council to replace all of this community’s assets that were
lost during the flood.
I note, Madam Chairman that this Council invested $1 million in repairing in the
Jindalee boat ramp. That included replacing the pontoon, reinstating the river
wall, undertaking embankment upgrades and a number of other park issues.
Madam Chairman, $1 million. The reason this Council says they can’t do the
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 53 same at Chelmer is because there was erosion and the riverbank has been
damaged. Well der, we know that has to be fixed. Up and down the river the
whole length of it our riverbank has been affected, but if it’s good enough for
Jindalee residents to have $1 million spent building a new pontoon, why is it not
good enough for Chelmer residents? I say that there should not be a doublestandard. Jindalee residents don’t deserve to have a pontoon while Chelmer
residents don’t get theirs replaced.
Now I know that Councillor BOURKE’s been out there crowing about it in his
local community about how much money Council’s spending, how much they’re
investing in replacing the lost assets after the floods. It is not good enough that
this Council is choosing to replace flood damaged assets in one part of the city
but not in another and the only reason that is in these papers, the only reason is,
the river wall was damaged. Well they’re fixing the river wall up there at
Jindalee, they’re fixing up the erosion, they’re replacing the seawall that was
damaged and they won’t do the same thing at Chelmer. That is disgraceful.
Chelmer residents pay their rates and they deserve to have their community
assets repaired.
Now we know that over the past two years there have been massive, massive
cuts to the jetties’ and pontoons’ budget and we know there’ve been massive
cuts to repairs for seawalls. We’ve seen that when every time we’ve had the
budget updates come through this chamber and I’ve spoken on it repeatedly in
this place. It is not good enough. This Council has had the money to do this and
they have chosen not to and then on top of it, worse slap in the face, they’ve
waited almost two years to actually bring this petition through. It’s not good
enough. It’s not good enough in a process and it’s not good enough in substance.
As a result, Madam Chairman, I’m moving an amendment to this today and I’ll
just flag I need a seconder.
MOTION FOR AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE B:
625/2011-12
It was moved by Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON, seconded by Councillor Helen ABRAHAMS that Clause BTHREE PETITIONS – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL UPGRADE THE CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND,
PARKLAND, PICNIC FACILITIES, BARBEQUE AND PONTOON AT THE TAYLOR BRIDGE
RESERVE, CHELMER, be amended in paragraph 16, second sentence by the removal of the word ‘not’. The
paragraph would therefore read as follows:
16.
It is recommended that the petitioners be advised that the park is now reinstated, including
repairs to the playground equipment, picnic facilities and settings, returfing areas,
reinstating bridge access, stabilising the riverbank and replacing the wood-fired barbecue
with an electric model. The pontoon will be reinstated due to the severe erosion and flood
damage to the riverbank.
Chairman:
Debate? Councillor JOHNSTON?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes thank you, Madam Chairman. This amendment is very simple. It basically
says that the pontoon will be reinstated and it will remove the word not and that
will give effect to the petitioner’s request which is that this park including the
pontoon is reinstated.
Madam Chairman, the only reason Council has given is that unfortunately
damage from the floods has made the riverbank unusable and the pontoon will
not be replaced. That’s not good enough. This Council has had the money to do
the stabilisation works. It has undertaken significant bits of remediation in other
parts of the city. It is doing exactly that at the Jindalee pontoon but it will not do
the same for Chelmer residents. I think they deserve better, Madam Chairman,
and I’m moving this motion to ensure that this Council supports reinstatement of
the pontoon which should have been done as a matter of right after the January
2011 floods.
I don’t think that this Council should be reinstating community assets in one part
of the city and then failing to do so in another part of the city. Every resident
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 54 who was flood affected deserves to have their community assets restored and it’s
not good enough that in Councillor BOURKE’s ward they can spend $1 million
replacing a pontoon, but in Chelmer Ward where there is significant damage to a
community pontoon this Council will do nothing. That is not good enough and
that is a slap in the face to residents.
I ask that all councillors support this. It will simply restore a pontoon to this
park. We know the money was there after the floods and we know that this can
be done. It’s just a matter of political will here today and I urge all councillors to
say to residents that we want to improve public access to the river, that we want
to restore community facilities that were damaged in the floods and that we want
to provide our community with the best possible access to recreational facilities
and parkland facilities and that they won’t continue to be affected by the floods.
Chairman:
Further debate on the amendment? Okay Councillor JOHNSTON you want to
sum up?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes, Madam Chairman, I’m happy to sum up. I’m very sorry to see that there’s
hardly anyone sitting in the public gallery because it certainly is an indictment
upon this LNP administration that they cannot be bothered to stand up and say
why they don’t support an amendment. It’s pathetic. It is absolutely pathetic that
they haven’t got the guts to stand up and say to Chelmer residents why they
don’t support it. I’ll be very happy to go out and tell residents in my community
what they have done here tonight. These residents pay their taxes, these residents
vote and these residents have a right to say what happens in their community and
the fact that LNP councillors are so pathetic that they cannot even stand up and
speak against a motion that they will clearly vote down, it’s not good enough.
So again I’ll state the facts—I’ll state the facts—actually I’ll put out the crystal
ball there then. When Councillor BOURKE gets up he’ll hop up and he’ll start
criticising me to death in his reply on this actual item. Madam Chairman, that’s
not good enough in my view. He should have had the courage to stand up and
actually say why he wouldn’t support an amendment that simply gives voice to
something that’s happening in his own ward. If $1 million can be spent fixing up
the pontoon at Jindalee, including repairs to the embankment, including seawall
repairs, including a replacement pontoon, why is this Council not spending the
same amount of money fixing up the pontoon at Chelmer? There is no reason
and they wanted to hide it, they wanted to wait almost two years before they
brought it forward. It’s not good enough.
Every councillor in this place should say to these residents that we will restore
your community assets lost during the floods and it’s not good enough that this
LNP Council majority sits there silently—sits there silently—and does nothing.
That’s appalling in my view.
Chairman:
I will put the amendment.
Amendment put:
The Chairman put the motion for the amendment to Clause B to the Chamber resulting in its being declared lost
on the voices.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Division, Madam Chairman, and I would appreciate a seconder.
The request for a division on the vote lapsed for want of a seconder.
Chairman:
No division failed. Further debate on the report? Councillor CUMMING?
Chairman:
Microphone Councillor CUMMING. Better start again.
Councillor CUMMING:
I’ll start again. I refer to Item C, I support the recommendation, but I support it
rather begrudgingly.
Bill Lamond Park contains quite a popular leash free area and it’s the second
busies leash free area in the Wynnum Manly Ward. The community members
who use Bill Lamond Park would like to see improvements. They’d like to see
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 55 some lighting, an area for smaller dogs, a two-way gate and another shade
shelter.
For several years they’ve been continually frustrated by Council’s refusal of any
changes to the leash free area. Council’s response has been the land is on the
contaminated land register list and further work is required before anything can
be done on the park. So I’ve taken up this matter with the Contaminated Land
Group and they say the site’s not on their list so there’s no chance of any work
being done to the site, so we’re in a situation where no one can get anything
done.
Madam Chair, one wonders how the leash free area was built in the first place
given Council’s attitude to the situation and presumably it should never have
been built in the first place because it’s contaminated land.
Regardless, the response to the petition is an improvement. In my view it
contains an admission from Council staff that work can be done to upgrade this
park regardless of whether further decontamination work has been done on it. If
as expected there’s no funding allocated in the next budget or the one after that, I
will allocate funds from the Parks and Footpaths Fund, assuming it continues to
exist, to ensure that this park is upgraded. I’ve even had users of the leash free
area, qualified tradespeople, offering to do the work themselves if Council could
pay the cost of the materials. I find this quite embarrassing for the Brisbane City
Council.
I support the response to this petition which I note was originally drafted in my
office.
Chairman:
Further debate? Councillor BOURKE?
Councillor BOURKE:
Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Just in rising briefly, I accept Councillor
CUMMING’s funding proposal to fund it out of his Footpath and Parks trust
fund for the lighting upgrade in the dog-off-leash area.
Chairman:
I will put the motion for Items A and C.
Clauses A and C put
Upon being submitted to the meeting the motion for the adoption of Clauses A and C of the report of the
Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee was declared carried on the voices.
Chairman:
I’ll put the motion for Item B.
Clause B put
Upon being submitted to the meeting the motion for the adoption of Clause B of the report of the Environment,
Parks and Sustainability Committee was declared carried on the voices.
Thereupon, Councillors Nicole JOHNSTON and Helen ABRAHAMS immediately rose and called for a
division, which resulted in the motion being declared carried.
The voting was as follows:
AYES: 27 -
DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, and Councillors
Krista ADAMS, Matthew BOURKE, Amanda COOPER, Margaret de WIT,
Vicki HOWARD, Steven HUANG, Fiona KING, Geraldine KNAPP, Kim MARX,
Peter MATIC, Ian McKENZIE, David McLACHLAN, Ryan MURPHY,
Angela OWEN-TAYLOR,
Julian SIMMONDS,
Andrew
WINES,
and
Norm WYNDHAM, and the Leader of the OPPOSITION, Councillor Milton DICK,
and Councillors Helen ABRAHAMS, Shayne SUTTON, Peter CUMMING,
Kim FLESSER, Steve GRIFFITHS, and Victoria NEWTON.
NOES: 1 -
Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON.
The report as follows
ATTENDANCE:
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 56 -
Councillor Matthew Bourke (Chairman), Councillor Fiona King (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors
Peter Cumming, Kim Flesser, Geraldine Knapp and Ryan Murphy.
A
COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – HABITAT BRISBANE PROGRAM
625/2012-13
1.
Brad Wilson, Group Manager, Natural Resources and Parks, Natural Environment, Water and
Sustainability Branch, City Planning and Sustainability Division, attended the meeting to
provide a presentation on the Habitat Brisbane program. He provided the information below.
2.
The Habitat Brisbane program commenced in 1990 with four groups and 50 participants. The
program was designed to engage the community in actively participating with Council to
restore, protect and create bushland, wetland and waterway habitats across Brisbane. It does
this is by:
drawing people together to create an increased sense of community, achieve great
environmental results locally, and generate pride in these areas
increasing community awareness, enjoyment and appreciation of Brisbane’s unique
natural environment
reducing illegal dumping through community awareness and education.
3.
The objectives of the Habitat Brisbane program are to:
increase biodiversity through community efforts to protect and restore flora and fauna
habitat
increase community awareness of values, threats and management needs through
direct participation
increase the sense of community stewardship fostered through the ownership,
achievement and community pride created by participants.
4.
Habitat Brisbane groups help to protect, monitor and increase native flora and fauna
populations, especially rare and threatened species using best practice rehabilitation
approaches by:
removing weeds and rubbish
establishing native plants and assisting natural regeneration
implementing erosion control and prevention
reporting new sightings of wildlife.
The groups create corridor linkages, restore and create wildlife habitats, improve waterway
health and improve the attractiveness of natural areas for visitors.
5.
Since the program’s inception, participation has steadily increased with volunteers
contributing thousands of hours and encouraging many more hours of labour input through
other sources. There are 126 Habitat Brisbane groups and 26 sub-groups across Brisbane with
approximately 2500 volunteers, contributing around 50,000 hours every year (equating to
approximately $1.2 million value to Council). Across Brisbane, 141 hectares are being
rehabilitated.
6.
Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Mr Wilson for
his informative presentation.
7.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE
REPORT.
ADOPTED
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 57 -
B
THREE PETITIONS – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL UPGRADE THE
CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND, PARKLAND, PICNIC FACILITIES,
BARBEQUE AND PONTOON AT THE TAYLOR BRIDGE RESERVE,
CHELMER
CA13/299487, CA13/299520 and CA13/309167
626/2012-13
8.
Three petitions from residents of Brisbane, requesting that Council upgrade the children's
playground, parkland, picnic facilities, barbeque and pontoon at the Taylor Bridge Reserve,
were presented to Council at its meetings of 16, 23 and 30 August 2011 by Councillor Nicole
Johnston and received.
9.
The Divisional Manager, City Planning and Sustainability Division, provided the information
below.
10.
The three petitions contain a total of 54 signatures and are requesting that Council fully
reinstate and upgrade the children’s playground, general park area, picnic facilities, barbecue
and pontoon at the Taylor Bridge Reserve, damaged by the January 2011 flood, for use by
local Chelmer families and visitors.
11.
Following the January 2011 flood, many Council-managed parks were inundated and
damaged. The Taylor Bridge Reserve, located at Chelmer, was extensively damaged and was
designated for repair under Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA)
funding.
12.
Works in the park were completed and included:
cleaning and repairing playground equipment and picnic facilities
replacing damaged picnic settings
repairing damaged turf areas
reinstating the bridge maintenance access
replacing the wood-fired barbecue with an electric model
stabilising the riverbank.
13.
As part of the playground repairs, the soft rubber flooring (‘softfall’) was replaced and a new
fence built. Inspections by the project team showed that the remaining playground equipment
was able to be reinstated.
14.
The works to repair and reinstate Taylor Bridge Reserve are in line with the requests outlined
in the petitions, except for the pontoon upgrade. The original pontoon was approximately
14 years old and was in poor condition. During the flood the pontoon was washed away. The
single remaining pile is in poor condition and is considered beyond repair.
15.
Council thoroughly investigated the embankment and the option to reinstate the pontoon.
Unfortunately, damage from the floods has made the riverbank unsuitable to provide access to
the pontoon and it will not be replaced. The embankment at Taylor Bridge Reserve suffered
major erosion and would require significant stabilisation to reinstate a pontoon. The current
loose river soil material at the embankment would be difficult to stabilise and may be subject
to ongoing erosion. The erosion from the floods has increased the slope’s steepness and
reduced the available area to provide appropriate access. Current works will stabilise the
embankment through profiling and revegetation.
16.
It is recommended that the petitioners be advised that the park is now reinstated, including
repairs to the playground equipment, picnic facilities and settings, returfing areas, reinstating
bridge access, stabilising the riverbank and replacing the wood-fired barbecue with an electric
model. The pontoon will not be reinstated due to the severe erosion and flood damage to the
riverbank.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 58 -
Funding
17.
A claim will be made to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) for all items that
are deemed to be claimable under the QRA guidelines.
Consultation
18.
The Councillor for Tennyson Ward, Councillor Nicole Johnston, was consulted and declined
to have her views recorded as part of the petition submission to the Committee.
Customer impact
19.
Taylor Bridge Reserve reopened on 23 December 2011 after rectification works were
completed.
20.
The Divisional Manager therefore recommended as follows and the Committee agrees.
21.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT THE PETITIONERS BE ADVISED OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED
IN THIS REPORT.
ADOPTED
C
PETITION – REQUESTING FUNDING FOR THE INSTALLATION OF
LIGHTING AT THE DOG OFF-LEASH AREA AT BILL LAMOND PARK,
LOTA
CA12/437933
627/2012-13
22.
A petition from residents of Brisbane, requesting funding for the installation of lighting at the
dog off-leash area at Bill Lamond Park, Lota, was presented to Council at its meeting of
18 September 2012 by Councillor Peter Cumming, and received.
23.
The Executive Manager, Field Services Group, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provided the
information below.
24.
The petition contains 84 signatures.
25.
Bill Lamond Park, Lota, is a district park that services the bayside suburbs and surrounds. The
park contains a leased sports precinct, playground with undersurfacing, picnic facilities,
Moreton Bay Regional Bikeway corridor and a dog off-leash area with a shelter.
26.
The Councillor for Wynnum Manly Ward, Councillor Peter Cumming, requested that the dog
off-leash area be listed for an upgrade in a future capital works program. Previous requests
received from Councillor Cumming were for a small dog enclosure, lighting and
rehabilitation of the grass surface due to subsidence as the off-leash area is situated on a
former landfill site.
27.
Bill Lamond Park, Lota, is also listed in Council’s Contaminated Land Register for future
recapping.
Funding
28.
Funds are not currently available for the installation of lighting at the dog off-leash area.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 59 -
Consultation
29.
Councillor Peter Cumming, Councillor for Wynnum Manly Ward, supports the
recommendation.
Customer impact
30.
Residents will continue to use the existing dog off-leash area and its facilities during daylight
hours until the upgrade works are undertaken.
31.
The Executive Manager therefore recommended as follows and the Committee agrees.
32.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT THE PETITIONERS BE ADVISED THAT there is significant expenditure
involved in the installation of lighting at the dog off-leash area at Bill Lamond Park, Lota, and
as such it needs to be considered as part of the annual Capital Works Program. BILL
LAMOND PARK, LOTA, OFF-LEASH AREA UPGRADE HAS BEEN LISTED FOR
CONSIDERATION IN COUNCIL’S 2013-14 CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAM.
ADOPTED
FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE
Councillor David McLACHLAN, Chairman of the Field Services Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor
Norm WYNDHAM, that the report of that Committee held on 14 May 2013, be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
Councillor MCLACHLAN:
Thank you, Madam Chairman. Just briefly to Item A, the committee presentation
last week in the committee, the item before us here today was a presentation
from the Council officer responsible for asphalts and aggregates in the Field
Services Group and it was on the science of road rehabilitation and whilst some
may think that talking about road rehabilitation and science might be slightly
overstating the case, it is in fact very close to the truth in terms of what’s
required to make sure that our over 14,000 roads are constructed well and stand
the test of time.
This was the presentation that Mr Taylor, the officer, took us through, looking at
the various elements that go into the construction of a properly made road and
the different types of asphalt mixes that area applied depending on the use; the
deep life type 4 with larger stones up to 40 millimetres in thickness, the type 3
medium stone size up to 18 millimetres, the type 2 smaller stones up to 10
millimetres and then the space seal that’s used in low traffic areas.
So indeed it is quite a science, a combination of science and art I believe in terms
of road construction, but the officers, as I talked to briefly in question time, have
done an excellent job in the last financial year in very trying conditions with a
very wet season—a very dry season to start with and then a very dry season and
included in their job of maintaining our roads has been filling potholes which to
date has been over some 17,000.
Thank you, Madam Chair, I recommend it to the chamber.
Chairman:
Further debate? I will put the motion.
Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of the report of the Field Services Committee
was declared carried on the voices.
The report read as follows
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 60 -
ATTENDANCE:
Councillor David McLachlan (Chairman), Councillor Norm Wyndham (Deputy Chairman), and
Councillors Peter Cumming, Nicole Johnston, Kim Marx and Ian McKenzie.
A
COMMITTEE PRESENTATION
REHABILITATION
–
THE
SCIENCE
OF
ROAD
628/2012-13
1.
Mark Taylor, Branch Manager, Asphalt and Aggregates, Field Services Group, provided a
presentation to the Committee on the science of road rehabilitation. He provided the
information below.
2.
The road surface is made up the following components:
subgrade layer that is generally compacted fill material or in situ base and forms the
platform of the pavement
granular layer that forms the structural support for the pavement
structural layer, which is used in higher traffic areas and supports the granular layer
wearing course that gives the vehicle ride and prevents water from entering the
pavement.
An image of the asphalt pavement profile was displayed showing each of the above layers.
3.
It was explained that road surfaces fail because over time bitumen oxidises and becomes
brittle and can crack, and excessive traffic fatigues the pavement structure. This allows water
to seep through the cracks into the granular and subgrade layers, destabilising the
layer. Failures then appear on the surface as potholes or depressions. The three types of
failure are referred to as rutting, ravelling and shoving. Photographs of each of these three
types of road failure were displayed.
4.
Three different types of action can be taken in rehabilitating roads. Pothole filling is a shortterm fix for isolated areas; patches are for larger pavement failures where sections of the road
are profiled out and replaced with asphalt; and resurfacing generally involves removing the
asphalt with oxidised bitumen and replacing with new asphalt layers.
5.
When resurfacing is carried out the following process occurs:
The area is prepared with a profiler that removes the existing asphalt and road-base
from the road.
Asphalt is reclaimed, processed and used as reclaimed asphalt pavement.
Road-base is reclaimed and used as low- grade fill.
Tack coat, which is a diluted bitumen emulsion, is sprayed on the exposed surface to
bond the old and new surfaces.
A paver machine places hot asphalt in layer thicknesses to ensure compaction is
achieved (layer thickness is generally two and a half to four times the largest stone
size).
Compaction, which prevents water from penetrating the asphalt layer, is then
performed by a steel drum roller.
A multi-wheel roller completes compaction and kneads the surface together.
6.
The different types of asphalt mixes were explained. These asphalt types include:
deep lift type 4 (larger stones up to 40 millimetres in thickness providing structural
support)
type 3 (medium stone size up to 18 millimetres with superior strength, used on major
roads)
type 2 (smaller stones up to 10 millimetres in thickness providing a smooth finish
used as an overlay for low traffic areas)
spray seal used in low traffic areas only.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 61 -
7.
The key challenges addressed in performing the road rehabilitation and resurfacing work are:
ensuring staff safety while working in live traffic situations
managing conflicts of numerous underground surfaces and infrastructure
maintaining access to the road network during peak-traffic periods
scheduling work to balance congestion reduction with community amenity issues.
8.
Photographs of road works being carried out in the 1930s were displayed. These showed that
road rehabilitation remained relatively unchanged since that time, although some of the
equipment has changed.
9.
The Committee asked a number of questions and the Chairman thanked Mr Taylor for his
informative presentation.
10.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE
REPORT.
ADOPTED
BRISBANE LIFESTYLE COMMITTEE
Councillor Krista ADAMS, Chairman of the Brisbane Lifestyle Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor
Andrew WINES, that the report of that Committee held on 14 May 2013, be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
Councillor ADAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chair. Our presentation last week was on the refurbishment
of the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium which is now the most modern versatile
planetarium in the Australia New Zealand region and we have seen nothing but it
go strength to strength since it’s opened since Easter.
We closed the planetarium in January and it’s just allowed us to do a state of the
art technology—we did an installation of the new Hero project, the Megastar
Optical Star Projector. So we now have new displays also within our actual static
displays in the walls, our murals and the of course popular Neil Armstrong
replica space suit. We’ve updated all our display cabinets covering the 1960s
races to the moon, the lunar and planetary exploration and of course the rockets
in all their phases over the many years.
We’ve also actually highlighted the old Zeiss star projector that has been put in a
place—excuse me—of prominence in the foyer to remind people of the old
technology we used to use and revamp this as the new Galaxy Gift Shop.
Another part of the gallery that we have highlighted is the history of astronomy
and the discoveries in the solar system which is always very popular with our
kids and our students when they come in with their science teachers, with large
monitors with the latest touch screen to explore a variety of astronomical topics.
We’ve got new carpeting, we’ve got new reupholstered seats, we’ve got the
cosmic sky dome which is now the home to the new optical projector and it
recreates the night sky on a very advanced huge 12.5 metre dome and you can
actually see the sky from any angle of the night depending on how the projector
is working.
Madam Chairman, we had seen nothing but, as I said, outstanding results. I
understand Councillor MARX went to pop in there the other day and didn’t
realise it was two months ahead on the bookings at the moment to actually get
into a show at the planetarium because Our Dynamic Earth—that’s for the adults
if you need to listen to Liam Neeson, listen to that beautiful soothing voice—and
Our Perfect Little Planet for the kids have been so popular in the holidays and
the weekends.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 62 So as I said, Madam Chair, this administration is committed to looking after our
icons in our city. The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is definitely an icon.
This is an enormous project that has been delivered on time and on budget and I
want to say thank you to the whole team and particularly Mark Rigby who is so
enthusiastic in all the work he does out at the planetarium.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Chairman:
Further debate? I will put the motion.
Upon being submitted to the Chamber by the Chairman, the motion for the adoption of the report of the
Brisbane Lifestyle Committee was declared carried on the voices.
The report read as follows
ATTENDANCE:
Councillor Krista Adams (Chairman), Councillor Andrew Wines (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors
Vicki Howard, Steven Huang, Victoria Newton and Steve Griffiths.
A
COMMITTEE
PRESENTATION
REFURBISHMENT
–
BRISBANE
PLANETARIUM
629/2012-13
1.
Mr Tim Flood, Manager City Venues, Brisbane Lifestyle Division, attended the meeting to
provide an update on the Brisbane Planetarium refurbishment. Mr Flood provided the
information below.
2.
The Brisbane Planetarium was officially opened in 1978. In 2010, the digital projector system
was upgraded, making the venue the most advanced in Australia. The Planetarium is also a
very popular astronomy education and entertainment venue, with more than 100,000 people
visiting annually.
3.
Visitors to the Planetarium include the general public, school groups, seniors and other
special interest groups. The general entertainment is provided through live presentations and
Skydome digital programs from around the world, including Cosmic Collisions, Stars of the
Pharaohs, Secret of the Cardboard Rocket and many more.
4.
Further changes have been made to the facility, including:
a retail shop added in 2007
an upgrade to the mini theatre in 2009
Zeiss optical star projector removed in 2010.
An image was shown of the Zeiss optical star projector, which is now on display in the
Planetarium gallery.
5.
The new star projector, known as the Megastar-IIB, was selected and installed in 2013. This
projector provides stunning and accurate Earth-based images of the starry night skies. It also
has the option of working with the digital system or as a stand-alone system. The projector
also requires low maintenance and will last for a long time.
6.
An image of a Skydome projection was displayed.
7.
A list of refurbishments that have taken place at the Cosmic Skydome were outlined. These
included replacement of the projection dome to a lower-reflectivity dome that is better suited
to current show products, as well as a new console to replace the original console that was
installed in 1978. Seats in the Skydome have also been re-upholstered and new carpet
installed.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 63 -
8.
The displays in the foyer and gallery at the Planetarium have been refreshed and new
touchscreens have been installed. Signage has been improved and digital information screens
have also been provided, as a replacement of the old paper notices that were previously used.
9.
Two new shows have been added to the show list at the Planetarium, Dynamic Earth and
Perfect Little Planet. Mr Flood advised that the last update to shows occurred in 2010.
10.
Mr Flood advised the committee on the results that have been achieved from the
refurbishment of the Brisbane Planetarium, including a positive response from the public. It
was noted that April 2013 was the busiest month in the history of the Planetarium, with over
14,000 visitors and $87,000 in revenue. Mr Flood stated that this was a 70 per cent increase
from previous years.
11.
The Planetarium is now the most modern and versatile facility of its kind in the Asia Pacific
region. Named after an astronomer, the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is a highly
marketable, educational and entertaining facility for students, the general public and tourists.
12.
The future plans for the Planetarium will include a review of the current show timetables, to
ensure the availability of shows to the public, that reflect the increased demand. Officers from
Council’s Community Lifestyle Team will also investigate the possibility of other uses for the
Planetarium, which may engage more corporate and commercial markets.
13.
Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Mr Flood for
his informative presentation and congratulated the Community Lifestyle Team for their hard
work on the upgrade of the Planetarium.
14.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE
REPORT.
ADOPTED
FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Councillor Julian SIMMONDS, Chairman of the Finance, Economic Development and Administration
Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor Angela OWEN-TAYLOR, that the report of that Committee held
on 14 May 2013, be adopted.
Chairman:
Is there any debate? No debate, I will put the motion.
Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of the Finance, Economic Development and
Administration Committee was declared carried on the voices.
The report read as follows
ATTENDANCE:
Councillor Julian Simmonds (Chairman), Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor (Deputy Chairman), and
Councillors Fiona King, Ryan Murphy, Shayne Sutton and Kim Flesser.
A
COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BRISBANE – READY FOR SUMMER
SEPTEMBER 2012 – MARCH 2013
630/2012-13
1.
Jason Cameron, Disaster Manager, Corporate Recovery Office and Renae Philipson,
Program Officer, Corporate Recovery Office, gave a presentation on Council’s
management and preparation in the lead up to and during the summer storm season.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 64 -
2.
On 23 August 2012, Council launched the ‘Brisbane Ready for Summer’ campaign.
This aimed at creating a more resilient response to ensure Brisbane residents were
aware of and encouraged to undertake necessary measures to protect their family, pets
and property ahead of and during severe weather.
3.
Part of the service Council offers is a free early warning alert service (EWAS) for
residents which allows them to sign up for severe weather alerts. Currently there are
just over 78,000 households registered.
4.
At the end of each summer storm season, the Disaster Operations reviews the
campaign and has since enhanced its communication to encompass an ‘All Hazards’
approach as a result of the review process. The All Hazards approach currently
focuses on three major risks:
flooding – storm tide, overland flow, river and creek flooding
bush fires
severe storms.
6.
During the 2012/13 campaign Brisbane residents downloaded over 218,000 Flood
Flag Maps (a tool displaying whether a property has the potential for flooding). Over
120,000 of these occurred on and during the Australia Day weather event.
7.
Also during the 2012/13 campaign, there were 15,106 registrations to EWAS (a 24.5
per cent increase).
8
Council has partnered with other agencies to raise awareness of All Hazards events.
Council partnered with Queensland Fire and Rescue Service to educate on bushfire
risk and preparation. A direct mail out of the Bushfire Survival Plan
“Prepare.Act.Survive” was undertaken to all Brisbane residents in high risk bushfire
areas.
9.
The Chairman thanked Mr Cameron and Ms Philipson for the informative
presentation. The Chairman also thanked the Disaster Operations team for the work
they performed.
10.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION IN THE ABOVE REPORT.
ADOPTED
CONSIDERATION OF NOTIFIED MOTION – Flood warning signage:
(Notified motions are printed as supplied and are not edited)
631/2012-13
The Chairman of Council (Councillor Margaret de WIT) then drew the Councillors’ attention to the notified
motion listed on the agenda, and called on Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON to move the motion. Accordingly,
Councillor JOHNSTON moved, seconded by Councillor Milton DICK, that—
Brisbane City Council urgently installs hazard warning lights and flood markers on Pratten Street
and Cliveden Avenue, Corinda, as promised in Council’s Flood Action Plan to raise awareness and
improve safety on roads that regularly flood.
Chairman:
Is there any debate?
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 65 Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes, Madam Chairman. I moved this motion because of the duplicity of the LNP
Administration since the January 2011 floods and I’m going to outline why this
should have been done years ago now and why the LNP has basically been
misleading and lying to the community for the past year.
In January 2011 Brisbane City Council—after the January 2011 floods Brisbane
City Council established a review panel to look at the impacts of the floods and
what recommendations could be delivered to improve our effectiveness, improve
the recovery and improve Council’s dealing with the floods.
As part of that response, Brisbane City Council on 24 June 2011 released a flood
action plan. That flood action plan made a number of affirmations,
recommendations and conclusions. One of the recommendations, that is a matter
upon which Council should act to improve its flood responsiveness, was as
follows and it’s recommendation 10.1:
“The board recommends that permanent flood markers be installed on key roads
that are known to become flood affected to complement other public awareness
and safety campaigns and that outlines the following timeframes: identity marker
installation locations August 2011; design and document markets August 2011;
manage, manufacture and installation of markers January 2012.”
Now when that recommendation came out I actually thought it was a good one.
One of the very strong responses from my community after the floods was
people needed more information and more community identification of where
the flood levels came to and having markers or warning lights or warning
signage on key roads was one of the outcomes that residents in my area were
particularly seeking so I thought this was a very good recommendation.
The next thing that happened unfortunately was that an update to that flood
action report was released in August and the update to that report unfortunately
did something very bad and very wrong. The LORD MAYOR put out another
glossy document with a great introduction from him and he stamped on all of the
recommendations that he had done that they were completed. Now this came out
in August 2011. It’s the same recommendation that I’ve previously read, that
permanent flood markers be installed on key roads. So when that came out in
August I said well hang on that’s not right. There’s no way that’s been
completed because these flood markers aren’t anywhere in my ward and
certainly Tennyson Ward flooded badly, so there must be key roads in Tennyson
Ward that would have the flood markers.
So the next thing I did was ask some questions. I put questions on notice and in
answers to questions on notice on 18 September, the CEO provided me with two
things, (1)—and this is where the duplicity occurred—firstly, he said—in
response to my question about where all the flood markers were installed he
said:
“Note: during the development the most appropriate way in which to inform the
community of potential flood impacts, the project changed from flood marker
sites to signage. The list provided below is the list of sites for the previous
financial year as a specific list was not compiled in January 2011.”
So (1) you’ve got the CEO publicly contradicting another document issued by
the LORD MAYOR. So we know that in September last year there were no
flood markers that had been put up and worse than that, he then says that there
was signage put up at these locations. Now these locations interestingly include a
number in Rocklea but they include two critical ones in Corinda, Cliveden
Avenue and Pratten Street.
Now, Madam Chairman, I noticed that there were no such signs at those
locations, no markers, no signs, so despite being told in Council’s glossy
marketing materials that there were the markers, despite being told officially by
the CEO of Council that the signs had been put up, they weren’t. It was clear on
the ground almost a year ago that no such signage or markers had been erected in
Corinda.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 66 So, Madam Chairman, I asked the LORD MAYOR a question in this place
towards the end of the last year. He said he’d get back to me and he didn’t do it.
Again earlier this year I asked him a question in this chamber about why those
signs had not been erected. We had another major storm and flooding incident in
this part of Corinda where the roads went underwater again on and around
Australia Day and there were no signs put up. The only signs that were up were
less than knee level temporary signs saying water over road. Now that’s what the
LORD MAYOR said they actually did. We put up temporary water over road
signs. That is not good enough.
This Council told the community a year ago that it would install permanent
markers, it told this Council, it told every councillor in this place and I think you
should be very concerned that the CEO gave all councillors in this place and the
public incorrect and false information about the status of this signage.
Now still there are no flood signs down at this location. I don’t think that’s good
enough. I think the people of Corinda deserve to have information about where
flooding occurs in their community and I’m going to table, Madam Chairman,
the document I was referring to which is page 18 from the flood action plan of
this Council that says that this recommendation has been completed. Now that’s
not true and I want to make sure that there is a record of the duplicity of this
action.
Madam Chairman, my concern here is that this Council continues to publish
glossy flood information and the latest document is Brisbane’s FloodSmart
Future Strategy. Now that document’s very interesting—thank you. That
document says a number of things and again a message from the LORD
MAYOR. One of his objectives is “to improve the availability and access to
flood information.” If we’re not even delivering on the things that we have told
the community we’ve done—not that we’re going to do them, we’ve told this
community they’ve been done—that’s not good enough.
The LORD MAYOR is saying that information is one of the critical things that
residents need to prepare for flooding and it’s clear that that is a central principle
of this Council and the broader government system’s response to flood recovery.
“Flood risk management—a series of large floods in the 1970s resulted in a
change to land use planning as a means of controlling developments on flood
plains. The ‘90s saw a focus on flood emergency management and more recently
there has been a focus on providing flood information.”
All of the Royal Commission issues, all of the Brisbane City Council’s flood
response, were largely focused about how to improve information for residents
so they could make informed decisions about how to manage the flood risk in
their areas.
Now I don’t think it’s good enough, absolutely I don’t think it’s good enough,
that this Council has gone out and told this community that they have put flood
markers in when they haven’t. On Cliveden Avenue at the moment there is a
small flood marker. There’s nothing on Pratten Street. There have been some
sign poles put up but no signage put on them on Pratten Street, but what I can
categorically say is that this Council has told this community they’ve done
something that they have not done. They have not done.
I think it is appalling that we are publicly out there saying to residents that we
have done this, we have completed it and putting out glossy brochures about it
when it hasn’t happened. I think residents deserve better. Every single one of
these locations that the CEO told me about back in September last year should
have signs on them and I urge every single councillor to go out and check the
signs in their area to make sure that they are up as we were told on 18 September
because they are not up in my area and I suspect they’re not up in other parts of
Brisbane.
Now when the storms hit on Australia Day this would have been something
useful to have. This would have been a good thing for residents to have flood
markers so they could see how high the water was getting. Council was giving
them information about how high it was likely to get, but unless you can actually
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 67 ground proof that with reference to a marker of some kind, it is very difficult to
understand.
With respect to the signs they promised at Rocklea, they’ve been installed but
they were covered up. All through the storm event they weren’t functioning. It is
not good enough that this Council tells the community something but on the
ground they have done something else.
This motion today simply asks this Council to do what it has already told the
community it has done.
Chairman:
Councillor JOHNSTON your time has expired. Further debate on the motion?
Councillor JOHNSTON?
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Well, Madam Chairman, I’m appalled, I’m just appalled. Let me recap. given
I’m the only speaker yet again on behalf of the citizens of Brisbane in Tennyson
Ward that I represent and the LORD MAYOR of this city who is not here also
represents.
The LORD MAYOR went out to the community twice last year and he told
residents that he had completed a recommendation which said that flood markers
had been installed at dozens of locations around Brisbane including Pratten
Street and Cliveden Avenue, Corinda. Madam Chairman, he lied to the people of
Brisbane.
Then when I started asking questions about it, Madam Chairman, asking the
CEO where they were located, the CEO went out and said that signage had been
installed at those locations. The CEO then lied to the people of Brisbane.
It is not good enough that we don't have the signage that this Council has said is
in place. It is not in place, Madam Chairman, and not one single councillor from
the Liberal National Party has the guts to stand up and even explain to the
residents of Tennyson Ward and in particular in Corinda why it is that this
recommendation that they have claimed is completed hasn't been done. That is
disgraceful behaviour.
That is not the definition of open and transparent as they like to crow. That is
absolutely shameful behaviour. Why is it that the chairman of Infrastructure and
the DEPUTY MAYOR has not stood up to say why these haven't been done?
Why is it Councillor BOURKE, the chairman of Parks and Environment, has not
stood up to say it's been done? Why is it Councillor McLACHLAN, the head of
Field Services, has not stood up to say why it has not been done?
And why is it the LORD MAYOR of this city, who is the one that went out in
these documents and said this work has been completed, is not even here for this
debate and could not be bothered to come along and debate the issues of flood
recovery for this city? If this Council is going to put out incorrect information to
residents, if it is going along and say it's done something that it clearly has not
done, they can at least have the guts to stand up and say they've made a mistake
and that they're going to do it.
I hope, I hope, that I am mistaken and they don't vote this down. I hope they're
just going to walk over and vote yes. Yes, yes, Councillor KING is laughing.
Yes. Councillor KING is laughing, Madam Chairman. Just to get that on the
record, we all heard it. This is not a laughing matter. The fact that the LORD
MAYOR of this city and the CEO of this city have lied to residents at Corinda is
not good enough.
Chairman:
Councillor JOHNSTON, I find your constant repetition of that rather
unacceptable and quite offensive.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Madam Chairman, I've tabled the documents, I'm happy to table the answers to
the questions on notice that say that it changed from flood markers to signage.
Now, I've tabled the document there. I'll table this one too. Here you go. Take
this one, it's got my notes on it but that's fine. I'm happy to table this one,
Madam Chairman.
The CEO has put out a list and said this is where the flood signage was. It's not
there. The LORD MAYOR has put out a glossy document twice, twice, and said
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 68 this has been completed. It has not been. I don't know what else you would call
it, Madam Chairman. I'm not sure but what I will say is I don't think it's good
enough.
If this Council tells the community it's going to do something, it should do it.
That's all this motion is asking. These signs should be put in and there is
absolutely no reason why they should not be put in and I find it appalling,
appalling, that this Council refuses to do so.
Chairman:
I will put the motion.
As there was no further debate, the Chairman submitted the motion to the Chamber and it was declared lost on
the voices.
Thereupon, Councillors Steve GRIFFITHS and Nicole JOHNSTON immediately rose and called for a division,
which resulted in the motion being declared lost.
The voting was as follows:
AYES: 8 -
The Leader of the OPPOSITION, Councillor Milton DICK, and Councillors
Helen ABRAHAMS, Shayne SUTTON, Peter CUMMING, Kim FLESSER,
Steve GRIFFITHS, Victoria NEWTON, and Nicole JOHNSTON.
NOES: 17 -
DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, and Councillors Krista
ADAMS, Matthew BOURKE, Margaret de WIT, Vicki HOWARD, Steven HUANG,
Fiona KING, Geraldine KNAPP, Kim MARX, Peter MATIC, Ian McKENZIE,
David
McLACHLAN,
Ryan
MURPHY,
Angela OWEN-TAYLOR,
Julian SIMMONDS, Andrew WINES, and Norm WYNDHAM.
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:
Chairman:
Are there any petitions? Councillor SUTTON.
Councillor SUTTON:
Thank you, Madam Chair. I actually have a number of petitions. These are
ePetitions that have recently closed relating to budget items in Morningside
Ward. So I have a petition calling on Council to make the Bulimba Cross River
ferry service free of charge. Three hundred signatures, Councillor MATIC, I just
draw to your attention.
To upgrade The Corso at Seven Hills with a suburban improvement scheme,
calling for funding for that, 75 signatures. Completion of the River Walk in
Bulimba Riverside Park calling for funding for that. Upgrading the intersection
for Lytton Road, Apollo Road and Thorpe Street, Balmoral.
Upgrading play equipment in Keralgerie Park, Morningside, upgrading play
equipment in Lavarack Park, Camp Hill, installing proper barbeque facilities in
Wilson Park, Norman Park, toilets for Perth Street Park, Camp Hill. I know our
LORD MAYOR's media advisor won't be happy with that one but anyway.
Resurfacing Hawthorne Road, one of my favourite bandwagons and there's a
number of signatures on that. Also requesting an intersection upgrade for
Thynne Road and Lytton Road, Balmoral.
Madam Chair, one you're familiar with, calls to upgrade the intersection of
Pashen Street and Riding Road at Morningside. A funding request for the
installation of toilets in Bulimba Riverside Park. The next one is a call for more
frequent, evening and weekend bus services in the Morningside Ward and
particularly Bulimba and the surrounding suburbs. Another one calling for
funding for Stage 1 of the Wynnum Road upgrade and the second last one is
calling to upgrade the Bulimba ferry terminal at the end of Oxford Street,
Bulimba.
Then the last one, Madam Chair, is actually one I don't support and that is one
opposing the installation of a dog off leash area in Quinn Street, Balmoral, which
has already been built.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 69 Chairman:
Councillor McKENZIE.
Councillor McKENZIE:
Madam Chair, I have a petition requesting 40kph speed limit in Algona Street,
Holland Park West.
Chairman:
Further petitions? Councillor HOWARD.
Councillor HOWARD:
Thank you, Madam Chairman. I have a petition from the residents of
Glenfalloch in regards to the Brisbane City Council bus review.
Chairman:
Councillor ABRAHAMS.
Councillor ABRAHAMS:
Thank you, Madam Chair. Petition to close Norman Street, East Brisbane.
Chairman:
Councillor NEWTON.
Councillor NEWTON:
Thanks, Madam Chair. I have two petitions that I wish to lodge this evening on
behalf of Deagon Ward residents. One is in relation to calling for bikeway
improvements and the other one is calling for safety improvements to a local
intersection upgrade in Taigum, which I've spoken about before.
Chairman:
Further petitions? Councillor MURPHY
Councillor MURPHY:
Madam Chairman, I have one petition from the residents in Tingalpa about the
Council bus network review.
632/2012-13
It was resolved on the motion of Councillor Ryan MURPHY, seconded by Councillor Victoria NEWTON, that
the petitions as presented be received and referred to the Committee concerned for consideration and report.
The petitions were summarised as follows:
File No.
CA13/333849
Councillor
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333581
CA13/333821
Shayne Sutton
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333733
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333668
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333786
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333627
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333708
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333747
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333572
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333746
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333714
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333500
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333851
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333690
Shayne Sutton
Topic
Requesting that the Bulimba Cross River Service be
provided free of charge
Requesting an upgrade of The Corso, Seven Hills
Requesting the completion of the Riverwalk through
Bulimba Riverside Park
Requesting an upgrade of the Lytton Road/Apollo
Road/Thorpe Street intersection at Balmoral
Requesting new playground equipment in Keralgerie
Park, Morningside
Requesting new playground equipment in Lavarack Park,
Camp Hill
Requesting the installation of barbeque facilities in
Wilson Park, Norman Park
Requesting the installation of toilets in Perth Street Park,
Camp Hill
Requesting resurfacing of Hawthorne Road (Oxford
Street to Wynnum Road)
Requesting an upgrade of the Thynne Road/Lytton Road
intersection at Balmoral
Requesting an upgrade of the Pashen Street/Riding Road
intersection at Morningside
Requesting the installation of toilet facilities in Bulimba
Riverside Park, Bulimba
Requesting more frequent, evening and weekend bus
services to Bulimba and surrounding suburbs
Requesting funding for Stage 1 of the Wynnum Road
upgrade (Shafston Avenue and Riding Road)
Requesting an upgrade of the Bulimba Ferry Terminal
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 70 -
CA13/333919
Shayne Sutton
CA13/333921
Ian McKenzie
CA13/333653
Vicki Howard
CA13/334304
Helen Abrahams
CA13/333983
Victoria Newton
CA13/333599
Victoria Newton
CA13/334717
Ryan Murphy
Opposing the Quinn Street dog off leash area and any
similar installations between the Bulimba Bowls Club,
Quinn Street and Kuranda Street, Balmoral
Requesting the installation of 40km/h speed limit signs
and traffic calming in Algona Street, Holland Park West
Requesting a review of bus routes and the relocation of
the Oxlade Driver terminus at New Farm
Requesting the installation of traffic calming and
reinstatement of garden beds/street trees along Norman
Street, East Brisbane
Requesting the widening of the shared path from the
Sandgate Pool to Decker Park
Requesting an upgrade of the Roghan Road/Muller Road
intersection at Boondall
Opposing proposed changes to bus routes in Tingalpa
GENERAL BUSINESS:
Chairman:
Councillors, are there any items of general business? Councillor KING.
Councillor KING:
Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise to speak on an event in the Marchant Ward, an
annual event, the Lanham May Fair. This is the fifth year that the May Fair has
been running and it was certainly good to see that we had record crowds at the
Grange on the fourth of this month.
I'd also like to thank Councillor WINES and Councillor HOWARD and the
LORD MAYOR for coming to the event and sharing the success of the day. The
May Fair would not have been possible this year without the help from Stafford
Rotary. So a big thank you to Mike and Frank for all their hard work. They
really did put in the hours, Councillor WINES, to get the stalls correctly. They
did call me bossy boots on the morning however, but without these two guys the
fair wouldn't have been the success it was.
I'd also like to thank my staff, Liz, Eloise and Karen, because they put a lot of
time into the fair as well and came out on the day and enjoyed the music and saw
what a success the day was.
There was another special person on the day that took his time for the
community to MC the event. This gentleman is well known to us all, it was Mr
Patrick Condren from Channel 7 News, that took his time out all afternoon to
help us with the fair. He did a fantastic job and I'd like to thank you, Patrick, for
taking out your time.
Our community groups were all there. We had over 28 stalls this year,
Councillor WINES, and it's all about our community and bringing our
community together. What I love about these events is you actually see
neighbours actually introducing themselves and talking to each other and some
of them work out that they actually only live two doors away from each other.
So it's a really nice event to see that community come together.
Again, thank you to Stafford Rotary, thank you to Patrick Condren and thank
you to my staff and a big thank you to all the community groups that came out
and enjoyed the day and for once we had perfect weather, perfect blue skies for
the May Fair. Thank you.
Chairman:
Further general business? Councillor SUTTON.
Councillor SUTTON:
Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise to speak about two items. The Wynnum Road
shared pathway and the safety awareness campaign we've been doing on that
pathway over the last couple of days and also the Seven Hills TAFE
development application and the current period of public notification.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 71 Firstly on the Wynnum Road shared pathway issue. Madam Chair, this is an
issue in my local area. It relates to a pinch point on the pathway on Wynnum
Road between Galloways Hill at Hawthorne, the intersection of Hawthorne and
Wynnum Road and it pretty much goes all the way down to Laidlaw Parade.
Some of that is outside of my ward once you get to Canning Bridge.
But there is a lot of conflict, or there is a lot of anxiety about potential conflict, is
probably the better way to say it, between cyclists who use the path, residents
that are entering and exiting their driveways and pedestrians and runners who
use the pathway. It's a heavily utilised pathway. This is not a bad news story. It's
actually a story about congratulating local residents and cyclists, Council, the
police and other key stakeholders for working together to do a public awareness
campaign, which we have been doing this week.
We started on Monday from 7:00am, we were all out there in our winter
woollies, to hand out to the users of the pathway this little card which was
designed for me by a local designer and funded through the LORD MAYOR's
Suburban Initiative Fund, now that we can fund local projects directly. It's
entitled The Wynnum Road Shared Pathway and it's a safety first campaign and
the key message is each of the users have a role to play in keeping that pathway
safe.
I have had a range of cyclists and residents, as well as the Morningside police,
out there working with me to assist in handing out these cards to all users. I
particularly want to thank a number of residents who have volunteered, being
Kate Gubesch, Malcolm Campbell, Gloria McDonough, Peter and Sacquie
Jackie Craig, Jenny McDougall, Jill Sim, David Saltwell and John Russell as
residents and cyclists who have gotten out of bed early the last couple of days
and will be doing so again tomorrow.
In fact, we started at 7am on Monday but we decided we were missing too many
cyclists so the residents have volunteered to actually start even earlier at 6.30, as
they did so today, and I will be out there with them tomorrow at 6:30 doing the
same thing. I just really wanted to thank everyone for their cooperation in
bringing these cards and this campaign into existence.
I want to thank Ben Wilson from Bicycle Queensland for his proactive feedback.
I want to thank Council officers for helping to develop the original wording. It
has changed a bit from the words they sent back to me but that was based on
feedback from all of the key stakeholders. I want to thank Councillor MATIC for
assisting. I'm happy to give credit where it's due. Councillor MATIC for
assisting me in getting that advice from the Council officers but also getting
Active Transport materials to be on site to give us a presence as volunteers on
that pathway.
It really has been a positive experience. I have had lots of positive emails from
cyclists, residents and pedestrians and runners using the pathway. Now that these
cards have been designed, we can actually repeat the public awareness campaign
a couple of times through the year to keep that awareness up there.
The only downside for you, Councillor MATIC, I think is that there is now an
awareness of that corridor study that Council has been doing and everyone is
going to be interested in the outcomes of it. So no pressure but I just wanted to
let you know there is a critical mass of people now from all walks of life who are
highly grateful to Council for the funding for the corridor study but are also
acutely interested in what that study will find and how Council plans to
implement what has been learned through that study.
So just wanted to put that on record and I look forward to hearing about that. I'm
happy to wait for budget announcements and will welcome them as such if there
are any but I am interested, and everyone will be interested to hear what that
study shows.
Turning now to the Seven Hills TAFE application. This is the most significant
development application in the Morningside Ward at the moment. There was a
decision to dispose of the Seven Hills TAFE site some time ago. When I became
aware of that decision, whilst I didn't agree with that decision at the time, my
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 72 absolute first priority was to say if that TAFE site is going to be redeveloped, we
had to make sure that we get the right outcome on that site for the local area.
Now, we worked constructively through the River Gateway neighbourhood
planning exercise, to get a range of provisions included in that to guide the type
of development that we wanted in there. When I say we, I mean the local
residents, myself and actually a former member for Bulimba, Di Farmer, as well
was active in that process. We were happy with the outcome of what the River
Gateway neighbourhood plan actually came out with in terms of that site to
guide that development.
However, the Heran Building Group, who are now the owners of the site have
been progressing their DA. Council issued an information request late last year,
and Heran responded to that information request at the end of March. Having
reviewed their response to the information request, I have a number of issues
with their development application.
I think given the size of that application, I really think it would be appropriate,
and I'm appealing to Councillor COOPER as the planning chair today and the
LORD MAYOR, both unfortunately who are absent at the moment, is to ensure
that given the significance of this development application, that it come to full
Council for decision, that it come to the Neighbourhood Planning committee and
it come to full Council for any type of approval or refusal, which is what I'm
advocating at the moment, based on what has been provided in the response to
Council's information request.
Some of the issues that myself and local residents have concerns about is that
Heran is asking for a preliminary approval for all aspects of their master plan for
the site. So that's a total of 398 units or 885 bedrooms but at this stage, in terms
of the development application, only the detailed plans for 141 of these units
have been provided to Council as part of the current DA, which means there are
257 units in the design and configuration of such that residents do not know how
they will be configured and how they will affect the site and how they will be
placed on the site.
That means in terms of the details of those 257 units, residents won't have appeal
rights for the details of them because any subsequent DAs for those units will
actually be code assessable which means they won't need to be publicly notified
and residents will lose their appeal rights. Almost half the matured trees on the
site are currently proposed for removal and it includes the removal of every
single mature tree along the Clearview Terrace frontage of the property. This is a
major street frontage of the property.
In total, Heran is proposing to removal 148 native or locally significant trees on
the site. Myself and local residents believe that is excessive and in fact if you
look at their vegetation plans, it actually lists many more trees proposed for
either quote “relocation or removal depending on more detailed design plans.” I
think that's excessive and I think we need more clarity on that before we move
forward with making a final decision on the development application.
In the River Gateway neighbourhood plan, the final copy allowed the developer
to go to five storeys where those five storeys can be screened by the vegetation
or the topography of the land. Now, the result of them removing so many mature
trees means that it is the potential for those five storey buildings to be screened
in any way—is Norm snoring? Is that a snore? Sorry, I won't be distracted sorry, Councillor WYNDHAM, I apologise. I am sorry, I didn't realise I was that
boring, Madam Chair. I apologise, councillor.
Anyway, the five storey height limits that are being proposed in the area will
mean that there is significant visual impact. Also we are concerned about the fact
that Heran is now starting to argue that only part of the theatre building should
be handed over to Council for community—
Chairman:
Councillor SUTTON, you are well over actually.
Councillor SUTTON:
Sorry. We want the whole building. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Chairman:
Further general business? Councillor MARX.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 73 Councillor MARX:
Thank you, Madam Chairman. I rise to speak this afternoon regarding the
Karawatha Family Fun Day which was held in my ward on Sunday and I have to
say the weather was picture perfect. There wasn't a cloud in the sky so that was
wonderful. Easily 2,000 people turned up for my first Family Fun Day so I was
very pleased with that. There were many, many families with lots of young
children taking part in all the activities that my staff and I organised with the
help of the LORD MAYOR's Suburban Initiative Fund.
The children, we had free fairy floss, snow cones, face painting, Life Be In It
games. There was pedal cars, both the for young and old, arts and crafts,
jumping castle and for the adults, of course, we had a free coffee van. So the line
up for that, as you can imagine, was fairly huge. We had a few community
groups there. We had the Forest Protection Society who were conducting walks
through the forest. I think their third and final walk, they had something like 40
people taking part which I think is always a wonderful thing to see.
Sunnybank District History Group were there, which is a group that was started
when I was a candidate back in 2010 and that continues to this day. While the
group is small, only small numbers of locals, we continue to meet on a monthly
basis and we're looking forward to getting lots of projects done through that and
I know they spoke to many local residents about that at the time.
Kuraby community gardens people were also there selling their worm juice,
which they like to make and they get a living out of that and that keeps their
group funded. I had people from SES, St John's and the police were there, all of
who commented how much community engagement they had on that particular
day, something which apparently doesn't always happen at these events.
In actual fact, I actually even had emails back from those groups and even the
police saying what a wonderful day it was. So I'm very pleased to get positive
feedback like that. I do need to thank some Council officers, Rachel and Matt
who are both part of the Karawatha Forest, one the areas that they look after.
They do a magnificent job and of course they did a huge job leading up to the
day, making sure that everything looked smicko and it did and they did a
wonderful job.
Andrew and Jan, of course, were there. That was part of the discovery centre
which is a huge commitment that this Council is making to the Karawatha Ward.
Community engagement took place there on the day and I know they were
extremely pleased with the consultation and feedback that they had from the
local community.
Councillor HUANG was able to attend briefly between his functions. The LORD
MAYOR was there and also Councillor MATIC managed to make it across there
for a few minutes as well. So it was wonderful to see them. I had two of my
Lions' groups there doing the sausage sizzle for me and they made over $1,000
on the day. That was the only thing we charged for because, of course, that
money goes back into the community so that was wonderful.
So I just want to thank the officers and my staff, particularly Laurel. She put in
many, many hours planning that day and we absolutely are looking forward to
having another one next year. Thank you.
Chairman:
Further general business. Councillor CUMMING.
Councillor CUMMING:
Madam Chair, I want to speak about the Wynnum Central School site. I’m
concerned about the lack of any progress on the development of the Wynnum
Central School site. This site was purchased by the Brisbane City Council and
the state government over 12 months ago. The Council promised a masterplan
for the site, which would incorporate public consultation. The LORD MAYOR
Graham QUIRK also promised a new library for Wynnum Manly in the grounds
of this old school.
I’m happy to dedicate resources from my office to carry out public consultation
on the masterplan and the design of the library. I’d like to see the library built
and open during this term of Council. As there are now less than three years until
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 74 the next election, I have some doubts as to whether the library will be open
before the next election.
I’m particularly concerned, given the track record of this administration in
relation to certain new libraries and community centres around the city.
Councillor interjecting.
Councillor CUMMING:
Yes, well. Further, Wynnum Central is crying out for redevelopment. There are
over 30 vacant shops in the Wynnum Central area and local residents are fearful
of the area becoming a ghost town. The Wynnum Central School has plenty of
potential for redevelopment. It sits in the middle of the eight-storey area under
the Wynnum Manly Neighbourhood Plan. The state government has correctly
required the best looking building on the site, the old red brick building, to be
retained and used for community purposes.
There will be area required for the new library, if it’s ever built. I believe an area
of parkland would be a good idea too. However that still leaves a large
percentage of the site available for redevelopment. I’m on the record as calling
upon Council to set aside an area for a cinema in the grounds of the school and
call for expressions of interest from cinema operators to build a cinema.
I believe Council should also be prepared to offer finance incentives, such as a
peppercorn rent for a limited period, to attract a cinema operator. I believe a
commercial cinema in Wynnum Central would give the area an enormous boost.
It would be a flow-on effect to coffee shops and restaurants in the area and new
businesses would be attracted. Further, there would be room for an eight-storey
residential tower or two in the school grounds.
So 12 months after Council has bought the site there has been no progress. I call
upon this administration to get their act together and get things moving.
Chairman:
Further general business. Councillor DICK.
Councillor DICK:
Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise tonight to speak on a number of local issues and
the performance of the LNP in delivering and not delivering for the South-West
of Brisbane.
I want to start tonight by talking about a critical campaign that is being
undertaken in my local community, and that is the future of the Darra
Community Hall. Today the South-West News has a headline which says: Hall
Fight Hits Web. Residents fighting to save their beloved Darra Community Hall
have set up an online petition calling for Brisbane City Council to investigate all
options to ensure the asset remains available for use by the community.
I have spoken about this issue before in the council chamber and tonight I
reaffirm my support for local residents and the Darra Community Association
which are fighting to keep that hall in the public’s hands.
For over 20 years there has been a fantastic community hall located at Kokoda
Street, Darra, in the old estate known as Centenary Village. This hall has had a
remarkable impact on local residents, and I won’t go through the full history of
the hall but I do want to state tonight that during the flood and during the recent
storm events in our city this hall has acted as a beacon for local residents to
receive support, for community development officers from the Brisbane City
Council to operate from. There have been a number of service groups which
have used this club to support local residents who have been impacted by natural
disasters. The hall itself was inundated during the January 2011 flood.
From that many, many tens of thousands of dollars of grants and goodwill from
the community have gone into that hall. In fact, it was the site of the television
show, The Renovators, which came post-the flood and did a remarkable job
engaging with the community, showcasing a little known spot in Brisbane and
delivering a state-of-the-art, fantastic community facility.
It is privately owned and that private developer has made an indication to the
community association. I place on the record the work of that developer and the
owner of the hall, who has worked hand in glove with the community over
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 75 many, many years. Now it is over to other levels of government to step up and to
show leadership, to support the community.
Of course, I’m disappointed in today’s article where the Chair of Brisbane
Lifestyle said: while community halls were an important part of society, the
Council wouldn’t be buying the hall. Now, this is a slap in the face for local
residents. It’s worse because the community association have requested a
meeting with the LORD MAYOR of this city and been denied a meeting.
The fact that the relevant Chair and the LORD MAYOR won't even sit down
with local residents, have a chat to them, maybe look at options, explore
avenues, says volumes about how this Administration treats my suburbs.
I’m not surprised when you look at the person responsible for overseeing these
decisions, the same person who has cut frontline services in our city, the same
person who is dragging their heels on delivering a masterplan on Richlands State
School, just as we’ve heard from Councillor CUMMING, and I’m not surprised
that this opponent, another political hack who’s working in Councillor ADAMS’
office, you know, if there’s anyone obviously not committed to the community
it’s (Council officer’s name removed to maintain privacy) who clearly has better
things to do than worry about community halls or even in the community she
purports to represent.
But the fact that Councillor ADAMS won't actually sit down with the
community, arrogance yet again from the Liberal National Party, who all think
they’re better than the people of Darra and Inala and those suburbs, who are
more interested in propping up the state government and not delivering services,
the same Chairperson who has seen a collapse in library patronage numbers, the
same person who shut down the Inala customer service centre, who closed three
customer service centres.
Didn’t have the guts in the last year’s budget to announce it until the very last
hour of the budget debate when she was finally flushed out and caught out.
Didn’t have the guts to write to local residents. Sent a bureaucrat out to write to
residents, never having the guts to actually own up to the decision; it is typical of
how the LNP deal with issues in my community. They all think they’re better
than the residents out there. They cut services, they cut frontline officers and
we've been revealed today compliance and regulatory services officers are
next—
Councillor:
That’s right.
Councillor DICK:
—in the axe line as was revealed during Question Time to the LORD MAYOR.
But back to the community hall, this is an asset which the Council can play a
leadership role in. The developer is a very reasonable person and I know if the
Council would act in good faith, if there are other options let’s talk about them.
Let’s talk about relocating the hall. If Councillor ADAMS is worried about
flooding impacts, let’s talk about other options and other avenues to support the
community, rather than a straight out blanket no.
This is an opportunity for the Council to work with the local residents. The
community stands are the fore. They are organised, they’ve mobilised, they’ve
got online petitions. They’ve got a working group. I attended a working group
meeting on Sunday afternoon. Dedicated mums and dads and community
workers who just want to save a community hall. This is what the Council
should be about but what is the LNP’s priorities? Millions of dollars to well-paid
bureaucrats, overseas travel by Council officers and councillors, setting the
wrong priorities rather than investing in the community, propping up themselves,
propping up George Street.
Well Madam Chair, I say that the community deserves better. I’ll continue to
keep working with local residents to make sure that their voice is heard. I tonight
publicly state, as part of my budget requests, through the LORD MAYOR and to
Councillor SCHRINNER, have indicated that this is one of my top priorities and
would request that Council, through the budget process when it comes down in a
matter of weeks, allocate the necessary funding to save this community hall.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 76 If they’re not interested in saving the community hall, at least have the decency
to sit down with the local residents, who rely on the services from this
community centre, from this community hall, to look at options; to look at
relocation, to look at other locations where we may be able to offer those support
services in and around that suburbs.
Madam Chair, we need to take action. The Council needs to step up to the plate,
support local residents, to support the local Darra community association. I stand
ready to offer my support, to work constructively in a proactive bipartisan
approach to make sure we get the best possible outcome and that the community
gets to keep a much loved hall.
Councillor:
Hear, hear.
Chairman:
Further general business. Councillor JOHNSTON.
Councillor JOHNSTON:
Yes, Madam Chairman, I rise to speak on four items this evening, the Oklahoma
tornado, the Fairfield family fun day, the missing Walsh walkway petition and
Active School Travel.
I just want to start by putting on the record my sadness about what’s happened in
Oklahoma city over the last 24 hours. I’ve been following the news online today
and the death toll just continues to rise. It stands at almost 100 people this
evening and the estimates say that about half of those are children who perished
while at school.
Unfortunately, our state is only too aware of the impact of Mother Nature and
whilst we didn’t lose lives during the floods here in Brisbane we did in
Queensland. I’m sure, Madam Chairman, that we’re all thinking about those
families who’ve lost their homes and lost loved ones.
I hope that there is some way that this city could send a message of support to
Oklahoma city and the surrounding suburbs of that city that have been so badly
affected, and I hope that the LNP councillors, and particularly the DEPUTY
MAYOR, who is still here in the chamber, take that message back to the LORD
MAYOR and we find an appropriate way of sending our support.
On lighter matters, I am rising also to speak on the Fairfield family picnic which
was held on 21 April 2013 at Robinson Park in Fairfield. I’ve been working very
closely with the Moorooka Lions Club, who look after the area that I represent
and we had a successful event last year which was to continue to build on the
community spirit and resilience that was lacking after the January 2011 floods.
This year we wanted to fund another event and we wanted to do something in a
very low key, low cost way that was accessible to families to come along and
have fun, so we came up with the idea of a very traditional family picnic.
The picnic included barbecue, music, face painting, a jumping castle, games; egg
and spoon races, sack races, all those fun games that we used to do. There was a
clown. We had the princesses and pirates fancy dress competition and I do have
to thank Councillor SUTTON. I’ve been looking for the right forum to do that,
in hearing every year how successful hers is. I will say to you we had about 150
entrants and it was the hardest thing to judge. I’m definitely going to find
another judge next year.
But Madam Chairman, it was a marvellous day. It exceeded all expectations. We
had thousands of families. They brought their rugs down. They sat under the
trees. They let their kids run around. We ate sausages. There were stalls. We had
a cake stall from the local kindy. The community centre ran a raffle. The local
school put on drinks. It was an absolutely wonderful and inclusive day.
It was made possible by a number of people and I would just like to put on the
record my thanks to the Moorooka Lions Club and all of their members and their
families who helped with the event. The staff in my office who helped with the
event; and the Yeronga community centre and Yeronga State High School
students who worked all day doing the face painting. It was an absolutely
brilliant event.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 77 I promised the Lions Club we’d wait a few weeks before we talked about next
year but I’m very hopeful we’ll do next year. It’s a big effort for everybody on
the day.
But I just want to thank all of those people who were involved in making the
Fairfield family picnic such a marvellous success. The Yeronga Community
Centre, which is just up and running as a permanent community centre, did very
well running a raffle as well.
But really, all thanks must go to the Moorooka Lions Club who coordinated all
the logistics and ran the barbecue on the day. I’m very grateful to them and we
had a fantastic turnout. It was hard to get people to leave at four o’clock actually,
when we were packing down. They were all still there and chatting. So I’m
looking forward to doing that again and I do very much thank in particular the
Moorooka Lions and the Yeronga community centre and Yeronga high school
students.
The Active School Travel Program: I’d just like to note that this year there are
two schools who are participating in the Active School Travel Program. That’s
Graceville State School at Graceville and Mary Immaculate, more commonly
known as MaryMac, at Annerley. They are chalk and cheese schools. One is a
very small Catholic primary school and the other is a very large state school.
What I will say is the program is running extremely well at both schools and I’m
very pleased to say that MaryMac has had the highest level of active travellers
both in March and in April. The measure in April meant that they won the
Golden Boot and I know that they’re going to be very competitive for the overall
Golden Boot for the year.
I just want to thank all of those parents, teachers and the principals who are
involved. As I have done in previous years and continue to do with the Legacy
schools in my area, I host a breakfast on a quarterly basis, and those are going
very well. We’ve got another one tomorrow morning.
I just want to thank everybody involved and continue to encourage the schools to
participate in the Active School Travel Program.
Finally, the Walsh walkway, the missing petition. In February 2012 I tabled a
petition in this place asking for a renaming of a laneway in Dunlop Park. It
connects Dunlop Park to Glenrich Street in Corinda. I did so on behalf of a
resident of that street and an active member of the local history group, Mrs Joan
Curtis. Now that was a community based naming. Pretty much every resident of
that street signed a petition in support of the name and the local Oxley Chelmer
History Group wrote a letter in support of the name change.
Now it’s gone into the black hole of Brisbane City Council. In the past year or
so, or longer, I’ve inquired on multiple occasions, directly with council officers
and with the Chairman of Parks and Environment, Public and Active Transport
and indirectly through Councillor SCHRINNER’s area. Over the past 18 months
I’ve variously been told the matter is with the Parks and Environment
Committee; then I’m told it’s gone to the Infrastructure Committee; then I’m
told it’s gone to the Public and Active Transport Committee; then I’m told it’s
gone to Infrastructure again.
I don’t think it is good enough that a community petition is being delayed and
this level of politics is being played with a petition. It’s now been 15 months
since a simple naming petition was put forward. It’s not good enough. Last week
Councillor MATIC denied that he had the petition in his committee. This week
Councillor SCHRINNER denies he has the petition in his committee. Where is
it? The CEO’s office tells me it’s with Infrastructure, so where is it?
If Councillor MATIC doesn’t know where it is and Councillor SCHRINNER
doesn’t know where it is, they need to have a look. It’s been 15 months and it’s
not good enough that a petition for an elderly resident who represents a local
history group is being stuffed around because of a bunch of petty political games
by the LNP. It’s not good enough.
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 78 Now I’ve written to the CEO, I’ve written to the LORD MAYOR. Neither of
them have had the courtesy to respond to me. You can’t get an answer out of
Councillor MATIC or Councillor SCHRINNER. It is not good enough. Today
we saw a petition that took almost two years to get to this place. Here’s another
one.
If they want to crow about what a good job they’ve done over the past year, I can
provide plenty of examples where they’re not. That petition better turn up to the
committee next week for discussion, otherwise I’m not sure what I’ll do. I am
not sure what I’ll do. There’s Councillor MATIC laughing his head off, laughing
his head off. It’s not funny. This is deliberate obstruction. It’s pathetic political
game playing and a petition for a renaming that’s been strongly supported by
residents—do you know Councillor MATIC even wrote out to them. He told me
the last time I inquired about it earlier this year. He said, oh, we needed more
information. That information was provided months ago. I know because Mrs
Curtis sent me the same information she sent into Council. So know what’s
going on and I know that the delay is sitting here, and I suspect it’s sitting with
Councillor MATIC and at the moment I can’t decide which one of them in
Infrastructure’s got it.
I suspect it’s Councillor MATIC but, Madam Chairman, I will not put up with it.
It is pathetic game playing. It is beneath a Chairman of this Council and it’s not
me. It’s not my petition; it’s a petition of Corinda residents. They deserve better.
They deserve a timely response to their representations to this Council. They
deserve to have their request actioned with all due haste and intent.
If we can action the biggest commercial building this Council has ever seen
through DA here in a matter of six weeks we can certainly, after 15 months, find
a missing petition for the Walsh walkway, bring it up to this Council and get it
endorsed so that we can get a sign off and respect the wishes of local residents in
Corinda.
Chairman:
Further general business. Declare the meeting closed.
QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
(Questions of which due notice has been given are printed as supplied and are not edited)
Submitted by Councillor Nicole Johnston (received on 15 May 2013)
Q1.
Would the CEO please advise how many rubbish bins have been removed from bus stops in Tennyson
Ward?
Submitted by Councillor Victoria Newton (received on 16 May 2013)
Q1.
Would the CEO provide a breakdown for each Neighbourhood Plan of funds collected for acquisition
or upgrade of parkland since the introduction of each Neighbourhood Plan?
Q2.
Would the CEO provide a breakdown for each Neighbourhood Plan of the funds collected for
acquisition or upgrade of parkland since the introduction of each Neighbourhood Plan that remain
unspent at the end of March 2013?
Q3.
Would the CEO provide a breakdown for each Neighbourhood Plan of funds collected for acquisition
or upgrade of parkland that have been spent for the acquisition of parkland at the end of March 2013?
Q4.
Would the CEO provide a breakdown for each Neighbourhood Plan of funds collected for the bikeways
since the introduction of each Neighbourhood Plan?
Q5.
Would the CEO provide a breakdown for each Neighbourhood Plan of funds collected for the bikeways
since the introduction of each Neighbourhood Plan that has been spent at the end of March 2013??
Q6.
Can the CEO please advise of the locations of the top ten most used City Cycle stations?
Q7.
Can the CEO please advise of the locations of the ten least used City Cycle stations?
Q8 1.
Could the CEO please advise the total amount of remuneration (including salary, allowances, bonuses
and superannuation) that was paid to the 73 executives who received executive bonuses from Council,
in the 2010/2011 financial year?
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 79 Q9.
Can the CEO please provide details of when leases will expire for Brisbane’s buses?
Q10.
Can the CEO please advise what the remaining lease time is for Willawong Bus Depot?
Q11.
Can the CEO please advise what the remaining lease time is for Sherwood Bus Depot?
Q12.
Can the CEO please advise what the remaining lease time is for the CityCats?
Q13.
Can the CEO please provide a breakdown of the type and numbers of library items were acquired in
2009/10 financial year?
Q14.
Can the CEO please provide a breakdown of the type and numbers of library items were acquired in
2010/11 financial year?
Q15.
Can the CEO please provide a breakdown of the type and numbers of library items were acquired in
2011/12 financial year?
Q16.
Can the CEO please provide a breakdown of the type and numbers of library items will be acquired in
2012/13 financial year?
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN
GIVEN:
(Answers to questions of which due notice has been given are printed as supplied and are not edited)
Submitted by Councillor Victoria Newton (from meeting on 14 May 2013)
Q1.
Can the CEO please provide the number of staff employed by Brisbane Transport at 30 April 2010, 30
April 2011, 30 April 2012 and 30 April 2013 by:
-
Total number of people employed within Brisbane Transport
Number of full time equivalent bus drivers employed within Brisbane Transport
Number of part time bus drivers employed within Brisbane Transport
Number of contract and temporary bus drivers within Brisbane Transport
Number of full time equivalent ferry and CityCat drivers employed within Brisbane Transport
Number of part time ferry and CityCat drivers employed within Brisbane Transport
Number of contract and temporary ferry and CityCat drivers employed within Brisbane Transport
Q2.
Can the CEO please provide the total number of fines issued by libraries and the total amount collected
from library fines in:
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
Q4.
Can the CEO please provide the number of tree maintenance requests that are scheduled and yet to be
completed at 30 April 2013.
Q5.
Can the CEO please provide the number of footpath repair requests that are scheduled and yet to be
completed at 30 April 2013.
Q6.
Can the CEO please provide the number of pothole repair requests that are scheduled and yet to be
completed at 30 April 2013.
Q6.
Can the CEO please provide the number of properties expected to be resumed for the Kingsford Smith
Drive upgrade project:
-
Stage 2, number of properties resumed in full
Stage 2, number of properties partially resumed
Stage 3, number of properties resumed in full
Stage 3, number of properties partially resumed
Q7.
Can the CEO please provide the number of parking infringement notices issued in the CBD and
Fortitude Valley since 14 January 2013 for not paying the parking meter:
-
Number of infringements issued on Saturday
Number of infringements issued on Sunday
Number of infringements issued Monday to Friday between the hours of 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Total income from parking fines in CBD and Fortitude Valley since 14 January 2013
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 80 Q8.
Can the CEO please advise how many applications for rate relief have been received by Council to
date, in the current financial year?
Q9.
Can the CEO please advise how many applications for rate relief were received by Council in the
2011/12 financial year?
Q10.
Can the CEO please advise what was the total amount of rates relief granted by Council in the 2011/12
financial year?
Q11.
Can the CEO please advise what is the total amount of rates relief granted by Council to date, in the
current financial year?
Q12.
Can the CEO please advise what is the average amount of rates relief requested by applicants to date, in
the current financial year?
Q13.
Can the CEO please advise what was the average amount of rates relief requested by applicants in the
2011/12 financial year?
Q14.
Can the CEO please advise what please outline the key strategies Council uses to make Brisbane
ratepayers aware that they can apply for Rates Relief if they need it. Please give an example of the
most recent public communication exercise council has undertaken to generally advise residents Rates
Relief is available.
Q15.
Can the CEO please advise who are the current members of the Rates Relief Tribunal?
Q16.
Can the CEO please advise how regularly the Rates Relief Tribunal meets.
Q17.
Can the CEO please advise the dates of the last six Rates Relief Tribunal Meetings.
Q18.
Can the CEO please provide the rationale for the 15 minute parking limit in The Gabba Traffic Area?
Q19.
Can the CEO please advise how much has been spent supplying arrangements of fresh flowers for
Civic Events at City Hall so far this year?
Q20.
Can the CEO please advise how much has been spent supplying arrangements of fresh flowers for the
reception area of the Lord Mayor’s Office so far in 2012/13 financial year?
Q21.
Can the CEO please advise how many unpaid toll infringements have been referred to SPER in the
2012-13 financial year?
Q22.
Can the CEO please advise how many of these unpaid toll infringements referred to SPER in the 201213 financial year have been paid?
Q23.
Can the CEO please advise how many unpaid infringements issued to SPER in 2012-13 financial year
have since been waived?
Q24.
Can the CEO please advise how much is currently owing in unpaid fines?
A1. to A24. Information being compiled
Submitted by Councillor Victoria Newton (from the meeting of 7 May 2013)
Q1.
I refer to your answers on the Agenda Paper dated 26 March in relation to the total annual cost of the
Bulimba Cross River Ferry Service in financial year 2011/12 and the anticipated total annual cost of
running the same service in 2012/13. Can the CEO please explain why Council expects this service to
cost $143,915 more in the 2012/13 financial year than it did in the 2011/12 financial year.
A1.
While the operating hours for the service have not changed the other variable is the contract costs.
The contract with the ferry operator TransdevTSL is subject to annual escalation, which together
with the price of fuel, are the key drivers in calculating the cost of the Bulimba – Teneriffe ferry
service. In addition to the increase in the price of diesel fuel, from 1 July 2012 all ferry services are
subject to carbon tax by way of a reduction in the Fuel Tax Excise Rebate. Other significant cost
drivers which impacted on the increase in the cost of ferry services in 2012-13 are ferry boat
depreciation and insurance premiums for the ferry fleet and ferry terminals (increases in premiums
following the January 2011 floods).
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]
- 81 Q2.
I refer to your answers on the Agenda Paper dated 26 March in relation to the number of trips taken on
the Bulimba Cross River Ferry Service in financial year 2011/12 and the anticipated number of trips
taken on the same service in 2012/13. Can the CEO please explain why Council expects 121 145 less
trips to be taken on this service in the 2012/13 financial year than taken in the 2011/12 financial year.
A2.
Passenger estimates for the full financial year are based on usage to date.
RISING OF COUNCIL:
6.17pm.
PRESENTED:
and CONFIRMED
CHAIRMAN
Council officers in attendance:
Andrew Langford (Team Leader, Council and Committees Support)
Jo Camamile (Council and Committees Support Officer)
Billy Peers (Personal Support Officer to the Lord Mayor and Council Orderly)
[4404 (Ordinary) meeting – 21 May 2013]