table of contents

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

The 4439 meeting of the Brisbane City Council, held at City Hall, Brisbane on Tuesday 17 June 2014 at 2pm

Prepared by:

Council and Committee Liaison Office

Chief Executive’s Office

Office of the Lord Mayor and the Chief Executive Officer

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

THE 4439 MEETING OF THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL,

HELD AT CITY HALL, BRISBANE,

ON TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2014

Dedicated to a better Brisbane AT 2PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS _____________________________________________________________ i

PRESENT: ______________________________________________________________________ 1

OPENING OF MEETING: __________________________________________________________ 1

APOLOGIES: ____________________________________________________________________ 1

MINUTES: _____________________________________________________________________ 1

QUESTION TIME: ________________________________________________________________ 2

CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS: _________________________________________ 13

ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE _________________________________________ 13

A THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES TO TELSTRA CORPORATION

LIMITED IN RESPECT OF PART OF THE LAND AT THE GAP RESERVOIR _______________________ 28

B THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES TO TELSTRA CORPORATION

LIMITED, IN RESPECT OF PART OF THE LAND AT FOREST LAKE RESERVOIR ___________________ 29

C THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES TO VODAFONE NETWORK PTY

LTD, IN RESPECT OF PART OF THE LAND AT ROLES HILL RESERVOIR ________________________ 31

D QUEENSLAND URBAN UTILITIES DRAFT CORPORATE PLAN 2014-19 ________________________ 32

INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE _________________________________________________________ 33

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – LOW BRIDGES SMART PHONE APPLICATION _________________ 35

B PETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL ESTABLISH AN ADDITIONAL SIX NEW 20-MINUTE PARKING

BAYS WITHIN THE UNREGULATED OFF-STREET PARKING IN PRINCETON STREET, KENMORE ____ 35

PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE ____________________________________________ 37

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY INNOVATIONS TO BUS

OPERATOR ATTIRE _______________________________________________________________ 38

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE _________________ 39

A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) UNDER SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009

– MULTI-UNIT DWELLING (119 UNITS) AND RESTAURANT (COFFEE SHOP) – 2 TO 6 LAND STREET,

TOOWONG – COATARK SUPERANNUATION FUND ______________________________________ 43

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE (Special meeting) __ 45

A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTER-RETAILER) UNDER THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT

2009: PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO VARY THE EFFECT OF THE PLANNING SCHEME (LEVEL OF

ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS), RECONFIGURATION OF A LOT AND MATERIAL

CHANGE OF USE (SINGLE-UNIT DWELLINGS, MULTI-UNIT DWELLING AND COMMUNITY FACILITY) –

110 DARCY ROAD, SEVEN HILLS – PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS NO.1 PTY LTD _________________ 51

B DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) UNDER THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT

2009: RECONFIGURATION OF A LOT (ONE INTO TWO LOTS) AND MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE FOR

MULTI-UNIT DWELLING (AGED CARE FACILITY) – 110 DARCY ROAD, SEVEN HILLS – PROPERTY

DEVELOPMENTS NO.1 PTY LTD ______________________________________________________ 55

ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE __________________________________ 58

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – GREEN HEART FAIR______________________________________ 60

B PETITION – REQUESTING THE REMOVAL OF A TREE AT 26 TANGLEWOOD STREET, RUNCORN ___ 61

C PETITIONS – CALLING ON COUNCIL TO INSTALL EFFECTIVE SHORE AND WADER BIRD

INTERPRETATIVE SIGNAGE ON THE SANDGATE/BRIGHTON AND SHORNCLIFFE FORESHORE,

INSTALL ‘DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE’ SIGNS AT EINBUNPIN LAGOON, AND CLEAN UP LITTER AROUND

THE LAGOON AS PART OF REGULAR PARK MAINTENANCE ________________________________ 63

[4439 (Ordinary) Meeting – 17 June 2014]






FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE ___________________________________________________________ 64

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – CREEK ROAD BRIDGE REPLACEMENT _______________________ 65

BRISBANE LIFESTYLE COMMITTEE _______________________________________________________ 66

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – COUNCIL’S INITIATIVES SUPPORTING ABORIGINAL AND TORRES

STRAIT ISLANDER ENGAGEMENT ____________________________________________________ 70

B PETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL CONDUCT MORE REGULAR PARKING ENFORCEMENT IN

BRISBANE’S INNER-WESTERN SUBURBS ______________________________________________ 72

FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ____________________ 73

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – LORD MAYOR’S MULTICULTURAL BUSINESS AWARDS AND

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2014______________________________________________________ 74

B BUSHLAND PRESERVATION LEVY REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED MARCH 2014 _____________ 75

PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS: ____________________________________________________ 75

GENERAL BUSINESS: ____________________________________________________________ 76

QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN: ________________________________ 85

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN: _____________________ 99

[4439 (Ordinary) meeting – 17 June 2014]






PRESENT:

The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR (Councillor Graham QUIRK)

–

LNP

The Acting Chairman of Council, Angela OWEN-TAYLOR (Parkinson) – LNP

LNP Councillors (and Wards)

Krista ADAMS (Wishart)

Amanda COOPER (Bracken Ridge)

Vicki HOWARD (Central)

Steven HUANG (Macgregor)

Fiona KING (Marchant)

Geraldine KNAPP (The Gap)

Kim MARX (Karawatha)

Ian McKENZIE (Holland Park)

David McLACHLAN (Hamilton)

Ryan MURPHY (Doboy)

Adrian SCHRINNER (Chandler) (Deputy Mayor)

Julian SIMMONDS (Walter Taylor)

Andrew WINES (Enoggera)

Norm WYNDHAM (McDowall)

OPENING OF MEETING:

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)

Nicole JOHNSTON (Tennyson)

The Acting Chairman, Councillor Angela OWEN-TAYLOR, opened the meeting with prayer, and then proceeded with the business set out in the Agenda.

APOLOGIES:

739/2013-14

Apologies were submitted on behalf of the Chairman, Councillor Margaret de WIT (Pullenvale Ward) – LNP,

Councillor Matthew BOURKE (Jamboree) – LNP and Councillor Peter MATIC (Toowong) – LNP, and they were each granted leave of absence from the meeting on the motion of Councillor Ryan MURPHY, seconded by

Councillor Kim MARX.

MINUTES:

Acting Chairman: Councillors, I bring to your attention the Minutes. There was a revised version forwarded to your ward office emails at 12.59pm today. For those Councillors who may not have received those amendments, they relate to page 84, answer two; it should have read 2 May 2014’, not ’2013’; page 85 should have read

‘over a five year period’ in answer six; and on page 88 at answer five, it should have read ’16 Yeronga Street, 18 Yeronga Street and 20 to 28 Yeronga Street’ only.

740/2013-14

The Minutes of the 4438 meeting of Council held on 10 June 2014, copies of which had been forwarded to each councillor, were presented, taken as read and confirmed on the motion of Councillor MURPHY, seconded by

Councillor MARX.

[4439 (Ordinary) Meeting – 17 June 2014]

QUESTION TIME:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor MARX:

LORD MAYOR:

- 2 -

Are there any questions of the LORD MAYOR or a Chairman of any of the

Standing Committees? Councillor MARX.

Question 1

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair; LORD MAYOR, I understand that this

Administration is delivering key infrastructure projects which will not only improve the lives of those residents that use this infrastructure but also spread the traffic more equally across our city’s transport and traffic network. Can you please explain this concept in more detail?

Thank you very much, Madam Chairman, and I thank Councillor MARX for the question. Earlier today I was out at Robinson Road at Geebung. I was there inspecting progress in relation to the project, three months ahead of time in relation to that important piece of infrastructure. It is a $199-million project. It is one that this Council has been seeking to get a partnership with for a number of years. I was there with Councillor KING, the Minister, Mr Scott Emerson, and the local member, Jason Woodforth.

This project, of course, is one which comes on the back of what have been very, very significant delays. There have been incidents where, even up to eight trains

I believe on one occasion, pass through that particular corridor before a car could go past. Well, it’s lots of beeping—

Councillor interjecting.

LORD MAYOR: —lots of beeping, Councillor DICK, so 15-minute delays are very, very significant. What we have seen now is a project which has progressed well. It was expected to be completed in November. Well, I am glad you think that finishing three months ahead of time is hopeless, Councillor DICK. But I can just say that—

Councillors interjecting.

Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Order!

—the people locally don’t see it as hopeless. They see it as a project which will be of great relief to them. It will be of terrific relief. It will be also one whereby the elevators that are being installed at the moment will also add to benefits in that local area.

So it is a local level crossing where there have been three deaths over time. A significant number of incidents have occurred at that crossing. So this is a project which is very, very important. I want to thank the partners out there,

BMD Constructions and SMEC (Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation)

Australia, for the work that they have done in relation to this overpass.

It’s not the only one, of course. We are also advancing the Telegraph Road, Bald

Hills project, another open-level crossing, this time an $82 million in cost.

While it is not three months ahead, it is a month ahead. What is good about both of these projects is that we were able to bring forward the ability of motor vehicles to utilise that infrastructure earlier than expected. We’ve had cars now travelling across Robinson Road, Geebung, since late March this year, and about a month ago now, we saw cars—one lane in each direction—passing over the

Telegraph Road, Bald Hills. So these are good advances. They are congestionbusting advances in our city, and they also provide a greater element of safety.

So, whilst we have those projects well and truly under way, there are obviously more projects—will always be projects that this city will want and need to undertake, and we are committed to continuing to undertake infrastructure builds, and we are committed to continuing to invest wherever we can in terms of our affordability limits to get on and build the infrastructure that this city desperately needs.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor DICK:

LORD MAYOR:


Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:


Acting Chairman:

Councillor McKENZIE:

DEPUTY MAYOR:

- 3 -

That, of course, is in stark contrast to a situation where for many, many years infrastructure was put on the back burner during the many years of Labor

Administration in this city. So we are faced with a catch-up. We have done a lot of builds both in terms of major tunnel infrastructure, bridge infrastructure and these important open-level crossings. We are committed as an Administration to continue to get on with the job in terms of the infrastructure needs of Brisbane.

Further questions; Councillor DICK.

Question 2

Thank you, Madam Chair; my question is to the LORD MAYOR. You claim the carbon tax is costing Council $15.8 million a year and $65 million over four years, and that rates are 1.9 per cent higher than they need to be because of this tax. As it is clear the Senate will soon scrap the carbon tax, will you guarantee to reduce your rates by that 1.9 per cent in your budget, or are you going to engage in profiteering and pocket that money from the ratepayers of Brisbane forever?

Well, Madam Chairman, can I just say that Councillor DICK is again gazing into the crystal ball as he so frequently does. I have been around long enough to know there’s never any guarantees in terms of what might or might not occur in relation to the Federal Government and the Senate. We know that there is no clear Government majority in the Senate. You would not know from day to day what the Senate is likely to do. That applies now, and it will apply equally after

1 July. Certainly there will be a restructure of the personnel in the Senate, but there is still no Government majority and you can never ever say with any certainty what might occur.

On the other point, Madam Chairman, I just take umbrage at the question. To suggest that this Administration is somehow pocketing that money, and that we are somehow—

Order!

What are we doing with it? Have we put it in some sort of little silver bowl somewhere? Of course not. Any moneys that this Administration has are put into good use, are put into use right across the suburbs, your ward included,

Councillor DICK, where the good people of Richlands have been the beneficiary, as have all wards across this city of any moneys that we collect at any time in our history.

So you will always want, want, want more things, but are never prepared to pay for the things that you want or get.

Further questions—order! There is too much calling out in this Chamber.

Councillor McKENZIE.

Question 3

Thank you, Madam Acting Chairman; my question is to the Chairman of the

Infrastructure Committee, Councillor SCHRINNER. I understand that over the last 12 months this Administration has delivered a raft of significant achievements for Brisbane residents. Can you please provide further details on some of the year’s highlights?

Thank you, Councillor McKENZIE, for the question. It’s been a big year in infrastructure for the city. We have seen a whole range of big and small projects really going ahead in the past 12 months. Obviously starting with the biggest, we have seen tunnelling finish on Legacy Way, and now the fit out of the mechanical and electrical devices is well under way.

We have also seen work start on the revitalisation of the Botanic Gardens at Mt

Coot-tha which will deliver a really impressive community asset in addition to the tunnel nearby. So it is a win-win situation there, not only in terms of infrastructure but that community park infrastructure that will be delivered as a result of the project.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor DICK:

- 4 -

We saw the year starting off with a project that both Councillor McLACHLAN and I like to claim credit for, but the real credit goes to the Council officers— that was the resurfacing of the Story Bridge on the hottest day of the year, or the hottest weekend of the year. A project that was done on time and on budget, and has now delivered an important improvement to one of our city’s iconic assets, not to mention improved line-marking and safety on that bridge as well.

We have seen, as the LORD MAYOR mentioned, progress made on the two open-level crossing projects. Both open-level crossing projects, Telegraph Road and Robinson Road, are now open to traffic. We have two lanes open on

Telegraph Road, and the Geebung crossing is well and truly open for traffic as well. Those projects are ahead of schedule and under budget, and a great outcome being delivered in partnership with the State Government.

We have seen the community really getting behind these projects as well. The

Leader of the Opposition doesn’t think they are important, as a result of his snide remarks earlier, but the community does. We saw the Robinson Road open-level crossing attract more than 500 people to walk over the bridge just before it opened, and in the case of Telegraph Road, we saw 600 people turning out to walk across the bridge on that occasion as well. That is a fraction of the community that will support and use these pieces of infrastructure going forward. A big win for our city, and an example of State and Council cooperation at its best.

We have also seen the rollout of new free motorcycle parking spots in the innercity areas. This was one of our election commitments, to roll out 400 new, free motorcycle parking spots within the four-year term. We are two years through the term, and we have delivered more than 200 free spaces. Once again, cooperation between the State and the Council, the 200th free space was provided on State land in Kurilpa Park at South Brisbane. So good cooperation; in providing free motorcycle parking, encouraging that form of transport which is certainly a growing form of transport across the city.

We have also seen the trial of innovative new technology starting with the rollout of 300 in-ground parking sensors. This obviously is just in its early stages, but has the potential to give Council valuable information on how often spaces will turn over, and also the potential for future initiatives like smart apps which will give people information about where parking spaces are available. I think that would be an absolutely excellent outcome for the people of Brisbane, and once again another sign that this Council is prepared to look at new technology.

We saw last week the announcement of the creation of an app to help stop trucks hitting low bridges. We are embracing new technology. Another election commitment, an example of new technology, is the portable speed warning signs which we have heard in this Chamber that have been so successful in helping reduce speeding in residential streets across the city.

We have now rolled out those signs across 100 different locations across

Brisbane in each ward, and we are getting great results. An average reduction in speed of 10 kilometres an hour across the city, which is making our streets safer for everyone, safer for motorists, safer for pedestrians, and safer for cyclists as well.

We are also continuing on that technology theme with the rollout of additional

Bluetooth monitoring sites across the city. In December last year we had 276

Bluetooth monitoring sites; we now have over 400. This information is giving us real-time data on traffic flows across the city so that we can help plan future upgrades and improvements, and also make that information available going forward to the public.

Thank you, DEPUTY MAYOR. Further questions; Councillor DICK.

Question 4

Thank you, Madam Chair; my question is to the LORD MAYOR. In April 2012 you announced that you were committed to the construction of the 51 backflow


LORD MAYOR:


Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

- 5 - valves identified in the AECOM backflow valve investigation report. Last week you claimed you’ve completed the backflow valve program, even though only

15 locations have been completed. When will the rest of these backflow valves you promised be completed, or do you want flood-prone residents to just forget about your April 2012 commitment to them?

Madam Chairman, I thank Councillor DICK for the question. Of course, what

Councillor DICK won’t tell you is that 10 of those sites that he refers to have got neither any resident nor any businesses in this city that are affected by undertaking those backflow prevention projects. So what he wants us to do is he wants us to go out there and spend a lot of ratepayers’ money—

Order!

—he wants us to go out and spend a lot of ratepayers’ money for zero benefit to any resident or to any business in this city. That is the sort of waste that we have become accustomed to in the Labor Party.


Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:


LORD MAYOR:

Councillor DICK:

Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor DICK:

Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Order!

I am glad Councillor DICK has raised this question, because we do need to remember one thing: when they had their chance, when they went to the people of this city in 2012 to present their case for election, this is how many dollars they committed—zero, zero, zero dollars to backflow prevention. So there we have it. That’s how committed the Labor Party were to backflow prevention.

Now, what did we commit to? We committed $10 million to do a program over four years. That is what we committed to when we went to the people in 2012.

Let’s look at what we have done. When we made that estimate of $10 million, we did so on the back of the estimates provided by the report undertaken by the company to which Councillor DICK refers, AECOM. AECOM provided us with a list of particular projects and an estimate of cost.

Those costs, when they came to reality, what were $10 million worth of projects, because of the nature of the river, the nature of the individual designs that had to be undertaken for these backflow devices, that project cost came to around $15 million. Did we cut back on what we had committed to? No, we did not. We found those extra dollars and we got on and we did the job. So, Madam

Chairman, we’d committed $10 million over four years; we’ve delivered $15 million in two years. That’s what we have delivered for the people of Brisbane.

I contrast that with an Opposition who come in here and beat their chests—

Point of order, Madam Chair.

Just a moment—

—but when they had the chance—

—just a moment, please, LORD MAYOR. Councillor JOHNSTON, if you continue to interject, I will warn you. Councillor DICK, you had a point of order.

Yes, Madam Chair; it is all very well for the LORD MAYOR, but can you bring him back to the question which was the timing of the remainder of backflow devices, which he has not answered?

The LORD MAYOR has five minutes to answer, Councillor DICK. LORD

MAYOR.

Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. In terms of the timing, we have delivered the commitment that we made to the people of Brisbane when we went to the election in 2012. We have met that commitment in half the time, and at a cost which was $5 million more than what the estimates were at that time, but we have delivered. We have delivered.


- 6 -

In terms of timing, the Labor Party would still not have undertaken one, because that was the commitment they had—zero. In relation to the other outstanding ones, I have already said that 10 of these—that the Labor Party seemingly want me to do—have zero effect upon any residents or any business in this city. So why would we invest those moneys? The Labor Party seem to think it is important.

With the others, if we want to talk about timing, I have said that they will line up with the other important drainage works across this city. They will line up on a cost-benefit basis. So what we know is that Brisbane is built on a flood plain.

We are going to flood occasionally as a city. We know historically that has been about every 40 years from a river point of view. But we do know that, as a city, we flood much more frequently in terms of creek flooding, overland flow. Those remaining projects will line up on a cost-benefit basis with those other important jobs.

Councillor FLESSER, you were interjecting earlier. Do you want me to just ignore any of the other flooding projects that you have in your ward? Do you want us to just ignore those and go ahead and do ones where they have a lesser impact in terms of the cost-benefit analysis? Councillor SUTTON has written to me today about two projects she wants done in her ward where zero residents benefit and zero businesses benefit—zero.


LORD MAYOR:


Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor MURPHY:

Councillor SIMMONDS:

That is true. That is absolutely true.

Order! Councillor—

You go and read the AECOM report, Councillor SUTTON.

Just a moment, please, LORD MAYOR.

Don’t tell me it’s not true.

Councillor SUTTON, if you continue to interject, I will warn you. LORD

MAYOR.

Well, you go and read the publicly-available AECOM report, and that will show you that it is the case. So, again, I have canvassed this question—I think—fully for Councillor DICK. Councillor DICK, your team needed to come up with some money and it didn’t.

Further questions; Councillor MURPHY.

Question 5

Thanks very much, Madam Acting Chair; my question is to the Chairman of the

Finance, Economic Development and Administration Committee, Councillor

SIMMONDS. Over the last 12 months, this Administration has delivered a range of significant achievements for Brisbane residents. Can you please provide further details of some of this year’s highlights in your portfolio?

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chairman, and I thank Councillor

MURPHY for his question and his continued interest in the portfolio. With the

LORD MAYOR’s 2014-15 budget tomorrow, it is worth reflecting on what has been achieved in 2013-14. I have to say I am proud to say that in terms of finance and economic development, we certainly have not missed a minute of this year to deliver projects and initiatives for Brisbane residents.

First of all, when it comes to sound and responsible financial management, the thing that speaks volumes is that this Council has maintained our strong credit rating with a neutral outlook. That is what speaks louder than any of the protests from the Labor councillors opposite; to the sound financial management and the sound financial position that this Council is in, that QTC (Queensland Treasury

Corporation), our banker, would see to maintain our strong credit rating.

Through the successful round of implementation of the first round of the BaSE project, we have also delivered a new procurement and finance system. This


Acting Chairman:

- 7 - included restating the 13-14 budget—no small piece of work, to finally remove the last remnants of Labor’s purchaser-provider model; saving ratepayers some

$6 million in the process. We had the ridiculous situation in this Council where

50 per cent of the invoices that were being processed were issued to ourselves, were issued to other divisions of Council under Labor’s purchaser-provider model; that is no more.

BaSE remains on track for the next round of implementation as well, I am pleased to say, including a new payroll system later this year. In September late last year, we also had a special budget review to accelerate over $13 million in funding to some of our key projects, including the Brunswick Street Mall redevelopment which Councillor HOWARD will tell you is going very well, as well as bringing forward money for the open-level crossings, which as the

LORD MAYOR has pointed out, has seen those projects delivered or going to be delivered ahead of schedule.

Council also finalised the new EBA8 with staff, in what has been a fair outcome for both employees and ratepayers—again, no small feat.

The Disaster Management section ran a very successful—as always—All

Hazards Ready for Summer campaign. We saw 6,348 new households register for the early-warning alert service, a tremendous service and an increase of

10 per cent from the same period last year. That is exactly the kind of result that we were after, and shows that residents are taking advantage and an interest in that campaign to get themselves ready for the hazards that our wonderful city of

Brisbane throws up.

We had 47,193 page views to Council’s Be Prepared pages as well. Corporate

Communications—in terms of communicating with residents—has had a big rollout with the successful migration of the Council website to the new opensource content-management system in Drupal. Not only is this saving ratepayers’ dollars, but it is allowing us to undertake a visual refresh of the website and also enabling us to fix 31,000—that is 31,000—individual accessibility issues to ensure that people of all abilities have equal access to our website and the Council information that it contains.

Within Economic Development, well, Brisbane is the first city in Australia to run the very successful CoderDojo program. It has been attended by some 2,087 kids, run by 81 volunteer mentors across eight Brisbane City Council libraries.

This is a tremendous program which is teaching our young Brisbane residents how to code, a very useful skill in this day and age. We have had the Budding

Entrepreneurs Grant program which was launched in 2013-14—a new initiative.

The first round of 12 grant recipients were announced in September. This is about fostering those innovators within our Brisbane business community and seeing their skills improved.

We also had the most successful Christmas campaign thus far in our wonderful city, primarily due to the new element that we have added, which is the very successful City Hall lights show. It attracted tens of thousands of people to our beautiful King George Square during its 12-day run. We have rolled out free wifi in the Queen Street Mall, across the bridge and into the South Bank precinct, which Brisbane residents are now enjoying in their droves.

We launched the Give Me Brisbane Any Day campaign, a campaign that pitches

Brisbane as the centre of the SEQ (South East Queensland) region and which we have done in partnership with other councils around the region, including

Moreton Bay, Redlands, Logan, Somerset, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and the

Ipswich City Council, who are all strong supporters.

We held, of course, the annual City Welcome Festival for international students, attended by over 7,500 attendees, including 5,000 students. There is plenty more, but I am running out of time. I would like to go on the record and thank very much the officers for all the work that they have achieved in the 2013-14 year within Finance, Economic Development and Administration.

Further questions; Councillor GRIFFITHS.


Councillor GRIFFITHS:

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor HOWARD:

Councillor COOPER:

- 8 -

Question 6

Yes, thanks Madam Chair. LORD MAYOR, in last year’s Council budget, you cut $10 million worth of funding for the flood buyback scheme in order to fasttrack the installation of backflow valves. Now that you have announced you won’t be funding the installation of further backflow valves, will you tomorrow be reinstalling the funding you cut in last year’s budget for the flood buyback scheme?

Madam Chairman, the $10 million that Councillor GRIFFITHS refers to, of course, is over two years. The traditional amounts that were funded for the buyback program—which of course was instigated by this Administration, there was no buyback before this Administration came along—the amounts again were $5 million per year. It was two years’ worth, and I said at the time that we would be bringing forward the installation of backflow devices, that we would be utilising those funds from the buyback scheme short term to do that. I also made other commitments at that time. Councillor GRIFFITHS, I suggest you have another look at those commitments that I made, then have a look at the budget books tomorrow, and make your own conclusions from there.

Further questions; Councillor HOWARD.

Question 7

Thank you, Madam Acting Chairman; my question is to the Chairman of the

Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment Committee, Councillor

COOPER. I understand that, over the last 12 months, this Administration has delivered a range of significant achievements for Brisbane residents. Can you please provide further details of some of this year’s highlights?

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chair, and thank you very much to

Councillor HOWARD for the question. Well, certainly there have been a whole range of events that have occurred over the last 12 months relating to this particular portfolio. In fact, it was difficult to choose which to feature in my discussions this afternoon, so I thought it would be best to take a top five approach and focus on the top five achievements that we have been able to deliver for Brisbane over the last 12 months.

Starting from number 5, in December of last year, Council approved an $800 million investment in our city—the old Supreme Court site, including a hotel, with an estimated 5,000 jobs that it will deliver for the city of Brisbane. Many of you would see that work currently under way. It is certainly being actively worked on. This will deliver a fantastic new piece of architecture for our city and certainly there will be a whole range of benefits that it delivers.

Disappointingly, the Australian Labor Party failed to support a number of hotel proposals across the city in the last financial year, with hotels proposed for

Calamvale, Fortitude Valley and South Brisbane all failing to get support from the Australian Labor Party. It is very much part of the Labor way.

When we look at number 4, Council has cut red tape and introduced a new streamlined process to help homeowners do a new service called

PlumbSMART. It cuts the time for an approval from 20 business days down to two. It is less cost to homeowners waiting on a plumbing approval, and industry themselves will not be forced to down tools but will rather be able to get on with the job and get working on those sorts of projects, so get people into their homes a little bit quicker and make sure that their plumbing approval is delivered to them without lengthy delays.

Disappointingly, the Australian Labor Party councillors actually spoke against this innovative process, despite the comprehensive fail-safe inspections that it includes. But unfortunately, this is not something that is unusual.

When it comes to number 3, I think that probably it is really great to see—and I note Councillor SIMMONDS is excited about this—the $13 million investment that Council is undertaking with the business community through the SCIPs

(Suburban Centre Improvement Projects) program. We are investing $2.5


- 9 - million at Hawken Drive, St Lucia, $3 million at Moggill Road, Kenmore, $2.5 million in Wynnum Road, Cannon Hill, and $5.3 million at Alderley.

So I would like to thank all of those local Councillors that worked so hard to encourage the property owners to support those particular projects. I think it is a great outcome, and certainly will transform those local communities.

Number 2 was the extensive consultation with the community that was undertaken by the Council officers to achieve the planning that we need for our future, to make sure that residents have that opportunity to access information about the draft new City Plan and Talk to the Planner sessions and find out more about what it means for them personally. So, through the draft new City Plan,

Council consulted with thousands of residents, held 86 information kiosks, 34

Talk to a Planner sessions, and over 40 community forums. In contrast,

Councillor DICK talked a lot about consultation, but didn’t even attend one of the 34 Talk to a Planner sessions, even in his own ward.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor COOPER:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor JOHNSTON:

LORD MAYOR:

Order!

So it is disappointing. We also had some in City Hall. We know he likes to spend lots of time wandering around the streets of Brisbane rather than out there in Richlands, but disappointingly he didn’t come along to even a

Neighbourhood Planning event that was held in April this year for Lower Oxley

Creek North. He seemed to be more interested in going to some politically motivated meeting in The Gap, so again, the Labor way. They are not interested in their local community; they are interested in political grandstanding.

When it comes to number 1, Madam Chair, I think the outstanding achievement for this particular area was the actual finalisation of Brisbane City Plan 2014. It will formally commence on 30 June. This is the result of the single largest piece of planning reform undertaken by Brisbane City Council over 10 years. By

2031—despite the naysayers on the other side—1.27 million people will call our beautiful city home, and Brisbane City Plan 2014 will meet the challenges for growth by planning for the infrastructure that needs to be delivered.

One of the ways that we are planning to do that is through the Priority

Infrastructure Plan. This Priority Infrastructure Plan will deliver $5.1 billion investment to 2031, a clear commitment by this Administration to planning the growth of our city. Thank you.

Further questions; Councillor JOHNSTON.

Question 8

Yes, thank you, Madam Chairman; my question is to the LORD MAYOR. You recently wrote to a Corinda resident in Glenridge Street who has requested that a pathway between Dunlop Park and Glenridge Street be renamed after distinguished local resident Vince Walsh. In your recent reply to this resident, you stated—and I quote from your letter, that “Council is not supportive of naming grassed pathways.” I refer you to two grassed pathways in Tennyson

Ward—that is two I am personally aware of—one called Bixa Lane in Yeronga and one called Tecoma Lane in Yeronga, and I table pictures of both grassed walkways.

LORD MAYOR, why do you state incorrectly that this Council is not supportive of naming grassed pathways when there are several named in Tennyson Ward alone, and when will you allow the genuine request of a Corinda resident to name a pathway after Vince Walsh to proceed?

Well, Madam Chairman, I am not aware of the two pathways to which the councillor refers, but can I just say that as a broad rule of thumb, this city is not in the business of naming pathways. There are alleyways and pathways all over this city. They are not roadways; they are simply grass verge walkways. What

Councillor JOHNSTON is essentially doing is adding another line of costs to the ratepayers of this city. That is essentially what is going to happen, because once we start—



LORD MAYOR:

Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor WINES:

Councillor ADAMS:

- 10 -

Once we open the door—

Just a minute—

I am not interested in you paying for the sign, councillor. What I am interested in is the flow-on, the precedence that’s created by these things. Now, I don’t know what the status of the land is of these other two that you mentioned today.

You can giggle, councillor. It’s all a game to you, Councillor JOHNSTON, we know that. We know this whole show in here is a game to you.

I am concerned about the flow-on costs to ratepayers once we start doing new things like this, because there are laneways and alleyways connecting pathways all over this city, and once we get into the game of naming those, then we again add a new layer of costs for the ratepayers of this city. We know what it’s like; once someone has got one, then somebody else wants one, and on it goes—on it goes.

So, Madam Chairman, that’s my position. Whether Councillor JOHNSTON likes it or not, that is a citywide position, and that’s where I stand on it.

Further questions; Councillor WINES.

Question 9

Thank you, Madam Chairman; my question is to the Chairman of the Lifestyle

Committee, Councillor ADAMS. The Brisbane Lifestyle Division has delivered significant projects improving the lives of all Brisbane residents over the last 12 months. Can you please provide further details regarding these achievements?

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair, and I thank Councillor WINES for the question. Yes, it’s been a very productive year for Brisbane Lifestyle. Again, a little bit like Councillor COOPER, too many wonderful achievements to go through, but I will try and get through as many as I can in the limited time I have.

Starting earlier in this financial year, the adoption of Vision 2031 was a longterm plan for the city which was endorsed in August. It actually addresses the changing needs of our city. It is necessary, I think, to make sure that we’ve got that vision into the future. It was first released in 2006, and it was great to be involved in a re-fresh going forward.

August also saw the launch of the Creative Brisbane Creative Economy 2013-22 strategy which was a planned outcome from the Brisbane’s Unique Window of

Opportunity report. Already we’ve seen the outcomes from that strategy on the ground through our Innovation Awards, our Creative Sparks, our Rhizome

Symposiums, working with the industries to make sure that the opportunities for young people, and those not so young, who want to work within the creative industries can stay within Brisbane and make sure that they help develop our economic sustainability into the future as well.

The final strategy we adopted for 2013 was the Youth Strategy 2014-2019:

Delivering a youth-friendly city. Obviously a lot of opportunities coming out of that to work with young people as well as create facilities specifically for young people with pools and skate parks, Visible Ink and expanding the opportunities that young people have to be involved with Council.

Of course, this year wasn’t all just about strategy; there’s plenty of actions there as well. We saw the inaugural Lord Mayor’s Senior Gala Cabaret which was held in City Hall on 18 August. It was the culmination of our gala showcase.

There were 22 workshops, 10 suburban showcases, cabaret gala sneak previews,

1,400 guests attended in City Hall at the gala, and approximately 1,920 came along to the workshops over those few weeks.

Our Lord Mayor’s Seniors Christmas Parties of course returned to City Hall, and we saw over 10,000 seniors join us for those five days of celebration. Pools have been high on the agenda. The Centenary Pool was re-opened in September following refurbishment. A major upgrade with customers and lessees very


Acting Chairman:

Councillor DICK:

LORD MAYOR:

- 11 - happy and voting with their feet—or I should say their flippers. They’re in that pool and they’re training hard. Some $3.2 million at Bellbowrie, final works on the pool after it was damaged by the floods a few years earlier. There’s a new entry building; replacing the old building, and a new coffee shop which I understand is a very important part of the community in that local area in

Bellbowrie.

Newmarket pool slide, I know the LORD MAYOR and Councillor WINES opened the green and purple slide. I know Councillor WINES went down; I don’t think the LORD MAYOR went down the slide. Of course, we had the

Hibiscus slide as well that I opened at Upper Mt Gravatt. What we’ve seen at

Upper Mt Gravatt since then is the best numbers in 16 years at the Hibiscus

Pool, which is fantastic to see.

Major Brisbane festivals continued to roll out, including Brisbane Festival itself for three weeks in September. Beautiful line-up of classical, contemporary, theatre, dance, comedy, opera, circus and, of course, culminating in Riverfire, which is a fantastic night that attracts over 1 million people to the city of

Brisbane. The Brisbane Powerhouse hosted APAM, the Australian Performing

Arts Market. It was held over five days, and included 100 showcases, 400 local artists, crews, staff, with over 600 delegates from around the globe coming to see what we have on offer here in Brisbane. The direct economic benefit for

APAM was nearly $1 million—$994,000—based on the room nights and the bookings and the book-endings of the events—a fantastic opportunity for the

Powerhouse and Brisbane.

February kicked off with Chinese New Year. BrisAsia Festival ran for the entire month. Who says we need to celebrate just for one night? We had Hot Shanghai

Nights in Burnett Lane, Yum Chat at the Powerhouse, Taste of Asia in

Reddacliff Place, and To Bollywood with Love, which was a fantastic Indian movie experience in Albert Street.

Our access and inclusion plan continues to deliver a number of projects. We had the Queen Street Mall Braille Trail, the CBD All Abilities playground. We supported that too through the Changing Places toilet that will be there as well, a

Changing Places toilet at the White’s Hill All Abilities playground which is another magnificent playground in our local suburbs. We received two Spinal

Injuries Association awards for the Changing Places facility at the Wynnum

Wading Pool, and the Best Government Department of course for Brisbane City

Hall.

Of course, we also have our venues and facilities to support the residents of

Brisbane. Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium turned 35 last year; the Kedron Sub

Arts at Wooloowin, I know, is now a beautiful heritage building, that I think

Councillor McLACHLAN is very proud of, including a lift, disabled toilets, tactile ground surface indicators, that is being leased to Impress Print Makers

Studio and Gallery.

Pacifica House was opened on 5 April, the first of its kind in Brisbane to support the Pacific Groups. The list is endless, Madam Acting Chair. I will leave it there, and thank you very much for the time.

Further questions; Councillor DICK.

Question 10

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair; my question is to the LORD MAYOR. In this financial year you’ve carried over to next year around a massive $70.4 million of projects and services that you announced in last year’s budget. Will you guarantee that you won’t do the same trick next year—make big announcements tomorrow, then quietly cut them back through the year? What confidence can

Brisbane residents have that you’ll actually deliver on the budget announcements you’ll be making tomorrow?

Madam Chairman, I can certainly say this: I can guarantee that the performance of this Administration will well and truly surpass the Labor Party’s when it comes to carryovers. It is a historical fact that each and every year there are


- 12 - some carryovers that occur. It relates to timing of projects. Some projects we are ahead; some projects we are behind. That is the reality. There are timing issues that occur between budgets.

I want to say this: I am happy to match this Administration’s record when it comes to carryover with that of the Labor Party’s any day of the week. If

Councillor DICK wants me to roll out over the coming period of time a few numbers around that, we’d be delighted to engage in that debate—absolutely delighted to. Because historically Labor were the past masters at undertaking announcements and then not delivering.

We have, of course, as an Administration taken the amount of capital spend up enormously on where it was—enormously. We have been an Administration that’s been prepared to engage in very, very significant infrastructure spends in our city. The Labor Party have been constantly critical of debt. They want us to build more infrastructure; constantly critical of debt. That’s been their modus operandi. They want it all, but they don’t want to pay for it in any way.

So, I again say to Councillor DICK: we will always endeavour to spend the moneys that are contained in budgets. We do our very best each year to make sure that we undertake that expenditure. We do it as efficiently as we can. We are rolling out projects on an ongoing basis, and we will continue, as I said earlier today, to be committed to infrastructure spend in our city. It is very, very important for our city that we continue to do that.

So, Madam Chairman, again I make this commitment only, that we will do our level best to undertake the expenditures that we will be setting out tomorrow in our budget. We will be forging forward. It is in everybody’s interests for us to get on and to do the projects, to undertake the commitments we make, and as an

Administration, not just myself but the whole of Cabinet. We give our commitment to give our level best to make that happen.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor WYNDHAM:

Further questions; Councillor WYNDHAM.

Question 11

Thank you, Madam Chair; my question is to Councillor McLACHLAN, the

Chair of Field Services Committee. I understand that, over the last 12 months, this Administration has delivered a raft of significant achievements for Brisbane residents. Can you please provide further details on some of this year’s highlights?

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair, and thank you to Councillor WYNDHAM for the question. Never before in the history of Brisbane have there been so many workers out in the field wearing high vis shirts. The high vis shirt count in

Brisbane has never been higher than under this Administration, and particularly so this year. The number of projects that are being undertaken on behalf of the

Council and on behalf of the ratepayers of Brisbane is as the previous chairs have talked to—never been higher. A lot of those have been delivered through and under the auspices of the Field Services Group or its branches, or on behalf of the Field Services Group through external contractors.

I can talk to some of the big picture numbers and then also some of the finer detail numbers. Some of the big picture numbers are quite impressive. Under the

Construction Branch, for example, as we approach the end of this financial year, we have delivered 11,000 square metres of concrete; 95,000 square metres of concrete footpaths; 40 kilometres of kerb and channel work; 5.1 kilometres of stormwater drainage has been completed; 180 additional traffic infrastructure controllers with the integration of Bluetooth installations within the traffic signal cabinets have been installed, which improves, and had improved the traffic flow across the city of Brisbane.

Each of the councillors I am sure is appreciative of the footings for the speed warning advisory signs; to date, this financial year, that has involved the installation of 130 footings in 26 wards to help deliver those projects which, as

Councillor SCHRINNER said earlier, is delivering huge benefits in terms of the reduction of speed by motorists going past those points. But this work all starts


- 13 - on the ground with Field Services workers undertaking the important work, getting the footings right, installing the concrete, making sure these are projects that are ready to achieve their final purpose.

The DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor SCHRINNER, talked to some of the issues earlier that have been part of our integrated delivery, and I am always very proud to talk about the integration of our achievements in that regard. He certainly talked about the Story Bridge delivery which was a significant benefit for the ratepayers of Brisbane, as he said, delivered in extremely hot weather by a very thirsty team of workers who were not only from Infrastructure Division, but this is a great example of the one-Council approach that has been taken by this Administration.

Acting Chairman: Councillor McLACHLAN; 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 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor FLESSER;

LORD MAYOR.


Acting Chairman: Point of order, Councillor FLESSER.

Seriatim for debate and voting – Clauses A and B

At that time Councillor FLESSER rose and requested that Clause A, THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE

TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES TO TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED IN RESPECT OF PART

OF THE LAND AT THE GAP RESERVOIR, and Clause B, THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE

TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES TO TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED, IN RESPECT OF PART

OF THE LAND AT FOREST LAKE RESERVOIR, be taken seriatim, en bloc, for debating and voting purposes.

Seriatim – Clauses C and D

Councillor FLESSER requested that Clause C, THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE

TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES TO VODAFONE NETWORK PTY LTD, IN RESPECT OF PART OF

THE LAND AT ROLES HILL RESERVOIR, and Clause D, QUEENSLAND URBAN UTILITIES DRAFT

CORPORATE PLAN 2014-19, be taken seriatim for voting purposes.

Declaration of Material Personal Interest in Clauses A and B - Councillor Kim FLESSER

Councillor FLESSER: Thank you. I would like to advise that I have pecuniary interests in items A and

B. I have Telstra shares, and won’t be taking part in the debate or voting.

Declaration of Material Personal Interest in Clauses A and B - Councillor Steve GRIFFITHS


Acting Chairman:


Yes, I have to say I have the same pecuniary interests.

In respect of which items, Councillor GRIFFITHS?

A and B.

Acting Chairman: Could I just confirm, Councillor FLESSER and Councillor GRIFFITHS, are you excusing yourselves from the Chamber for A and B? Councillor CUMMING, were you about to rise on a point of order as well?

Declaration of Material Personal Interest in Clauses A and B - Councillor Peter CUMMING

Councillor CUMMING: Indeed, Madam Chairman. My self-managed super fund has some Telstra shares in it.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor CUMMING:

Acting Chairman:

- 14 -

So can you confirm please, are you excusing yourself for items A and B?

I’m excusing myself for items A and B.

Thank you. Are there any other Councillors wanting to make declarations?

We will commence with items A and B, so if those three Councillors would care to excuse yourselves, we will ensure that you are notified so you can return for items C and D.

Declaration of Material Personal Interest in Clauses A and B - Councillor Ian McKENZIE

Councillor McKENZIE; Madam Chairman, I hold some Telstra shares, too; I wish to excuse myself.

Councillors FLESSER, GRIFFITHS, CUMMING and McKENZIE retired from the meeting room and associated public places for the duration of the debate on Clauses A and B.

Debate on Clauses A and B

Acting Chairman: Thank you, Councillor McKENZIE. Once Councillor McKENZIE has left the

Chamber, LORD MAYOR. Thank you. LORD MAYOR, items A and B please.

LORD MAYOR: Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Before coming to the report before us today, there is just a couple of items I would like to make mention of, if I could.

Firstly, 14 June saw the United Nations World Blood Donor Day, and it is an important reminder to all of those who are able to give blood to do so. There is always a constant demand for blood through our hospitals and so again I just make people aware of that as a reminder.

Also, while we are on reminders, this coming Thursday evening is the Vinnie’s

CEO’s Sleep Out. That has been an event on the calendar of Brisbane that draws many people together these days to get a little taste only of what it might be like to be homeless. So, some good funds raised in the process of that event, and good profile building around the issue of homelessness in our city of Brisbane and beyond.

Also this Saturday, 21 June, is Motor Neurone Disease Day—MND Day. Again, it raises awareness about Motor Neurone Disease. Of course, it is a progressive and terrible disease. So that is something I raise simply again to bring to our awareness. Multiple Sclerosis Brisbane do a great job. The Multiple Sclerosis

Society here in Brisbane have a Bay bike ride on Sunday 22 June, for anyone that might want to get involved in that.

During the course of the week, I had the opportunity to go to Kougari Oval down at Wynnum Manly and join with representatives from a range of groups including the Arthur Beetson Foundation. We as a Council are going to be partnering with the Artie Beetson Foundation and other organisations in a battle of the Murris versus the Maoris. That will be coming up later this year, in

October. It will be an event which will be staged at Kougari Oval. Again, a great cross-cultural event, a great positive event, and I congratulate the Arthur

Beetson Foundation and all that they do in advancing Indigenous affairs and the welfare of young people of an Indigenous background in our city and State.

Also, it is fair to say the Seven Hills development application passed through committee this morning. That will be debated a bit later on, so I won’t make any further comment around that. Again, a very significant project in our city. I want also to congratulate the Firebirds. They scored a victory last night in the preliminary final and they will go through against Melbourne now in the grand final. We wish the Firebirds every success. They are great ambassadors to netball in Queensland and do a great job. So we wish them well.

Item A and B is, as has been made pretty clear, two telecommunication leases involving Telstra. The first of those is at The Gap. It is a lease that commenced on 29 April 2007. Telstra is seeking through this proposal a new lease tenure for

15 years, by way of two successive leases. The first of those being for 10 years, and the second a five-year term. This is a co-located site. Wireless

Communications Infrastructure also with Crown Castle. Crown Castle have a tenure there secured until 30 June 2025, and we believe that this is an


- 15 -

Acting Chairman: Further speakers on items A and B. No further speakers. LORD MAYOR, anything further? I will now put items A and B.

Clauses A and B put

Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of Clauses A and B of the report of the

Establishment and Coordination Committee was declared carried on the voices.

Debate on Clauses C and D

Acting Chairman: Could the whips advise those councillors who excused themselves for items A and B; if they’d like to return, they are welcome to. LORD MAYOR, items C and D.

LORD MAYOR:

Acting Chairman:

Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. Now to be clear, we are doing C and

D together, but we are voting on them separately?

Yes, together for debate and separately for voting.

LORD MAYOR: appropriate decision for Council to take, and we certainly support colocation in terms of these facilities. That is The Gap Reservoir.

Item B is a telecommunications tower, an existing one. This is at the Forest

Lake Reservoir. This particular tower, I think it has been there for quite a while as well. It was established in 1993. They had four successive five-year leases.

Sorry, I am on to the next one, I apologise for that.

This particular one, they are providing a proposal here again for two tenure leases—a total of 15 years. Again one term of 10 years and the second term of five years in relation to those leases. They are low impact in terms of the

Telecommunications Act and the definitions contained within that Act of 1997, and are here for recommendation for approval by Council.

Thank you, Madam Chairman. Item C is in this case Vodafone. This was established in 1993; four successive five-year leases were granted to Vodafone

Network Pty Limited. That was at Roles Hill Reservoir. Again in this case, they are seeking ownership firstly of the water tower at Roles Hill upon which

Vodafone antenna infrastructure is located. The facility was transferred to

Queensland Urban Utilities in 2010; the ownership of the land upon which

Vodafone leased premises containing its existing equipment and the shelter, remains with Council. So we own the land; QUU own the facility.

There is no development assessment, or consents, required in relation to this, so we are supportive of this lease. They are seeking a new lease tenure for 20 years, by way of two successive leases, and I assume that they are 10-years each. That is item C.

Item D is the Queensland Urban Utilities Draft Corporate Plan of 2014 to 2019.

As one of the participating shareholder councils in QUU, we are required to pass an updated five-year corporate plan at this time each year so that it can be formally adopted by the QUU board. This is a responsibility that each council has within the five participating councils covering QUU. The other four councils, I understand, have already viewed and approved the plan. So we are the last this time around to consider that plan.

The updated plan sets out the key performance indicators for QUU. It demonstrates their customer focus and also updates their five-year financial assumptions. The corporate plan provides an overview of QUU’s key areas, which are customers, shareholders and communities, operational excellence, people and prudent financial management.

While Council may criticise some of the financials, or Labor indeed may do that, on page 20, clearly it outlines that QUU have got an appropriate set of assumptions built in to their plan. The first assumption is that the water consumption remains steady at 174 litres per person per day. It’s a far cry when you look back to the 1980s, as late as 1988, 1989, around that period, when the average household water use in Brisbane was 550 kilolitres a year. It is hard to


Acting Chairman:

Councillor DICK:

- 16 - imagine today, but they were back in the days when water was essentially free, when you paid for it based on your valuation. So, 174 litres per person per day is the average use. That is assumed in this report.

Low growth expected through 2014-15 financial year, but expected to lift thereafter. The small price increase above inflation to meet the infrastructure requirements of the build for a water supply and sewerage needs. Expense growth is contained within inflation. So, page 22 of the report shows capital investment by QUU with a total of $273.4 million in the 2014-15 financial year, with capital investment per year to continue to rise across the forward years.

The estimated increase in serviced dwellings goes from 548,000 in 2013-14 to an expected 592,000 in 2018-19. That represents about an 8 per cent increase across the board. The compound annual growth rate in utility revenue, excluding the bulk water charges, is forecast to grow at 4.4 per cent; 0.7 of which is growth in water sales volumes, and 3.7 associated with price increases.

The report also notes that development activity in South East Queensland is showing signs of increasing, and QUU is continuing to assess the requirements to expand its water and sewerage network. Certainly through this Council we are seeing a growth in the number of applications coming forward for development within our city. This will be something that will be happening, I am sure, across the region. That is basically it. There are a whole raft of information contained in the report. I look forward to the debate around it.

Further debate; Councillor DICK.

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair, and I rise to speak on item D of the E&C

Report. As the LORD MAYOR said, this is a requirement that this Council has to deal with, and reading through the E&C documents today on page 27, which is about half a page of information—and I will go in detail and reference page numbers as I go through the corporate plan. This is a provision of the Central

South East Coast Queensland Distributor Retail Participation Agreement, and we have an obligation to update every five years the corporate plan, or QUU does, and provide that plan to each participating council for approval. So it is part of the agreement. Today we have to tick off as part of one of the shareholders on this corporate plan.

Also, on section 29 of the E&C documents, the fifth paragraph of six paragraphs, the document presents QUU’s future direction goals and priorities.

It highlights the significant achievements for 2012-13, and also—and this is the important sentence—the overriding determination to maintain affordability for its customers. Well, Madam Acting Chair, I believe that this Council today is not delivering value for money, and is not maintaining affordability for customers. I will demonstrate that today by going through page after page of this corporate plan.

You only need to look at the first page—and I believe that this Council by signing off on this report today is part of a rip-off for water users and complicit in actually gouging money from the mums and dads of this city, across the

Council, to make obscene profits to prop up this Council.

You only need to look at page 1: Queensland Urban Utilities, corporate plan, and right underneath that, in white writing, ‘Enrich quality of life.’ Talk about enriching, all right; talk about ripping off the poor people of this city because what this LORD MAYOR hasn’t admitted to, hasn’t ‘fessed up to today, is the record amount of money year after year that we are going to rip out of the family budgets of the ratepayers of this city.

Let’s go through the report. When you look at page 8 on the report today, which is the first item that I’ll bring the Chamber’s attention to, it says, ‘Our board in consultation with shareholders sets the strategic direction.’ Well, just once—just once on behalf of the ratepayers of this city, the mums and dads who have to cough up into extreme amounts of money, could we see the LORD MAYOR get up and say: we argued, we demanded that we got a fair go for people paying their water rates, that we went to the table and we said: we want a fair go, as the

85 per cent shareholding interest—that we stumped up and we said, you know



Councillor DICK:

- 17 - what? We think it’s too much that people are paying; we think hundreds of millions of dollars that we’ll be ripping off in profit to prop up this poor

Council’s financial situation, that we demand a better deal. Never. No, completely rolled over, rip the money out, rack up the debt and squeeze out every last dollar.

Well, I think families across our city are doing it tough. We know that spiralling water costs are hurting the family budget, yet this LNP Council, not one will have the guts to get up and say: enough is enough, draw a line in the sand and start giving a fair go for the mums and dads in this city.

Well, they don’t like it, through you, Acting Chair, and they’re laughing. They think this is a funny matter, that this year alone, in the forward years, that we’ll be getting up to $200 million in profits—$200 million. Now, you only need to look at page 20, when the LORD MAYOR made reference to this, the forecast for 2014-15, $171 million; 2015-16, $199 million; 2016-17, we hit the

$200 million mark; 2018-19, $221 million. Up and up and up it goes.

This Council, this LNP, rakes in the money but up and up and up go the water bills, each and every year. So when you look at the corporate plan, I think that this document doesn’t look at the affordability fissue at all. What it looks at is how QUU can make money for their councils and particularly for this Council to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Under Customers, the challenges and opportunities—and this is a direct quote from the document, and it states on page 11: ‘Customers have increased expectations of improved levels of service balanced with prices that are maintained or reduced.’ Well, I can bet you there will be not one bill that will go backwards under this corporate plan. There will be not one family that will be better off in the years to come.

When you read through the corporate plan, there are a whole range of indicators in here. When it comes to prudent financial management—and I bring the

Chamber’s attention to page 25, it says, ‘From July 2014’—and this is something the LORD MAYOR did not touch on—‘we will see a new regime for the processing of development applications. We will take over this responsibility from our shareholding councils in accordance with State Government legislation. This change covers the full range of development applications from an application to connect a vacant block for water or sewerage, to an application to develop a large parcel of land into a residential estate.’

Queensland Urban Utilities has also provided a demonstration of how this will work. What I am concerned about is that there will be double handling, and that it will lead to a situation where we could see time lags. So essentially a time lag situation unless we are vigilant as a Council, and this is as a result, as I understand it, of the Safety, Supply and Reliability Act which comes into effect from 1 July. Council’s DAs (development applications) with drainage and sewerage—there will be no condition in our approval packages, so when people come to Council, they will need to put the plumbing application within

Queensland Urban Utilities; Queensland Urban Utilities will do the assessment, approval and certification, and work in tandem alongside Brisbane City Council.

Great in theory. What I am concerned about is if there are time lags, ultimately investors, developers will be left with time constraints. So we just need to ensure that there are assurances in place to make sure that we don’t see any delays. I am calling to make sure that those timeframes will be consistent, to make sure that there aren’t significant timeframe delays. Reading through the relationship of the QUU process to the Council development application, it says, under the utility model, QUU and Council processes will run in parallel. Well, when you look at that model, I want assurances that there are the relevant staffing requirements, the relevant checks and balances in place as well.

This corporate plan doesn’t deliver what it says it should. This corporate plan delivers what I understand to be a record amount of money being poured into these Council coffers. We know we have a huge debt problem. We have


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


- 18 - financial stresses to the max, and this report clearly demonstrates the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be poured in—not given as relief to the water users who will get their bills spiralling through the roof—not relief, but record profits, and record amounts of money being ripped out from the families across this city—that the LORD MAYOR and every LNP Councillor is complicit with today, and I will not, and Labor Councillors will not support this corporate plan today.

Further debate; Councillor JOHNSTON.

Yes, thank you, Madam Deputy Chairman; I rise to speak on item D, the

Queensland Urban Utilities draft corporate plan for the next five years. I take a different approach both to the LNP and the ALP, as I have consistently now for several years in this Chamber with respect to the provision of services by QUU.

That is, firstly, I do not believe that we should be profiting from water and from the costs that residents of our Council area have to pay for water and sewerage services.

These are essential, fundamental services that every household in Brisbane expects to have delivered to them. They should pay a fair price for the delivery of those services, and they should get a fair return on the amount they pay with respect to a quality service and one that invests in both the maintenance and the future capital that is necessary. What I don’t think is appropriate is that this

Council is making millions of dollars every year in profit from the charges that are being charged to the ratepayers of the city.

I know that I will be criticised for saying that, because in the small-minded way in which we hear from some Councillors opposite, the issue is that we always ask for things but we don’t want anyone to pay. Well, in this case, let me make it clear, fundamentally once again: I do not think we should be, as a Council, profiting from our ratepayers and our citizens who are paying for water and sewerage services.

I’m a bit like Kerry Packer in this respect as well; I don’t believe that this

Administration is spending that profit as well as they could be, and I certainly don’t think they should be getting more of that money when they won’t invest it, even invest it into basic drainage services and backflow valves in this city. It is not good enough that this Council wants to profit from our water and sewerage services.

I am concerned, and I have stated in this Chamber many times, that I believe that we should reduce the costs of those services so that they are fair, and I don’t believe in remissions like the ALP have proposed, and I don’t believe in profits like the LNP are proposing in this report as well today.

Councillor JOHNSTON, this is the draft corporate plan; could you please confine your comments to the report before you.

I am, Madam Chairman; I am talking about the dividends and the profits that this

Council is planning to make from the provision of water services and sewerage services in this city, and they are outlined very clearly in the financial statements in this report before us today.

I do think that this Council needs to think very carefully about its role. As the

85.007 per cent stakeholder, we are the majority stakeholder; we control what happens on this board. In any corporate sense of the word, an 85 per cent shareholder is the dominant shareholder and can positively influence the outcomes of QUU. It is right that this LORD MAYOR is choosing not to, and is simply prepared to take the money, the profits, from the residents who are paying their water and sewerage charges.

Let me state again, Madam Chairman: I don’t believe this Council should be profiting from the provision of water and sewerage services to the residents of our city. This is a fundamental service that we provide, and a fair cost should be paid for that service. However, I believe the funds should be returned to those people who use the services by reducing the charges that are made.


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


- 19 -

I also note that the board itself seems to be dominated by men, and just in the theme of—

Councillor JOHNSTON, the composition of the board is not subject of what we are debating today. This is the draft corporate plan.

Yes, Madam Chairman—

I will remind you once, and once only.

It is the corporate plan, Madam Chairman, and it talks about who we are and what we do and who our customers are, and who our stakeholders are. This is the plan that has been proposed by the board of QUU for endorsement at this

Council today. I simply make the observation that there is only one woman on this board, and as a public company, or as a publicly-owned company, I believe that this Council should be looking at more women representatives on the board.

As the 85 per cent shareholder, that is something positive that we can do to better reflect our gender diversity in senior board appointments in this city. I think that that would be a very positive step when the next vacancy arises.

So, Madam Chairman, I will leave my comments there. I certainly think that this

Council can do more to ensure that the ratepayers and the citizens of this city are not being overcharged for water and sewerage supplies, and that any profits should be passed back to them because we should not be profiting from basic services that every Australian has a right to, and that is water and sewerage.

Further debate; Councillor SIMMONDS.

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chairman; I just rise in support of item D, the QUU corporate plan, and perhaps to respond to some of the debate from the Councillors on the other side of the Chamber. It is disappointing, the level of debate, I have to say, regarding this item. We are left to debate the use of the term ‘enrich’, so individual words we are now debating. We are now also debating the gender of individual people involved on the board, apparently. That passes for debate. I am not really going to justify or give credence to those comments, only to say that I do know the QUU is very ably led by Louise

Dudley as the CEO, a very strong and competent corporate woman, not that it matters, but just to make the point that Louise Dudley is doing an excellent job in that role as CEO of QUU.

In my view, I support the LORD MAYOR’s comments earlier. The QUU

Corporate Plan for 2014-19 is a very responsible one in my view. The other four participating councils within QUU have reached the same conclusion and have passed this plan. As the LORD MAYOR pointed out, it is something that we do each year. The plan is prepared by the board, but passed through the individual councils for final adoption.

I note in particular the emphasis that this corporate plan places on setting an appropriate level of key performance indicators that can be held up. It is a public document, so it is there for Councillors and for the public alike to track the performance of QUU, and I think they have been very open and transparent in some of those key performance indicators that are being used to track their performance. In particular, within this corporate plan, the emphasis that they put on customer relations, and providing an exceptional service to their customers.

That is something that we have encouraged from time to time, that customers and the service that they receive needs to be put front and centre, and I think the corporate plan here really emphasises that.

We see a good set of assumptions based on the financials. It was to be expected that Councillors on the other side of the Chamber would rubbish these financials today, but there certainly is a sound set of assumptions behind them.

Maintaining that 174 litre per person per day water usage is what we should be aspiring to. Just because we no longer technically have some of those drought conditions that we had before should not mean that we shouldn’t be promoting effective water usage, and that also works for people able to lower their bills as well.


- 20 -

Also I wanted to mention the efforts that QUU are going to in terms of maintaining their expenditure. This is something that we have spoken about as part of Council. It is something that any good, responsible organisation must do if it is to keep downward pressure on costs, and in particular to see those expense growths keeping in line with inflation is particularly encouraging and shows that they have got some good work happening behind the scenes.

As the LORD MAYOR pointed out, another large capital investment by QUU over the coming years, the 2014-15 years, of $273 million. This is no amount of small change, but it is necessary if we are going to continue to have a network which is top class and continues to meet the needs of residents.

I note Councillor DICK’s comments: well, we should be telling QUU what to do. The fact of the matter is that it was the previous Labor State Government who created QUU, who created a separate entity with its own board. If they had meant, if the Labor Party had meant for Council to be totally responsible for water and to provide all the direction in relation to water and sewerage, they would have left it in Council’s hands. That is the long and the short of it. If that is Labor’s policy, if that is their belief, that Council should be organising water and sewerage and have the final say on these things, then they would have left it as part of Council, but they didn’t. They deliberately set up an individual entity, an entity where we are just one shareholder, an entity where we don’t have the same traditional shareholder rights under the legislation as you would in a corporate sense, to your question, Councillor JOHNSTON. That is specifically set out in legislation.

There was also discussion of QUU taking over those DA (development assessment) functions. Well, yes, that is all set out in the corporate plan as it should be, but under legislation QUU is taking over those functions. There is a lot of work happening behind the scenes to make sure that we work together—

Council and QUU—to ensure there is still a smooth process for DAs. But I had to laugh, I had to have a little bit of a giggle, Madam Acting Chairman, when I got the line out of Councillor DICK that he is worried about time lags on DA.

They don’t even vote for the things; talk about time lags.

How many DAs have we seen come to this Chamber where they have rejected, rejected, rejected, rejected, rejected, rejected—they don’t want economic development in this city. To then hypocritically stand up and say, oh, I’d hate to see any DAs delayed, when they themselves are a great source of delay, or they would be if they were the majority on the committee. It is hypocritical in the extreme. I think it demonstrates Councillor DICK’s argument for what it is— and that is political grandstanding.

I want to completely reject and remove this idea of profiteering. This is—


Councillor SIMMONDS: —absolute nonsense. The LORD MAYOR is right. There is not a little piggy bank where this is all sitting in. We have a $1.2 billion infrastructure capital spend in this Council. All of this—


Acting Chairman: Just a moment, please, Councillor SIMMONDS. Councillor JOHNSTON, I have previously cautioned you. Your acts of constantly interjecting and calling out across this Chamber are acts of disorder.

Warning – Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON

The Acting Chairman then formally warned Councillor JOHNSTON that unless she desisted from interrupting the proper conduct of the meeting she would be suspended from the service of the Council for a period of up to eight days. Furthermore, Councillor JOHNSTON was warned that, if she were suspended, she must immediately leave the meeting place and must remain away from all meeting places for the period of the suspension.

Acting Chairman:


Councillor SIMMONDS.

Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. I was making the point that any returns to Council outlined in this corporate plan go straight into funding



Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:

Councillor FLESSER:

Councillor DICK, please do not interject. Councillor SIMMONDS.

So there they are in a very politically hypocritical way on one hand demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in new infrastructure, and on the other having the hide to say that returns from QUU are profiteering. They are not, Madam

Chairman; they go directly into infrastructure. In some ways they are very directly returned to the residents of Brisbane.

We are the only Council in South East Queensland to provide water and sewerage remissions to pensioners. We are the only Council in South East

Queensland to directly assist pensioners with their water and sewerage bills.

That is something that this Council does, so the idea that it is any kind of profiteering is wrong. The idea that we get $200 million out of this corporate plan is wrong. Again, he has got his figures wrong. Simply, I would urge

Councillor DICK to go back to the document and have a good read. The Labor

Councillors as well. This is a very responsible corporate plan, and I am happy to support it.

Further debate; Councillor FLESSER.

Thank you, Madam Chair; yes, I want to talk about the QUU corporate plan.

This Council is using QUU as a cash cow. It is plain in black and white in the document we have in front of us here today.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor FLESSER:

- 21 - infrastructure. I have spoken previously about particularly the budget bids from the Labor Councillors opposite, how, if we were to fulfil all of their wish lists, we’d be raising rates by 30, 40, 50 per cent at a time. For individual

Councillors—

Acting Chairman:

Councillor FLESSER:

Order!

You’ve only got to look at the interest payments that QUU pay this Council, the dividends that QUU pay, the tax equivalent payments that QUU pay—they will be good questions, I think, maybe for journalists tomorrow when the LORD

MAYOR is delivering his budget. Like, how much is QUU pouring back into the coffers of this Council?

You go and ask an average ratepayer our in the city: when you pay your water bill, what do you think you’re paying for? You think you’re paying for delivery of the water, the infrastructure associated with the water delivery, your sewerage charges—

To the report, Councillor FLESSER.

I am, Madam Chair, I am talking to page 23 of the document. People think when they pay their water bills they are paying for the cost of that delivery, but they are not. They are paying hundreds of millions of dollars back to the councils to prop up their budgets. That is clearly shown on page 23 of the document.

Councillor DICK spoke before about the huge profits that are being made, but look at the actual QUU’s expenses; they are either going down or they are steady. You look at their labour costs in the forward years—they are going down. So the labour costs of QUU are going down. You look at the other operating costs, and they are staying pretty steady. So, it is not as if there are big costs associated with the actual running of QUU. Where are the big increases?

Certainly there are big increases in how much QUU are going to be charging— the increased charges. You only have to look at the top line on that page to see those big increases over the next couple of years.

But the bulk water increases—that is the part that really should be irking the ratepayers of Brisbane.


Councillor FLESSER: If you look at the increases—I am glad to see the LNP Councillors agreeing with me, because if you look at the increases that the State Government are forcing


- 22 - on the councils that own QUU, over the next few years, it is about a 10 per cent increase a year in those bulk water charges. Why? Why is the State Government saying there needs to be a 10 per cent increase?

I remember when the former Lord Mayor was here; he used to bang on and on about the structure of water and the assets in South East Queensland. He used to go on and on about it. It used to cost too much. The structure was all wrong. It all needed to be fixed. He was elected to State Parliament over two years ago, but what has he done? Absolutely nothing. You know why? Because he knows, not only is it a cash cow for this Council; it’s a cash cow for the State

Government as well. That is what’s happening.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor FLESSER:

Order!

The ratepayers of Brisbane are getting ripped off by water charges. This document today shows exactly how they are getting ripped off. If you look at those three items that QUU pay to Council—the interest, the dividends and tax equivalent payments, hundreds of millions of dollars. The interest payment, that’s an interesting one, because what we know happened was that when this entity was formed, the Lord Mayor at the time and the new LORD MAYOR,

Councillor QUIRK, recently changed it as well, saddled QUU with debt. So, a supposed debt coming from Council. It just increased the amount of debt that they supposedly owe the councils, and that gives them an opportunity and an excuse for charging more and more interest payments.

We heard before, Councillor SIMMONDS talking about within Council how they are modernising the way that internal accounts are looked at; well, how quaint it is that QUU still pay this Council tax equivalent payments. What is the justification for tax equivalent payments in this day and age, Councillor

SIMMONDS? I’ll be interested; the LORD MAYOR may be explaining that, like, what it means, why QUU should be paying that, because it is just money coming from QUU straight out of the ratepayers, the water users of Brisbane, straight back into this Council, to prop up the budget which is saddled with

$2 billion of debt.

Acting Chairman: Further debate; Councillor McLACHLAN.

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair; I rise to contribute to this debate on item D, the Corporate Plan of Queensland Urban Utilities. We know that this update of the corporate plan stems from the requirement to start a corporate plan in the first place, which was a consequence of the so-called Bligh Government water reforms. We do have some journalists here who weren’t there at that time, so it is worth just revisiting some of the issues that started the path to the requirement to have a corporate plan in the first place for Queensland Urban Utilities.

It is interesting to look at the press release from Stephen Robertson, MP, the minister of the day called, ‘The Bligh Government’s moves forward with SEQ water reforms.’ These are the alleged benefits that were proposed to come from this grab of the water assets of Council, as has been outlined by Councillor

SIMMONDS earlier. We had a beautifully vertically integrated water business from the dam through to supply and treatment afterwards. That was what was ripped away by the Bligh Government in the name of so-called reform.


Councillor McLACHLAN: They outlined these things: that it would be an improved—

Acting Chairman: Councillor NEWTON!

Councillor McLACHLAN: —outcome for customers under clear customer service standards, a rigorous regulation of pricing and asset management; better career paths for water industry workers in larger organisations; efficiency gains through economies of scale and scope leading to better network planning and maintenance; and better performance monitoring including competition by comparison, where the key performance indicators of each entity are compared.


- 23 -

What the press release didn’t have, of course, was silent on, was the fact that the profitability of the entities was mandated by the legislation they introduced when they made these so-called reforms. So their legislation mandates the profitability of these water entities. So Councillor DICK gets up here with his confected outrage, with his mock rhetoric, saying, Oh, profit is bad, profit is bad. Well, profit in this instance for these entities was mandated by the State

Government legislation that was introduced to put into effect these so-called water reforms, which have done nothing other than add billions and billions of dollars of costs to the supply of water without any additional water actually flowing through any of our pipes as a consequence. That is the net result of these so-called water reforms introduced by the Bligh Labor Government.

What also wasn’t there was the price path that was proposed by the State

Government of the day to dampen demand for water supply by increasing the prices. That was their announced policy. The bulk water price in SEQ announced by the State Government set a 10-year price path of bulk water prices as follows—and they set out that bulk water price. This is the price that was proposed to go up as a consequence of this so-called State Government reform that drove up the costs of providing water to our ratepayers to dampen demand for water, to keep demand for water supply under control, so the infrastructure could catch up with the growing population, the infrastructure supply that the

State Government had ignored in the past under the woeful administration of the

Bligh Government.

So this is what was proposed. This is what was set out in 2010-11: $1517 for the cost of a megalitre of water, rising by 2017-18 to $2812. That was the price path that was outlined by the Bligh Labor Government. That is exactly the expectations that they had out of their so-called water reforms that have led to the need for the setup of the entity Queensland Urban Utilities and the requirement to have this corporate plan in front of us here today.

But the other thing that I had a wry smile, too, Councillor SIMMONDS, when I listened to the mock outrage from those on the other side, their tub-thumping rhetoric about affordability, about—what were some of their other expressions—gouging money, obscene profits, rip-offs from the community, cash cows—all their usual touchstone buttons that they like to push saying this is what is happening. Well, let’s go to what was happening when John

Campbell, and I think Councillor DICK was channelling John Campbell for a little while—

Councillor DICK: Point of order, Madam Chair.

Councillor McLACHLAN: We always know when we’ve got them—

Acting Chairman: Point of order against you, Councillor McLACHLAN.

Councillor McLACHLAN: —when they rise to their feet.

Acting Chairman: Point of order, Councillor DICK.

Councillor DICK:

Acting Chairman:

You brought other Councillors back to the report; I think Councillor

McLACHLAN has had a pretty long bow. We know that he doesn’t want to talk about the corporate plan. Could you please bring him back to the items, or at least reference the page.

Thank you, Councillor DICK. Councillor McLACHLAN, I know that you were reading before from the current draft corporate plan before us. Councillor

Campbell is not mentioned in that plan. Could you please confine your remarks to the corporate plan before us?

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Deputy Chair, for reminding me of that obligation. I do come back to the report, because we do have here in the corporate plan an outline of profitability that comes from this entity.

This is a word that the Opposition hates to see, but in fact they have always had that as part of their water management plan. When Councillor Campbell was in charge of water, he called it a franchise fee.


Acting Chairman:

- 24 -

Councillor McLACHLAN, Councillor Campbell is not mentioned in this report.

Can you please confine your remarks to the report before us.

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Deputy Chair. What is mentioned is profitability, and profitability has always been part of the entity that was with Council before it was ripped away by the State Labor Government when it was Brisbane Water. The franchise fee in 2006-07 was $234 million.

Councillor DICK:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor DICK:

Acting Chairman:


Point of order; Councillor DICK. I think you’re probably going to come back to what I was going to say.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Councillor McLACHLAN, can you please focus on the figures that are contained within the report going forward for the corporate plan?

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair. The Opposition has talked about obscene profits in this plan; they have talked about gouging money—

Councillor DICK interjecting:

LORD MAYOR: Madam Chairman, would the chairman take a question?

Councillor McLACHLAN: LORD MAYOR, I certainly would.

LORD MAYOR: Councillor McLACHLAN, in view of the debate around profitability today, could you outline for us perhaps on a comparative basis whether this, in an historical -sense, has always been the case?

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, LORD MAYOR; I certainly would be happy to provide a comparison, because we’ve heard figures of $200 million from this much larger entity that is now part of the wider community of interests of water supply businesses that we have now in South East Queensland. The QUU is now a much larger entity than Brisbane Water was when it was just confined to

Brisbane Council.

We saw when Brisbane Water was confined to Brisbane Council the equivalent of a profit year after year after year, an idea that was introduced by none other than John Campbell when he was Chair for City Businesses and Water Supply.

A franchise fee under his administration in 2006-07 was $234 million. What do we have in the 2003-04 budget? A franchise fee of $213.2 million. What do we have in the 2002-03 budget? A franchise fee of $198 million.

Madam Deputy Chair, the sorts of money that we are talking about as the socalled profit from the QUU entity, which is now a much larger entity than

Brisbane Water ever was, the proportion of so-called profit that was flowing through to Council under Labor Administrations was huge in comparison to the sorts of profits that flow through via dividends to this Council now through the

QUU entity and which is shared by our other shareholder councils in QUU.

The other element that I would point to was the suggestion from Councillor

DICK of concerns out of this report, as he has talked to. He says he is concerned, after reading this corporate plan, about double handling. He is concerned about double handling, the potential for double handling. Let’s have a look at what was set up under the new structure for water supply, and let’s have a little listen by comparison to double handling. Under the Labor Government’s set up of water, what do we have? We had, under the Minister and the

Department of Natural Resources, there was the Queensland Water

Commission. Then there was the Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority, then the Queensland Bulk Water Transport Authority—

Councillor SUTTON:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor SUTTON:


Point of order against you, Councillor McLACHLAN; Councillor SUTTON.

Is this a debate on the corporate plan or is it a debate on the history of water policy in this State? Can you please bring him back to the item?


Acting Chairman:

- 25 -

Councillor SUTTON, Councillor McLACHLAN had been answering the LORD

MAYOR’s question which he agreed to accept, and then he was following up and giving a comprehensive background in respect of concerns Councillor

DICK had raised in his speech in respect of double handling. Councillor

McLACHLAN.

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair. I think I have made my point in that regard.

But I will point to the issues in conclusion that flow through from the discussions about whether or not there’s adequate control over Queensland

Urban Utilities and the requirement under their legislation to make a profit.

I will mention the Queensland Competition Authority investigation into the long term regulatory framework that is being undertaken by the State Government, as there has been criticism of the current State Government by the Labor team here, and to point out the fact that the Queensland Competition Authority has been looking over a number of years at the extent of profitability of the water supply businesses. The current government is asking the QCA, the Queensland

Competition Authority, to do that again, and I will read this, the ministerial directive.

‘The ministers having directed the QCA to investigate and report on a long-term regulatory framework for the monopoly distribution and retail water and sewerage activities of the five SEQ distributor retailers, which includes QUU, and the overarching regulatory objective is to protect the long-term interests of the users of SEQ water and sewerage services by ensuring that the prices of these services reflect prudent and efficient costs while promoting efficient investment in and the use of these services, having regard to the reliability, safety and security over the long term.’

I point this out, and conclude on this point: in previous price monitoring reviews of QUU and Unity Water, no evidence has been found of market power. These entities have also sought to adopt many recommended improvements in policies and procedures. It is therefore not considered necessary for prices to be determined by ministers or the QCA, provided such efforts are maintained. I am completely confident, Madam Deputy Chair, that QUU is abiding by those requirements.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor CUMMING:

Further debate; Councillor CUMMING.

Yes, thanks Madam Chair; I refer to item C of the report. I am concerned about the number of telecommunication devices on the Roles Hill reservoir and whether this lease should be renewed. From visual observation, I haven’t actually walked on top of the reservoir—I don’t know if I could even if I wanted to—but there appear to be dozens of devices on the top of that reservoir. The reservoir is in a residential area; it is not away from houses. There are houses right next door in Daisy Road, and there are units next door as well on the corner of Preston Road and Manly Road.

Acting Chairman:

DEPUTY MAYOR:

There is increasing community concern about radio frequency, electro-magnetic energy from such devices. There have been some major protests, as we are all probably aware of, but certainly in my ward, about towers next to schools, and there is currently a campaign involving Gumdale State School nearby. I call upon Council to make public the testing done on this facility, and the levels of the radiation that has been detected, and also the levels at the boundaries or at surrounding residential properties. I think the residents deserve this information before we go approving more and more devices on top of this tower.

Further debate; DEPUTY MAYOR.

Madam Chairman, I also rise very briefly just to speak on the item that

Councillor CUMMING just spoke on, item C. Obviously telecommunications towers can generate significant debate in the community. The reality is we all like to use mobile phones and we all like decent reception, and we all complain when there’s not decent reception. In fact, I think Australia is the world leader in adopting mobile technology. I think there are actually more mobile devices in

Australia than there are people by a significant amount. So we are all keen to take up the use of those devices. In fact, everyone in the Chamber has such


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:

LORD MAYOR:

- 26 - devices and uses them frequently, including right now as I am speaking. That is the reality of the situation.

We need to put these telecommunications towers somewhere to provide the reception that we all demand. So we, as a Council, are obviously not technical experts in radiation. So when we make decisions on these things, we defer to the technical experts in radiation. In particular, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, which has established a radiation protection standard, specifies limits for general public exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic energy.

So we take their requirements very seriously, and it is something that Council does right across the spectrum whenever these facilities are proposed, or in this case renewed. It is already there. According to the electromagnetic reports from this agency, the maximum exposure of radiation at this facility will be only 2 per cent of the public exposure limit. I will repeat that: only 2 per cent of the maximum recommended exposure limit. So we are not talking about more than the exposure limit; we are not talking about even half of the exposure limit—we are talking about 2 per cent of the exposure limit.

This site does not breach the recommended guidelines in terms of exposure to electromagnetic radiation. As Councillors, we need to take those reports and agency recommendations very seriously. As I said, we all use these electronic devices, the mobile devices, and if you are going to get concerned, Councillor

CUMMING, you’ve got more problems putting the phone up against your head than residents would have from radiation from this tower.

As we also know, the radiation that your phone generates is greater when there is poor reception and the towers are a further distance away. So actually in reality, having a good level of service from a telecommunications tower means that your phone generates less radiation in receiving that signal. So this will help provide a service to your residents that they all use, Councillor CUMMING. I know that if you do have concerns, I have got something that might be able to help you out here. You might be able to make a tin foil hat for yourself, and hopefully that will allay any concerns that you may have. There is more where this came from, if you need it.

Further debate—

Point of order, Madam Chairman.

Point of order, Councillor JOHNSTON.

I just ask that C is taken individually seriatim for voting purposes, please.

It already has been taken separately for voting, thank you, Councillor

JOHNSTON. Any further debate? LORD MAYOR.

Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. Well, we have had a predictable debate again today around water. It always seems from the Labor Party perspective to come back to this issue of so-called profitability. Again the reality is that what we are looking at in this document on page 125, when you add up dividends, tax liabilities, interest on debt, it comes to—across all five councils combined—

$169 million—$169 million across all five councils.

Again, the comparison, $213 million that Labor profited from water when

Council had it back in 2002-03. So again it’s this hypocrisy thing. They bring up these issues all the time, yet Councillor FLESSER was Finance Chairman in this place when we had a joint Liberal/Labor Cabinet. Did he propose that the fundamentals of that change? No, he didn’t. Then Councillor McLACHLAN today outlined the changes in legislation which saw the creation of QUU and other entities in South East Queensland similar to QUU.

In terms of some of these nonsensical issues raised, again Councillor FLESSER raised this issue of tax liabilities, as if we can just snap our finger and so just remove that figure. It is required under Federal legislation covering National

Competition Policy, that entities such as QUU have to comply. That is part one of the response. To talk about it against their history is I just find unbelievably


- 27 - hypocritical. If this is an obscene profit according to Labor, what was the profit that they gouged—again, gouging according to them—back in their time, when it was much greater, much greater than what is proposed here? It is just a nonsense.

The second point—and this is the more important one—whether it was the profits, if you want to use that term again—that were made under Labor

Administrations back in their time, or now as provided by way of dividend under QUU, all of these moneys go back into parks and community halls and to libraries and to bikeways and to all of the aspects of Council life—what we do to support our communities. It is a transfer of funds which go back into.

If those funds weren’t available through this process, then they would have to come by way of increased rates or we would have to significantly reduce the services that we are providing to the people of this city. So it is as simple as that.

All of these moneys get used. They don’t get put in to some magic pot, some pot called profit, as the Labor Party would like to describe it. Again, it is a cheap crack.

Today, what we have provided to us is a five-year horizon in terms of the projections of QUU. I want to congratulate the Executive of QUU, the board, and all of those that are undertaking work at QUU. It is a relationship which needs to be a close one because of the very fact that water supply and sewerage is an important part of infrastructure provision in this city, as it is throughout

South East Queensland.

I can tell you that all mayors take a close interest in the activities of QUU. There is an open door policy in relation to communications, and that applies to all councillors. There is a dedicated officer that QUU have that any councillor can go to relative to the works that they undertake. They are there to assist

Councillors in our daily work representing people.

So, Madam Chairman, again I think we have seen a lot of hypocrisy. All moneys—whatever you might want to call them—dividends, returns, profits as

Labor calls them—get put straight back into making sure that our city becomes a great City of Brisbane.

Acting Chairman:

Clause C put

I will now put item C.

Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of Clause C of the report of the


Thereupon, the LORD MAYOR and Councillor WINES immediately rose and called for a division, which resulted in the motion being declared carried .

The voting was as follows:

AYES: 16 - The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR, Councillor Graham QUIRK,

DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, and Councillors

Krista ADAMS, Amanda COOPER, Vicki HOWARD, Steven HUANG,

Fiona KING, Geraldine KNAPP,

David McLACHLAN,

Kim MARX,

Ryan MURPHY,

Ian McKENZIE,

Angela OWEN-TAYLOR,

Julian SIMMONDS, Andrew WINES and Norm WYNDHAM.

NOES: Nil.

ABSTENTIONS: 6 - The Leader of the OPPOSITION, Councillor Milton DICK, and Councillors

Peter CUMMING, Kim FLESSER, Steve GRIFFITHS, Victoria NEWTON, and

Nicole JOHNSTON.

Acting Chairman: I will now put item D.


- 28 -

Clause D put

Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of Clause D of the report of the


Thereupon, the LORD MAYOR and DEPUTY MAYOR immediately rose and called for a division, which resulted in the motion being declared carried .

The voting was as follows:

AYES: 16 - The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR, Councillor Graham QUIRK,

DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, and Councillors

Krista ADAMS, Amanda COOPER, Vicki HOWARD, Steven HUANG,

Fiona KING, Geraldine KNAPP, Kim MARX, Ian McKENZIE,

David McLACHLAN, Ryan MURPHY, Angela OWEN-TAYLOR,

Julian SIMMONDS, Andrew WINES and Norm WYNDHAM.

NOES: 6 - The Leader of the OPPOSITION, Councillor Milton DICK, and Councillors

Peter CUMMING, Kim FLESSER, Steve GRIFFITHS, Victoria NEWTON and

Shayne SUTTON.

ABSTENTIONS: 1 - Councillor Nicole JOHNSTON.

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 THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES

TO TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED IN RESPECT OF PART OF THE

LAND AT THE GAP RESERVOIR

112/445/444/900

741/2013-14

The Divisional Manager, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provided the information below. 1.

2. The existing lease to Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) at The Gap Reservoir, described as lease P in Lot 139 on RP109555 on SP126321, commenced on 29 April 2007 and expired on

28 April 2012. The following attachments are submitted on file: Attachment C Lease Plan and

Attachment D Satellite Image.

3. Telstra has remained in occupation of the premises as yearly tenant under the holdover provisions of the now expired lease. Telstra is seeking new lease tenure for 15 years, by way of two successive leases. The first lease is to be for a term of ten years and the second lease for a term of five years.

4. As this is an existing facility that was established in accordance with the prevailing regulatory provisions, and also because Telstra has rights under the Telecommunications Act 1997 that permit it to use and occupy the land for what is a “low impact” facility, it would be unreasonable for Council to refuse Telstra’s request to secure its new lease tenure.

5. As the facility is already in place and complies with the necessary regulatory provisions, no development assessment or consents are required from Council for the proposed lease.

6. Telstra is co-located at this site with a monopole (wireless communications infrastructure) owned by Crown Castle. Crown Castle’s tenure is secured until 30 June 2025 and so it is considered reasonable for Telstra to be able to continue with its occupation of the land.


7.

- 29 -

The Divisional Manager therefore submits the following recommendation with which the

Committee agrees.

8. RECOMMENDATION:

THAT COUNCIL RESOLVES IN ACCORDANCE WITH ATTACHMENT A , hereunder.

Attachment A

Draft Resolution

TO ENTER INTO TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES WITH TELSTRA

CORPORATION LIMITED OVER ITS EXISTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FACILITY

THAT:

As

(a) The existing lease to Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) at The Gap

Reservoir , lease P in Lot 139 on RP109555 on SP126321, commenced on 29

April 2007 and expired on 28 April 2012.

(b) Telstra has remained in occupation of the premises as a yearly tenant under the holdover provisions of the expired lease and is now seeking new lease

(c) tenure for 15 years, by way of two successive leases.

The facility on Lot 139 on RP109555 on SP126321 is an existing facility that was established in accordance with the prevailing regulatory provisions.

(d) Telstra has rights under the Telecommunications Act 1997 to use and occupy the land as it is considered a ‘low impact’ facility and therefore no development assessments or consents are required from the Council for the proposed lease.

Then

(e) COUNCIL RESOLVES TO GRANT AND ENTER INTO TWO

SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES WITH TELSTRA over its existing telecommunications facility at The Gap Reservoir in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in Attachment B, submitted on file, and otherwise on terms that are satisfactory to the Chief Legal

Counsel, Brisbane City Legal Practice, and the Asset Portfolio Management

Manager, Asset Management.

ADOPTED

B THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES

TO TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED, IN RESPECT OF PART OF THE

LAND AT FOREST LAKE RESERVOIR

112/445/444/776

742/2013-14

9. The Divisional Manager, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provided the information below.

10. Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) has been contracted by the State of Queensland (The

State) to construct and operate the new Government Wireless Network (GWN). The GWN is being set up in readiness for the G20 Summit in Brisbane in November 2014.

11. Telstra has exercised its statutory powers under the Telecommunications Act 1997 and has


- 30 - constructed a “low impact” equipment shelter on Council’s land at Forest Lake Reservoir under a Land Access and Activity Notice for this purposes. The associated antenna infrastructure is located upon the Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) water tower facility, as per a separate agreement between Telstra and QUU.

12. Telstra has provided a lease proposal for the premises and is seeking to secure lease tenure for fifteen years, by way of two successive leases. The first lease is to be for a term of ten years and the second lease for a term of five years. The following attachments are submitted on file:

Attachment C Lease Plan and Attachment D Satellite Image.

13. As Telstra has rights under the Telecommunications Act 1997 that permit it to use and occupy the land for what is a “low impact” facility, it would be unreasonable for Council to refuse

Telstra’s request to secure the requested lease tenure.

14. The State has enacted the Sustainable Planning Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2013 , which exempts any construction of GWN facilities carried out prior to 30 June 2015 from being deemed as a development and so no development assessments or consents are required for this facility.

15. The Divisional Manager therefore submits the following recommendation with which the

Committee agrees.


THAT COUNCIL RESOLVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ATTACHMENT A, hereunder.

Attachment A


TO ENTER INTO TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES WITH TELSTRA

CORPORATION LIMITED OVER A NEW GOVERNMENT WIRELESS

NETWORK FACILITY

THAT:

As

(a) Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) has been contracted by the State of

Queensland to construct and operate the new Government Wireless Network

(GWN).

(b) Telstra has exercised its statutory powers under the Telecommunications Act

1997 to construct a “low impact” facility upon part of Lot 999 on RP896394 under a Land Access and Activity Notice at Forest Lake Reservoir for this purpose and is seeking to secure lease tenure for 15 years, by way of two successive leases.

(c) The Sustainable Planning Amendment Regulation (No.5) 2013 exempts any construction of GWN facilities carried out prior to 30 June 2015 from being deemed as a development and so no development assessments or consents are required for this facility.

Then

(d) COUNCIL RESOLVES TO GRANT AND ENTER INTO TWO

SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES WITH TELSTRA


- 31 - over a Government Wireless Network communications facility at Forest Lake

Reservoir in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in

Attachment B, submitted on file, and otherwise on terms that are satisfactory to the Chief Legal Counsel, Brisbane City Legal Practice, and the Asset

Portfolio Management Manager, Asset Management.

ADOPTED

C THE GRANTING OF SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES

TO VODAFONE NETWORK PTY LTD, IN RESPECT OF PART OF THE

LAND AT ROLES HILL RESERVOIR

112/445/444/790

743/2013-14

17. The Divisional Manager, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provided the information below.

18. In 1993, four successive five-year leases were granted to Vodafone Network Pty Limited

(Vodafone), for the purpose of co-locating a telecommunications facility at Roles Hill

Reservoir. The last of these four leases expired on 31 October 2013.

19. Ownership of the water tower at Roles Hill upon which Vodafone’s antenna infrastructure is located, was transferred to Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) in 2010, while ownership of the land upon which Vodafone’s leased premises (containing its existing equipment shelter) is located remains with Council.

20. Vodafone remained in occupation of the premises under the holdover provisions of the expired lease pending agreement being reached with QUU over an acceptable design solution for its antenna infrastructure upon the water tower. QUU has approved the Vodafone design solution shown in Attachment C, submitted on file, and Vodafone is now seeking to enter into a new lease with Council over its existing premises by way of two successive ten year leases.

Attachment D Satellite Image is submitted on file.

21. As this is an existing facility that was established in accordance with the prevailing regulatory provisions, and also because Vodafone uses and occupies the land for what is a “low impact” facility, it would be unreasonable for Council to refuse Vodafone’s request to secure its new lease tenure.

22. Additionally, because the facility is already in place and complies with the necessary regulatory provisions, no development assessment or consents are required from Council for the proposed lease.


Committee agrees.


THAT COUNCIL RESOLVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ATTACHMENT A, hereunder.


- 32 -

Attachment A


TO ENTER INTO TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES WITH VODAFONE

NETWORK PTY LIMITED OVER ITS EXISTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FACILITY

THAT:

As

(a) The existing lease to Vodafone Network Pty Limited (Vodafone) at Roles

Hill Reservoir, described as Part of Lot 1 on RP44294, commenced on 1

November 2008 and expired on 31 October 2013.

(b) Vodafone has remained in occupation of the premises as a yearly tenant under the holdover provisions of the expired lease and is now seeking new lease tenure for 20 years, by way of two successive leases.

(c) The facility on Part of Lot 1 on RP44294 is an existing facility that was established in accordance with the prevailing regulatory provisions.

(d) Vodafone has rights under the Telecommunications Act 1997 to use and occupy the land as it is considered a “low impact” facility and therefore no development assessment or consents are required from Council for the proposed lease.

Then

(e) COUNCIL RESOLVES TO GRANT AND ENTER INTO TWO

SUCCESSIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASES WITH

VODAFONE over its existing Telecommunications facility at the Roles Hill

Reservoir in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in

Attachment B, submitted on file, and otherwise on terms that are satisfactory to the Chief Legal Counsel, Brisbane City Legal Practice and the Asset

Portfolio Management Manager, Asset Management.

ADOPTED

D QUEENSLAND URBAN UTILITIES DRAFT CORPORATE PLAN 2014-19

140/695/583/9

744/2013-14

25. The Divisional Manager, Organisational Services Division, provided the information below.

26. Queensland Urban Utilities is a statutory body, created on 1 July 2010, as a result of

Queensland Government changes to the way water and wastewater are managed in South East

Queensland. It is owned by the Brisbane and Ipswich City Councils and Lockyer, Scenic Rim and Somerset Regional Councils. Governed by an independent Board, its primary role is to deliver drinking water, recycled water and sewerage services to the cities and townships within the boundaries of these five councils.

27. Under the provisions of the Central South East Queensland Distributor Retailer Participation

Agreement, Queensland Urban Utilities is obliged to update its five year Corporate Plan annually and provide that plan to each participating Council for approval.

28. Queensland Urban Utilities have provided the Corporate Plan 2014-19 (Attachment A, submitted on file) for shareholder consultation and approval. The Corporate Plan is to be


- 33 - submitted to the Queensland Urban Utilities Board (The Board) by the end of June 2014.

29. The document presents Queensland Urban Utilities’ future direction, goals and priorities as defined by the Board. It highlights significant achievements for 2012-13 and articulates an overriding determination to maintain affordability for its customers outlining strategies for the delivery of future efficiencies.


Committee agrees.


THAT COUNCIL APPROVES THE QUEENSLAND URBAN UTILITIES DRAFT

CORPORATE PLAN 2014-19 AS SET OUT IN ATTACHMENT A, submitted on file.

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 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:

DEPUTY MAYOR.

Point of order, Madam Chairman.

Point of order, Councillor JOHNSTON.


Acting Chairman:

DEPUTY MAYOR:

Yes, Madam Chairman, I seek the following additional information about this report. Could the Chairman please advise me how much this smart app has cost to develop?

Okay. Thank you, DEPUTY MAYOR.

Thank you, Madam Chairman. We expect the app will cost approximately

$10,000, although the development is still under way at the moment. This project, which we are undertaking in partnership with QUT, is a great example of the use of technology for a positive outcome. Obviously we want to make sure that this app is accessible for free to as many people as possible who are driving trucks or may occasionally be driving trucks in the vicinity of low bridges.

I am pleased to say that, in terms of the investment of money, the State

Government obviously is putting a lot of money into physical barriers at low bridges, so an announcement recently in relation to Annerley Road Bridge required very expensive physical barriers to be installed. I am pleased the State is doing that. In the scheme of things, an investment of $10,000 on some technology like an app I think is a very good investment of money, and it is a way that Council can help out with the provision of information to the public.

Obviously there are many low bridges around the city, and while experienced truck drivers would generally get to know where they are, there are also some truck drivers that are unfamiliar with Brisbane who may be coming in from interstate or regional areas, and there are also truck drivers who, for example, are hiring a truck for a short period of time and may not be familiar with the road environment or the height of their truck. We are seeing a significant number of accidents happening each year where trucks and other large vehicles are striking low bridges.

Obviously it is not just an issue of danger to the motorists and danger to surrounding pedestrians and cyclists; there are also the road closures and disruptions that that causes while these trucks are removed. Often it takes many, many hours to do; it involves getting cranes in there and other heavy equipment to remove the trucks, and there is a big disruption right across the network. So


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:

DEPUTY MAYOR:

- 34 - not only a safety benefit, but also a congestion benefit from helping to reduce this problem. So I think it is a good start, and we are looking forward to working with both QUT and also the State Government to make sure we improve the safety of the travelling public, particularly when it comes to low bridges.

I am pleased to see that, already, as a result of media coverage, we have had interest from the New South Wales State Government, RMS (Roads and

Maritime Services), in this app, and we’d be happy to work with them to show them what we’re doing, and we’d like to see something similar rolled out right across Australia so that there can be benefits across the board in relation to technology such as this.

Further debate? Councillor JOHNSTON.

Yes, Madam Chairman, just briefly, Tennyson Ward is plagued with low rail bridges, and we have a serious problem with a high level of strikes, particularly along the Oxley Road corridor. It reflects a lack of investment by the State

Government in the rail bridge infrastructure, which has been in place for 130 or

140 years in some cases. They have not kept up with the times.

I am interested in the fact that this Council is funding the app in what is a State

Government area of responsibility. Certainly I lobbied very hard to get

Queensland Rail to address the low rail bridge problem at Corinda, and we are still having strike issues because of the type of technology they installed there. It is a problem when the only corridor is cut off and cars are then either held up or diverted through quiet residential streets to try and avoid a closed bridge.

I guess I question just why the State Government is not taking the lead with this, given it is their responsibility. I think that they should be covering the costs of this. It is not our job to subsidise the State Government’s lack of investment in its own infrastructure. Again, I haven’t been briefed on what this smart app does and how it works, because I am not on this committee. But I certainly would have some questions about how it is used, given that there is a very serious problem with the use of smart phones in vehicles. If this app is being used on smart phones while people are driving, then I think that presents an extremely serious safety risk, particularly given this is being aimed at heavy and high vehicles.

I would like assurances from the DEPUTY MAYOR that this app, if it is going to deliver a good service that is excellent, that there will be appropriate and strong warnings that it should not be used while somebody is driving. We have seen very much in recent years, and even just in the last few weeks, the State

Government and the police talk about the problems we have with the smart phone use in vehicles. Whilst the app may be very good and it may have some beneficial outcomes, I think it must come with a very strong and clear safety message about not using it while you are driving a vehicle.

Further debate? DEPUTY MAYOR.

Thank you and I thank the Councillor for Tennyson for that contribution. I can confirm that the app will come with a warning up front, which advises motorists that they are not to use the app while driving. The app is set up so that you enter data and information into it before you start off, and then it is a set and forget operation.

So essentially what will happen is, provided you’ve got your phone somewhere in the vehicle, if you are approaching a low bridge, and that low bridge is lower than the top of your vehicle, the app will actually warn you with a verbal warning that you are approaching the bridge. So we are expecting a warning along the lines of several hundred metres away from the bridge, the phone will make sounds and tell you that you are approaching a low bridge, and ask you to pull over.

That’s the way it will work, in terms of the warning. So there is no need for people to be looking at the app while they are driving. It will work and effectively warn people as long as it is in the car somewhere or the truck somewhere. We are very conscious of the safety requirements. So we don’t want


- 35 - to be encouraging people to use this app while they’re driving, and the app will be set up accordingly.

Acting Chairman: I will now put the report.

Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of the report of the Infrastructure Committee was declared carried on the voices.




ATTENDANCE:

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Adrian Schrinner (Chairman), Councillor Ian McKenzie (Deputy

8.

6.

7.

Chairman), and Councillors Margaret de Wit, Milton Dick, Victoria Newton and Norm Wyndham.

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – LOW BRIDGES SMART PHONE

APPLICATION

1.

745/2013-14

Chris McCahon, Transport Network Operations Manager, Transport Planning and Strategy

Branch, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, attended the meeting to provide an update on the joint Council and Queensland Rail (QR) low bridges smart phone application (app). He provided the information below.

2. In response to numerous bridge strikes in recent years, Council and QR have initiated a joint project named the Bridge Strike Project, which is aimed at improving safety for road users and pedestrians; maintaining traffic flow and protecting QR infrastructure.

3. QR is responsible for the construction of the protection beams to prevent bridge strikes. The extent of Council’s contribution to the project includes the installation of new low clearance and detour signs, and the development of a smart phone app.

4. The objective of the smart phone app is to provide the locations of structures with sufficient clearance based on the specific vehicle dimensions. Queensland University of Technology

(QUT) is developing the app as part of Council’s Digital Brisbane initiative.

5. Council has been liaising with regulators and industry, and specific data has been gathered from QR, the Department of Transport and Main Roads, including Queensland Motorways, and BrisConnect.

A number of slides showing the features of the low bridges smart phone app were displayed.

Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Mr McCahon for his informative presentation.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE

REPORT.

ADOPTED

9.

B PETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL ESTABLISH AN

ADDITIONAL SIX NEW 20-MINUTE PARKING BAYS WITHIN THE

UNREGULATED OFF-STREET PARKING IN PRINCETON STREET,

KENMORE

CA13/613013

746/2013-14

A petition from residents of Kenmore and surrounding suburbs, requesting Council create six


- 36 - new 20 minute car parking spaces behind the shops in Princeton Street, Kenmore, was presented to the meeting of Council held on 3 September 2013, by Councillor Margaret de

Wit, and received.

10. The Manager, Asset Management Branch, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, supplied the following information.

11. The initial submission in respect to this petition was withdrawn from the Infrastructure

Committee meeting of Tuesday 5 November 2013 as a result of a motion of Councillor

Margaret de Wit, to enable further investigations on the utilisation of the car park.

12. Subsequently, Bitzios Consulting was commissioned to undertake an extensive traffic review of the use of the car park. The review included:

- Undertaking a site audit and developing a parking inventory of the car park including,

-

-

- the parking restriction that are currently in place.

Undertaking a parking survey showing the occupancy, duration of stay and vehicle access counts.

Assessing the parking area occupancy to understand the current parking operations and assessing and providing recommendations on regulatory compliance, including the provisions for persons with disabilities.

Developing a parking time limit hierarchy that provides an efficient car park in accordance with the local needs.

13. Data was acquired over a two-week period commencing on 24 March 2014, and included weekend usage of the car park.

14. The occupancy survey indicated that the car park is at near-capacity during week days and below 50 per cent on weekends. A further breakdown of the week day car park usage provided the following data associated with the duration of stay for vehicles:

- short-term parking (less than one hour duration) – approximately 30 per cent of vehicles

-

- medium-term parking (between one and four hours duration) – approximately 40 per cent of vehicles long-term parking (greater than four hours duration) – approximately 30 per cent of vehicles.

15. The car park is currently at near capacity, largely as a result of the long-term parked vehicles.

Therefore, it is recommended to manage this issue by using timed parking restrictions to reinstate the primary purpose of the car park, which is for the use of customers of the surrounding businesses. The introduction of timed parking restrictions is also aimed at reducing the use of the car park by commuters to the city, as there is a dedicated park‘n’ride facility nearby. This will increase the availability of parking spaces for short and mediumterm users.

16. To achieve these objectives, it is recommended that no additional 20-minute parking bays be established during week days, and a four hour parking limit be imposed on the entire car park.

However, it is recommended that a small number of all-day parking bays be allocated to shopping centre staff only.

17. The new restrictions will be prominently displayed on signs within the car park, and at the entrances. It is estimated that the introduction of the four-hour parking limit on the car park in

Princeton Street, Kenmore, will significantly reduce week day peak occupancy.

Funding

18. Costs to be incurred for the production and installation of signage is estimated to be $5,000.


- 37 -

Consultation

19. Councillor Margaret de Wit, Councillor for Pullenvale Ward, was initially consulted in

December 2013, and again on 23 May 2014, and supported the possibility of a blanket time restriction being imposed across the car park.

Customer impact

20. The acceptance of a blanket parking restriction in the car park will address those petitioners who require additional short-term parking spaces, but remove parking spaces for commuters for whom alternative parking arrangements already exist.

Preferred option

21. It is the preferred option to respond to the petitioners request and concerns in accordance with the recommendation.

22. The Manager therefore recommends as follows and the Committee agrees.


IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT COUNCIL DOES NOT INCREASE THE NUMBER

OF 20-MINUTE PARKING BAYS BUT IMPOSES A FOUR-HOUR RESTRICTION

ACROSS THE ENTIRE CAR PARK, ALLOWING ALL DAY PARKING FOR A

SMALL NUMBER OF SHOPPING CENTRE STAFF ONLY.

ADOPTED

Acting Chairman:

ADJOURNMENT:

Councillor MURPHY.

747/2013-14

At that time, 4.01pm, it was resolved on the motion of Councillor MURPHY, seconded by Councillor MARX, that the meeting adjourn for a period of 15 minutes, to commence only when all councillors had vacated the

Chamber and the doors locked.

Council stood adjourned at 4.02pm.

UPON RESUMPTION:

PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE

Councillor Steven HUANG, Deputy Chairman of the Public and Active Transport Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor Kim MARX that the report of that Committee held on 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor HUANG:

Councillor HUANG.

Yes, Madam Acting Chairman, just briefly in last week's committee meeting we had an informative presentation of Workplace Health and Safety innovations to bus operator attire. I would like to thank Glen Berghofer, Depot Manager

Sherwood Bus Depot for doing the presentation and giving the committee a thorough understanding of the evolution of these attires and the reason behind these changes.

Madam Acting Chairman, bus operators are Council's most visible frontline staff and their Workplace Health and Safety, as well as their professional image, will have a direct reflection to the image of this Council. I'm proud to say that our current bus operator attire provides safety, comfort and professional image for our bus operators. I commend the work of all relevant officers and this report to the Chamber.


Acting Chairman:


- 38 -


Yes just briefly, Madam Acting Chairman, I note that as a priority this session that the Chairman for the Public and Active Transport Committee, Councillor

MATIC has brought forward a presentation about the history of bus operator attire. Madam Acting Chairman, I note that he believes this is one of the most serious and pressing issues facing the public transport needs of our city. Madam

Acting Chairman, I have to say that I disagree with him about this matter. I have to say that I think I am very concerned that he's chosen to have a presentation about this issue, when there are so many other significant public transport and active transport issues facing our city.

Interestingly enough, when I did ask one question that is; were our uniforms made in Australia because I was listening and I did ask a question. Neither the officers nor the Chairman knew. Now this is a presentation which they have purposely brought on about the attire, the dress standards and the purpose of the dress since 1966 and we sat there through it. It was all very good, there was show and tell, there were uniforms and they were handed around so we could all touch them and feel them. Madam Acting Chairman, when I asked one simple question as to whether our uniforms are Australian-made, they didn't know.

Now, Madam Acting Chairman, if you're genuine about these things you do your homework and you can answer those sorts of questions. But what it says to me, Madam Acting Chairman, is the Chairman of Active Transport Councillor

Peter MATIC is using the committee to bring forward what are lightweight presentations, that are not doing justice to the discussion of the serious public transport service issues, cost issues, delivery issues, arrangements with the State

Government that we should be discussing in this committee. Instead he'd rather have a discussion about what bus drivers wear.

Acting Chairman: Further debate? Councillor HUANG? No? I will now put the report.

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.




ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Peter Matic (Chairman), Councillor Steven Huang (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors

Steve Griffiths, Nicole Johnston, Kim Marx and Ryan Murphy.

1.

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

INNOVATIONS TO BUS OPERATOR ATTIRE

748/2013-14

Glen Berghofer, Depot Manager, Sherwood Bus Depot, Bus Operations Branch, Brisbane

Transport Division, attended the meeting to provide an update on the Workplace Health and

Safety innovations to bus operator attire. He provided the information below.

2. There have been four uniform style changes since 1967. The first was launched in conjunction with an official booklet entitled, ‘The Manual of Dress’. A copy of the manual was distributed to the committee for review.

3. Between 1967 and 1985, bus operators and inspectors wore uniforms that were referred to as the ‘old green uniform’. The presenter showed the committee examples of an old green uniform and an inspector hat.

4. In 1985, bus operator uniforms changed to the blue uniform, complete with epaulettes. An image was shown of two bus operators wearing a mixture of the two uniforms during the transition period. By 1986, all bus operator uniforms were blue. A number of slides showing bus operators wearing the blue uniforms were displayed and discussed.


5.

- 39 -

The next change occurred in 1991 and lasted for approximately four years. Bus operator shirts were light blue with a yellow and blue stripe on the pocket. This design was in-line with the new Brisbane Transport logo. During the mid-1990s, Brisbane Transport launched a new uniform, which consisted of three various styles and colours of shirts, including blue, with navy coloured pants.

6.

-

-

The current style of bus operator uniforms was outlined:

- the three colours were replaced by the current blue colour increased operator comfort and presentable image to the public improved UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rating for sun safety due to climate

-

- cargo pant-style pants heavily favoured for practicality various waistbands are available for operator comfort.

A slide showing the current uniform styles used by male and female bus operators was displayed.

7. Other improvements to the bus operator uniforms have included: the introduction of a baseball cap for uniformity, an indoor-style jacket that is more conducive to an airconditioned environment, trailing a new style shoe for comfort and durability, and the introduction of a new style ladies cardigan for comfort and style. The presenter noted that feedback is regularly given by bus operators on their uniforms.

8. Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Mr Berghofer for his informative presentation.



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 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor COOPER:

Councillor COOPER.

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chair. So at committee last week we had a development application come forward. This is an application for 2, 4 and 6

Land Street, Toowong for multi-unit dwellings with 119 units and a restaurant on a site that is zoned high density, under the Toowong Auchenflower

Neighbourhood Plan in the Regatta Riverside precinct. The site is made up of three lots of about 1,900 square metres fronting Land Street abutting the Ipswich rail line to the rear. This is an impact assessable application and was lodged on

6 January 2014.

As you saw at committee the application came in higher at 15 storeys than what it was finally approved, with less setbacks and a podium at five storeys including ground level. Council officers issued an information request requesting the applicant reviews both the number of storeys and the podium.

They also sought further engineering information about how the coffee shop would be flood immune and how activation would occur along Land Street.

The applicant did revise their application, reduced the proposal from 15 storeys to 13 storeys, the thirteenth storey being a mezzanine. Then there were some changes to the boundary setbacks and street activation provided through extensive landscaping at the front of Land Street, as well as car parks at the back of the site next to the rail line. The site is actually—and we discussed it at


Acting Chairman:

Councillor ABRAHAMS:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor HOWARD:

- 40 - committee—a parallelogram, so it is an unusual shape. It did experience river flooding in January 2011, which was a really significant factor in the Council officer's assessment.

The specific conditions in place for a flood risk management plan so that the site operates to the required flood immunity and the development meets the defined flood level. So there's a 6.5 metre requirement for residential and four metres for commercial relating to the coffee shop so those are the minimums with the residential at seven metres. So the electrical plant sits at seven metres with cars having to go up a ramp to access parking with the very lowest entry point being

6.8 metres going up to nine—sorry seven metres on entering the car park.

It's very well located in terms of public transport with the CityCat terminal nearby, and certainly the one also under construction at Park Road, facilities include, of course, Wesley Hospital, not far also from UQ (University of

Queensland). I note that Councillor KNAPP has some very fond memories of the Regatta. I think she mentioned partaking of a shandy a time or two in the local area and this will give an opportunity to grab a coffee perhaps if she might choose to, Madam Acting Chair. Certainly it will be a great focal point for the community for both residents, locals and those who are very keen bike riders, will certainly have that other opportunity that will be delivered as a consequence of this development.

So it will create jobs in our city but it will also I think really benefit to add to that activation at ground level. So there is car parking that's being provided, it also includes bike spaces. They all meet acceptable solutions. It was referred to the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, of course, due to the location next to the rail line. There were no submissions received on this application and this one is supported by the local councillor. This is a

$25 million investment in our city and certainly very much in line with the award-winning neighbourhood planning process with the Toowong

Auchenflower Neighbourhood Plan that dealt with this particular area.

This is a site that is appropriate for this high density. It's surrounded by similar height buildings. It was, and this was quite remarkable, it was unanimously supported at the committee so an unusual one. So I think this is the first time the

Australian Labor Party in two years have actually supported an application on this side of the river. So I would like to thank the assessment manager who gave the presentation to the committee. It was certainly, it was the first time she presented to committee so congratulations to her, she did a great job. I'd particularly like to thank the City West team for their hard work on the application. Thank you.

Further debate? Councillor ABRAHAMS.

Madam Acting Chair, very quickly, Labor councillors will be supporting this recommendation and accept the summary that was given by Councillor

COOPER, the Chair. I just draw attention to the fact that there is one level of car podium parking. This is something that the councillors on this side of the

Chamber give careful attention to as it is in our opinion not the preferred solution, but accepted that it was necessary because of the flood capacity but more importantly the proximity to the railway line which was a compromising factor in this development. Thank you.

Further debate? Councillor HOWARD.

Thank you, Madam Acting Chairman. I rise to speak to this item, Item A.

Councillors will have heard me speak many times in this place about activity within the Valley but I'm pleased to rise to talk briefly on the activity in

Toowong in Councillor MATIC's absence. I'm pleased to talk on

Councillor MATIC's behalf because I know he's excited and encouraged by this intended mixed-use development at Land Street, Toowong. The proposal for the

119 units, coffee shop and other facilities as outlined in point three, Madam

Acting Chairman, dovetail very well with our plans in the area to deliver needed activity in the Regatta Riverside precinct of the Toowong Auchenflower

Neighbourhood Plan, a relatively recent plan that was adopted in February 2012.


Acting Chairman:


- 41 -

This development application is reflective of that planning and that was actioned with the local community; a community that I understand is supportive of this sort of development. The community is supportive because they know, as do we, that it is important to keep planning for this sort of development in areas that can handle the extra residents. It's an area that is extremely close to rail, bus and ferry public transport options and an area that sits amongst various active and passive community spaces and sporting opportunities including Wests Rugby, the State league facilities of McIlwraith Croquet, the important link that is the

Bicentennial Bikeway to UQ and the city.

It's a stone's throw away from what will be the flagship facility of the new

Frew Park Tennis Centre and within a few hundred metres of Toowong shopping centre with their $50 million upgrade and our fantastic BCC library.

Madam Acting Chairman, as point two states this is a high density residential. I know they experienced flooding in 2011, but I am reassured by the statements in point 5, particularly where it states that a flood management plan has been conditioned to ensure the site operates to flood immunity into the future.

So I am comfortable that the proposal has had its flooding matters dealt with by the conditions. Thirteen storeys, 119 units, 143 car parks and 28 bicycle spaces are part of the proposal. But it's not only these private spaces, Madam Acting

Chairman, but importantly the coffee shop at street level which will really activate the frontage for everybody. For many years now this Administration's neighbourhood planning program has been breathing new life into our city. This is the sort of development we need in Brisbane, Madam Acting Chairman.

It's great to see this type of building, the investment, the confidence in the

Toowong area and I thank the Council officer, as Councillor COOPER said it was her first time to present to the committee, and her team for their impressive work on this application. I commend it to the Chamber.


Yes just briefly, Madam Acting Chairman, far from being reassured by what I've heard from the speakers with respect to Item A, I am concerned. I'll just state very briefly the reasons for that concern. Firstly from what I understand this is a

15 storey proposal that’s been reduced to 13 storeys, and includes 119 units. If I recall correctly the neighbourhood plan for this area recommended 10 storeys as the appropriate height level. Madam Acting Chairman, what I have a concern with is it's only a couple of years ago that a neighbourhood plan was put into place for this area with a maximum height level that was done in consultation with the community.

Now Councillor COOPER may be right that this is what the community expect, but their expectation was based around this Council's commitment to them that

10 storeys was the appropriate height limit in this area. To see something go quite well beyond that is symptomatic of what is happening and what is being approved under this Administration right around the city, which is that both the local plans and the city plans are being ignored in favour of developers who are seeking increasingly higher and bulkier buildings on individual sites around the city. This one seems to be an example of that.

Secondly, I am extremely concerned about the impact of flooding on this site. It is well known this part of the city floods. I am not reassured by the fact that there is a flood risk management plan. Madam Acting Chairman, I am sure that when this site floods in future, which it will at some point—it will—that the devastation that is caused to those unit owners in that property, it will be of very, very little recourse to them that Councillor HOWARD and Councillor COOPER stood up, and Councillor ABRAHAMS stood up, and said it's all okay here because we've got a flood plan.

It's not enough. It should be, Madam Acting Chairman that we should be more carefully looking at what is appropriate for building in areas that flood so substantially here. I have real concern that the people who will wear the outcome of bad planning decisions, particularly around flooding, are the residents who will live there in the future and Councillor COOPER particularly


- 42 -

Acting Chairman:

Councillor COOPER: will be long gone. Hopefully, there will be someone who remembers her promises that it will be all hunky-dory here in future.

Finally, with the development of this site I think there isn't enough car-parking that's being proposed. I would certainly be concerned, particularly in an area where on-street parking is extremely limited and also in such high demand by the surrounding uses like the hospital, the shops, the hotels, that this should have been an example of higher levels of parking that should have been required. So I have some very serious reservations about this proposal but I note that it will be approved today because it's supported by the LNP and the ALP councillors.

Further debate? Councillor COOPER.

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chair. I thank the councillors who have commented on this particular application. I would like to respond to a couple of points that were made. Certainly, Councillor ABRAHAMS raised an issue with podium car parking. There were actually two levels of basement car parking proposed on the site and I note we actually discussed it at committee last week that there is a need, particularly on this site to limit excavation due to a relatively shallow water table. So there's a specific issue on that site and certainly that has driven an outcome there.

But also just to be very clear, this proposal actually has an active podium so that podium is certainly, there's a great design element to it but it actually has residential uses sitting at the front there so you will not see car parking in that particular podium. It's all pushed to the rear where it is adjacent obviously to the rail line. So that's been something that's been a great outcome. It really improves the street activation and buffers in fact the impact of the rail line at the rear.

Also I note that in that particular vicinity there are a number of other developments that have been approved quite some time ago. The majority of those actually feature quite dominant car-parking podiums that were approved certainly not under this Administration but in the past that has been approved in the area. We think that this particular proposal is a great outcome. Also in relation to commentary about saying that this height is excessive, I note that there are a whole range of buildings surrounding this site which are 11 and

12 storeys so this is very much in-line with what the community's expectation is under a performance based planning scheme.

In relation to the matter of flooding, this is a site that is affected by Brisbane

River flooding so very low frequency and there is a quite adequate amount of time for warning. So over 24 hours potentially up to 48 hours warning time so that greatly reduces flood risk. I would suggest that there's a whole range of measures that are being put in place. It's not just one solution. There is a whole range of things that are being put in place to actually protect this site from the event of flooding.

But our city, Madam Acting Chair, as you are well aware is a city that floods.

That doesn't mean that we should all move to the top of Mount Coot-tha because there is a potential that we could be affected by floods. Because I would suggest that our city would be a pretty terrible place if we didn't actually embrace the river, if we didn't have some of the beautiful suburbs that we have that are very closely connected to our waterways, and that we actually address those sorts of issues. We actually find solutions, Madam Acting Chair, instead of burying our heads in the sand and saying we should all flee to the hills rather than embrace our city and make sure our city is a great one for now and many years to come.

So I thank those who have made some sensible comments. It's a great application and we're very happy to support this proposal. Thank you.

Acting Chairman: I will now put the report.

Upon being submitted to the Chamber by the Acting Chairman, the motion for the adoption of the report of the

Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment Committee was declared carried on the voices.


4.

5.




- 43 -

ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Amanda Cooper (Chairman), Councillor Vicki Howard (Deputy Chairman), and

Councillors Helen Abrahams, Geraldine Knapp, Shayne Sutton and Andrew Wines.

A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) UNDER

SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009 – MULTI-UNIT DWELLING

(119 UNITS) AND RESTAURANT (COFFEE SHOP) – 2 TO 6 LAND STREET,

TOOWONG – COATARK SUPERANNUATION FUND

A003775550

749/2013-14

1. The Acting Team Leader, Development Assessment City West, Development Assessment

Branch, City Planning and Sustainability Division, reports that a properly made development application (distributor-retailer) has been submitted by CS Development Group Pty Ltd, on behalf of Coatark Superannuation Fund, on 16 December 2013, as follows:

Development aspects: Carrying out building work (preliminary approval)

Material change of use (development permit)

General description of proposal:

Multi-unit dwelling (119 units) and restaurant (coffee shop)

Land in the ownership of: Coatark Superannuation Fund

Address of the site:

Described as:

Containing an area of:

2, 4 and 6 Land Street, Toowong

Lot 10 on RP51439

Lot 9 on RP51439

Lot 11 on RP52767

Part Lot 0 on SP144815 (easement A in common property)

1,915 square metres.

2.

3.

6.

The subject application is over land currently included in the High Density Residential Area under the Brisbane City Plan 2000 (City Plan) and is within the Regatta Riverside Precinct of the Toowong-Auchenflower Neighbourhood Plan. The site is currently vacant land (2 to

4 Land Street) and is occupied by a house not in a Demolition Control Precinct (at 6 Land

Street).

This impact assessable application was properly made on 6 January 2014 and is for a

13-storey building with gross floor area (GFA) of 8,484 square metres for the purposes of multi-unit dwelling (119 units) and restaurant (123 square metres).

The site has single frontage to Land Street and is abutted at the rear by the Ipswich railway line.

The site flooded in the Brisbane River 2011 flood event. The Defined Flood Level is

RL (reduced level) 6.5 metres for residential and RL4 metres for commercial land uses. The proposal meets flood immunity levels and a Flood Risk Management Plan has been conditioned to ensure the site operates to flood immunity into the future.

Two levels of basement car parking are proposed. The ground level will consist of a coffee shop, and landscaping fronting Land Street and ground level car parking at the rear of the site abutting the railway line. The level one podium contains both visitor and resident car parking and a lift lobby. The level two and three podiums contain residential units with the level two


- 44 - podium also including an outdoor swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna and manager’s office.

A total of 143 car parking spaces, 28 bicycle spaces and three motorcycle spaces are provided, meeting the acceptable solution.

7. Vehicular access to the site is via Land Street via two crossovers: one for resident/visitor access and the other for service and refuse vehicle manoeuvring. The service vehicle access point will utilise part of an existing access easement that is shared with the adjoining site at

8 Land Street.

8. The application was subject to impact assessment and therefore was required to be publicly notified. No submissions were received.

9. The application triggered referral to the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and

Planning (State Assessment and Referral Agency) as a concurrence agency.

10. The Councillor for the Toowong Ward, Councillor Peter Matic, supports the proposal.

11. The proposal generally complies with relevant provisions of the City Plan , including the

Desired Environmental Outcomes, the Toowong Auchenflower Neighbourhood Plan Code,

Residential Design – High Density Code, Centre Design Code and the Centre Amenity and

Performance Code.

12. The Acting Team Leader advises that relevant reports have been obtained to address the assessment criteria and decision process prescribed by the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 outlining appropriate developmental requirements.

13. The Acting Team Leader recommends that the application be approved, subject to the approved plans and conditions included in the Development Approval Package submitted and marked Attachment A, and the Committee agrees unanimously.


(i) That it be and is hereby resolved that whereas—

(a) A development application (distributor-retailer) was properly made on

6 January 2014 to the Council pursuant to section 260 of the Sustainable

Planning Act 2009 , as follows:

Development Aspects:


Carrying out building work (preliminary approval)


Multi-unit dwelling (119 units) and restaurant

(coffee shop)

Land in the ownership of: Coatark Superannuation Fund

Address of the site: 2, 4 and 6 Land Street, Toowong

Described as:


Lot 10 on RP51439

Lot 9 on RP51439

Lot 11 on RP52767

Part Lot 0 on SP144815 (easement A in common property)


(b) The Council is required to assess the application pursuant to Chapter 9


- 45 -

Part 7A and section 314 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, and decide the application under sections 324 of the Act; the Council—

(c) Upon consideration of the application and those matters set forth in sections

314 and 324 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 relevant to the application considers that: i. the site is within the Urban Footprint of the South East Queensland

Regional Plan 2009-2031, and the use is consistent with an Urban ii.

Activity and the proposal is consistent with the Brisbane City Plan

2000 ; the proposal advances the intent and development principles of the

Toowong-Auchenflower Neighbourhood Plan , in particular the

Regatta Riverside Precinct; iii. the proposal will not create adverse amenity impacts on the iv. surrounding area; and the development can be accommodated within the existing essential infrastructure networks.

(d) Accordingly considers that were reasonable and relevant conditions imposed on the development, it would be appropriate that the proposed development be carried out on the subject land;

(e) Issue Brisbane City Council Adopted Infrastructure Charges Notices for the development pursuant to the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and Brisbane

Adopted Infrastructure Charges Resolution (No.3) 2013 , for the transport, community purposes and stormwater trunk infrastructure networks;

(ii) Whereas the Council determines as in (i) hereof, THE COUNCIL APPROVES

THE DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) referred to above, subject to the conditions in the Development Approval Package, submitted and marked Attachment A, and will:

(a) Notify the applicant of this decision and issue the applicant the Adopted

Infrastructure Charges Notices;

(b) Notify the Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer Authority of the decision and provide the authority with a copy of the Infrastructure Charges Notices;

(c) Notify the Councillor for the Ward of Toowong, Councillor Peter Matic, of this decision; and

(d) Notify the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning of the decision.

ADOPTED

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT

COMMITTEE (Special meeting)

Councillor Amanda COOPER, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment

Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor Vicki HOWARD, that the report of the special meeting of that

Committee held on 17 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor COOPER:

Councillor COOPER.

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chair. There are two Items on the agenda of the committee today. So the first being basically the preliminary approval and the second being an application for an aged care use so that's the existing building. So Items A and B form part of the report here today. The preliminary approval is actually for residential development and reconfiguring the lot, the


- 46 - second of course being that material change of use for the aged care accommodation.

So this site was a former TAFE site. I believe it started in 1972 and it was then the Griffith University College of Art. I've done a bit of digging into history, we discussed it this morning. It was then the main campus for the South Bank

Institute of Technology before being put on the former State Government surplus land register. Councillor SUTTON said this morning that she was a student activities coordinator there so she knows the site pretty well and probably took a bit of trip down memory lane in our discussions this morning.

We spent nearly an hour I think looking at this application. There's a lot to it.

This was actually an exclusive deal originally proposed for Brisbane Housing

Company in 2009 but that deal did not go ahead. Then in 2011 the former State

Government put this land out to tender, and in 2012 the Heron Building Group were announced as the successful tenderer. I believe they undertook community consultation. I think they actually advertised in the South-East Advertiser , invited residents along to an open day to talk to them about the proposal. So these applications are treated as the highest level of assessment so impact assessable.

The site is zoned community use so it will form one of the precincts for the

River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan. It's a very significant site at just over nine hectares and the preliminary approval application was lodged in August 2012 and the application for aged care in October 2012. The preliminary approval went out for 30 business days notification and the aged care for 15 business days. There were 261 submissions, 239 of those were formal, 22 not properly made, as well as one petition with 30 signatures.

As we heard at committee this morning issues were about traffic, parking, height, protection of vegetation and community use including for aged care. The application for aged care received one submission which is the same petition as the preliminary approval. Both applications triggered referral to the Department of Transport and Main Roads and they imposed conditions on each application as a consequence. Officers actually took the submissions of course into account but they also considered the River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan because they were able to give weight to it under the Sustainable Planning Act, as the DA was not actually in the decision stage when the neighbourhood plan was adopted.

So that allowed the opportunity to consider those issues that were raised under the neighbourhood plan. So the issue of traffic was one that was raised by the community. There was a realignment of the intersection at Clearview Terrace, as well as two new roads being created. The great outcome and I note that

Councillor SUTTON was very excited to hear that she's going to be getting a community hub. So this is going to, as part of the preliminary approval, include the transfer of over 6,000 square metres of land with the existing building for use as a community hub and a car-park with a minimum parking of 50 spaces.

Councillor KNAPP is already checking her social diary to see if she, as a keen theatre fan, will be able to come along and see the Villanova Players perform.

She certainly will be, I'm sure, car sharing to get there. I know that she's a keen advocate. So the amphitheatre will be for the exclusive use by Council.

Councillor ADAMS has already taken up the challenge of working with those groups, such as the Villanova Players, and other community groups about how they might use that space once that is handed to Council.

Local residents will also see a new park, 2,500 square metres of it, as well as the dedication of 1.1 hectares of bushland which will be rehabilitated with pedestrian parkway linking through to D'Arcy Road, as well as a 10-metre wide buffer at the north east end of the site. So there are 19 stages within the preliminary approval, a lot of specific provisions put in place. So it largely sits to balance up those existing uses around the site and steps up with greater height toward the middle of the site.

There's a specific limit that has been placed on Precinct J, Councillor SUTTON was concerned about the impact of the proposal because they had proposed three


Acting Chairman:

Councillor SUTTON:

- 47 - storeys and she was concerned about the impact on the adjacent two storey development. So there has been specific provision put in place to limit any development of three storeys to be 10 metres from that lot. That, of course, is something that has been able to be put in place as part of this proposal. I think that was condition 4, that's off the top of my head.

So Councillor KNAPP was very positive about the aged care application that was much appreciated. This will deliver 142 beds. There will be 17 secure high care beds—I note this commentary is trying to suggest that Councillor KNAPP is not welcome, I'm sure that's just in jest—18 secure low care beds, 36 extra service high-care beds and 71 low-care beds. There will be car-parking provided for the aged care, 53 car parks which meet the acceptable solutions.

Trees on the site were also raised by submitters. Council officers have specifically put conditions in place so significant replanting will have to occur, including 108 trees of advanced stock. So I think they are 45 litre trees that will be delivered. So they'll be about two metres in height. There also were some trees that are dead and need to be removed so there will be replacements that are put in place as a consequence. This is a $200 million development so a very significant vote of confidence for our city.

It was disappointing that, of course, I think earlier there were suggestions by

Councillor SUTTON that it would be nice for this whole site to come over for community use, but that was a decision made by the former State Government, certainly through the neighbourhood planning process and through the development assessment. I think that the issues that the community have raised have been very carefully addressed and the outcomes are going to really be greatly beneficial to the local community.

So I'd particularly like to thank the officers for their hard work and very professional presentation this morning. Certainly there was a very substantial bundle of conditions that these applications have actually got. So thank you for their hard work and effort. I think this is going to really add a huge benefit to local community with the assets it will bring, certainly that bushland, the new park, all those facilities and an opportunity for people to age in place in their community over the years to come. Thank you.

Further debate? Councillor SUTTON.

Thanks, Madam Acting Chair, I rise to speak on both of these development applications that have come to us for consideration today. I guess when the State

Government announced back in 2009 that it was going to sell this site, with a shudder, I immediately determined that what we had to do was get the best possible outcome for Seven Hills and the Seven Hills residents when this site was eventually redeveloped. I never wanted the whole site to go over to community use, just to correct the record. I always knew that this was going to be a predominantly residential development but I did always want F block as community-use right from the outset.

So over the past five years we, the Seven Hills community, and part of the

Morningside community and myself as the local councillor, have worked together as a community to ensure Council really did clearly hear our views about what we wanted to see happen on that site. Those views were first incorporated into the River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan. I will always be grateful for the fact that we were able to get those provisions into the River

Gateway Neighbourhood Plan because in a planning sense I knew that that was extremely important. So right back then we galvanised the community to put submissions into that plan. So Council was clear about what residents wanted to see.

I'm really proud of the work that we have done as a community. I want to thank all of the residents who have worked with me: one on one, who lodged submissions, who signed and collected signatures for petitions and attended community meetings, so that Seven Hills wasn't left with a development that takes away more from our community than it contributes to it. As a result, we have this development application here today.


- 48 -

We see that what it includes is the retention of 1.1 hectares of the existing bushland, 2,500 square metres for a new local park, a permanent home for the

Villanova Players Theatre Group in the existing theatre building, and

6,200 square metres for the establishment of an integrated community hub with a 50 space car park in the theatre building, F block, for use by the community.

I guess, where do those things come from? How did we actually get to that? I want to actually acknowledge the work of the Brisbane Housing Company in this because prior to the site being sold on the open market by a tender by the

State Government to Heron, Brisbane Housing Company expressed an interest in the site and did a lot of community development work. With representatives of the Brisbane Housing Company, myself, I want to acknowledge Leonie Lea and Eris Jolly, two passionate advocates of native vegetation in our local area and Wayne Cameron of B4C (Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating

Committee).

We actually walked around that site with the then-owners of the site, representatives of the South Bank TAFE, we actually walked around the site.

We tied a ribbon around all the significant trees that we really wanted to make sure were kept as part of this development application to really make sure that we had a clear understanding of what we wanted from vegetation. It was actually Brisbane Housing Company. As part of that meeting when we walked around the land; it's when we decided that we absolutely had to protect that 1.1 hectares of bushland and it was actually Brisbane Housing Company that came up with the size of the park initially.

They had two options that they put to the community, one was for a slightly smaller park and one was for the bigger park. Of course the community chose the bigger park as you would expect them to do. Again with members of the community, including Michelle Morrissey from the Seven Hills State School and the Seven Hills State School P&C talked about the need to retain F block as a community space. Also Ray and Marie Kinnie from the local neighbourhood watch who highlighted to me as the councillor and to everyone involved that in the entire area—their entire neighbourhood watch area—there was not a community meeting space for them to meet.

There was no church hall. There was no community space that they had access to, to hold their neighbourhood watch meetings in. So they had to hold their neighbourhood watch meetings outside of their area. So that highlighted for us the reasons why all of these things were important to secure. So I'm very, very grateful that so much work has gone into this to ensure that we have those deliverables for our community. While they are significant wins for the Seven

Hills community they do come at some cost including extra density and increased local traffic.

Councillor COOPER has already alluded to the fact that the increased traffic is a big issue for residents. I have to say that when you talk to people about the

TAFE, their number 1 concern is the amount of traffic that will be experienced.

The traffic report produced by Heron indicates that an additional 2,700 vehicles per day can be expected in the streets of Seven Hills and the broader community as a result of this development application. That is something that is going to need to be effectively managed and catered for in future.

In view of that, I have already been working with the local transport and traffic officers. We have already seen Stage 1 of a local area traffic management plan, implemented along Clearview Terrace and Wickham Street, in view of this coming. But even with that included an additional 2,700 vehicles in this particular area per day is going to be a lot to manage.

I also remain concerned about the total density, 400 additional units. I think there are just under 900 households in Seven Hills at the moment so we are effectively increasing the number of dwellings by another 50 per cent in

Seven Hills and that's significant. I know Seven Hills will experience a degree of infill over the coming years but still in one development application that is significant and there will be substantial growing pains from that.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor KNAPP:

- 49 -

But this is where Council needs to step up and also deliver on its infrastructure.

If I can, I'm sure Councillor COOPER won't mind right now me putting in an additional plug for the Seven Hills SCIP (Suburban Centre Improvement

Project) now that we're going to have all of these extra people moving into this area. We are going to need to make sure it can cater for the demands of those new residents and for the existing residents as well.

I was also concerned about the number of trees to be removed. Significantly, there is a significant amount of vegetation to be removed along the Clearview

Terrace frontage of the site. I do think that's excessive. I would have liked to see more existing vegetation retained, particularly along the Clearview Terrace frontage. I acknowledge that the 153 native trees that will be removed will be replaced by 351 new trees. They will be of a variety of sizes with 118 of those being semi-mature 45 litre trees.

Look I'm not over the moon about that. I would prefer, as I said I would have preferred to see more vegetation kept, particularly to screen the five storey development. However, on balance and all things being considered, I think that as I said earlier, this is a development that does give more to the community than it takes away. But I, as the local councillor, I will continue to lobby for future infrastructure and I will proactively monitor and work on future stages of this development because there are going to be more development applications on this site into the future.

But I will also be coming to each of the chairs with budget requests to ensure that we can actually cater for the growing needs of this suburb. From a transport and traffic perspective that's going to be really important. From an economic development/Seven Hills SCIP perspective it's going to be very important. From a Public and Active Transport perspective it's going to be very important as well. I will continue to be a strong advocate for the Seven Hills residents, existing and new residents into the future on these matters.

Further debate? Councillor KNAPP.

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair. Madam Acting Chair, I rise to speak in relation to both A and B. Second to B, what I like about this whole site is that the developers actually managed to maintain and keep some of the existing buildings, particularly the building that is going to be the nursing home. It shows that there were buildings built by Education Queensland and TAFE, and I've got

Ithaca TAFE, where some of those buildings were really well built, very strong sturdy buildings that are capable of being renewed in a different form, particularly for nursing.

Councillor SUTTON said this morning and I concur there is a great need for nursing places. Now that's not independent living because there are a lot of retirement villages. We talked this morning about down at Carina and

Councillor MURPHY's area, the Blue Care or retirement village, which has got two stages now, they don’t have three stages. It is important as part of the

LORD MAYOR's taskforce that we have aging in place. I think that the interesting thing about nursing homes is that a lot of people don't go into nursing.

A lot of aged people move into either assisted accommodation or into units or quite happily live in their own homes but those who are very frail, people who have had strokes, people who have dementia need to be catered for in nursing homes. So I think that the outcome in relation to (a) reusing the building, (b) I'm looking at the landscaping plans in relation to it. It's a fantastic outcome for that community through there.

In relation to the subdivision and the uses of the site through there I think there's been some—I'd like to congratulate the officers because I'm looking at the landscape plan. I like actually watching, going on PD Online; it’s amazing reading through what you get. This is a very comprehensive landscape plan that's been put in place by the developers. I think that the work has been done to mitigate the community's concerns, particularly in Clearview Terrace, where


- 50 - there are 12 single houses, stand-alone houses that reflect the housing that sits opposite from Clearview Terrace.

As you come up to Foxton Street there are townhouses. Now they're still of the dimension of two storeys, they're not four storeys, five storeys so they interface with Foxton Street. Of course, down the end of Foxton Street and through to

Perrin Drive there are a series of townhouses that are sitting too down through there so there's a mixture in relation to it. So it's important to understand that the townhouses and I understand that there are 12 standalone houses and there are

129 multi-unit dwellings which include about, I've counted them, about

60 townhouses—attached townhouses.

There are a lot of people who like living in townhouses and the provisions being made with the landscaping to make sure that they also have some space within the living of the townhouses. So there are private roads where you can actually park, you can have visitors in front of the townhouses, both at Foxton Street and down on the other end of D'Arcy Road. It's very clever. It's worthwhile and I applaud the community for actually driving, along with the councillor, I think that we all do it, driving the outcomes in relation—does everyone like it? Well perhaps not but the reality is that site is a critical site that allows for lots of activities on it.

It's important to have a mix of housing. It would have been futile and stupid to say we just want it totally for low density residential. That doesn't cut it anymore. There are a lot of people who do like living in townhouses and the concept of them devaluing my property values doesn't really cut it anymore because you can buy a townhouse that's $800,000 particularly in that area. If I was a developer I'd be actually doing that. So I think that the outcomes of the landscaping plan—and I love the way that they're also going to use the existing buildings up closer to Foxton Street which back onto whatever the drive I said was, Perrin Drive, that they're going to reuse those buildings for multi-unit dwellings. They will also be recycled.

So it's a great example of how you can actually use the existing so there's not a great plunder and burn on this site. The buildings on the site by and large except for on the corner of Clearview Terrace and Foxton Street where they have been pulled down, but there are existing buildings that are going to be renewed and turned into places where once it was a place of learning, it's now going to be a community of people that live in this Seven Hills precinct that they'll call something of themselves. They'll form a community in relation to it.

The roads within it, the fact that there is a park, the fact that they've kept the bushland is fabulous. I think the best outcome is in relation to the theatre and there's an amazing outdoor amphitheatre. You can see it—everyone knows I love nearmap; I look at nearmap all the time because you can chart changes all over the place. It will be a great outcome for the Villanova Players but for other people because Villanova Players don't put on productions every week. They're not like QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Centre). They're all amateurs and some of my friends have been part of Villanova Players.

I think that in the interim it is a place that can be used by people to put on concerts. There is a huge need for musicians and people too who want to go and have a community orchestra to go and perform. You don't need more than about

300 places because families turn up and cheer on everybody and it's a terrific place. I'm envious I have to say, I would love to have something like this. I think the interface with the Seven Hills School has also been done really well. I do have a TAFE site, Madam Acting Chair, and that TAFE site is going to be developed.

Already it's got a ‘Hear and Say’ on it and we're looking at when the State

Government eventually decides that it will no longer be operational, what will be the outcomes in relation to that site. It's not as big a this site but I think that is important that we recognise that when these sites come up it is important to have a mix of housing. That simple low density won't cut it and as I said before I think that the officers and the community have worked in the best outcome for what is really suitable for this site.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor COOPER:

- 51 -

Further debate? Councillor COOPER.

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chair, just to respond to a couple of the comments that were made. I thank the councillors who participated in that particular debate. Just to be clear Councillor KNAPP talked about some sites fronting Clearview Terrace, I believe it is, they will actually be 12 single unit dwellings so those will be very much responding to the housing over the road being two storeys in height. They will retain a number of mature trees but as

Councillor SUTTON remarked some will be lost and there is a requirement for additional planting to be done to respond to that particular issue.

This I think is a great outcome. I thank all of the officers who have been involved in this particular proposal. I think this is a great credit to them and certainly the partnership that they've formed to achieve the outcomes under the neighbourhood plan. Thank you very much.

Acting Chairman: Thank you Councillor COOPER. I will now put this report.

Upon being submitted to the Chamber, the motion for the adoption of the report of the Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment Committee special meeting was declared carried on the voices.




ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Amanda Cooper (Chairman), Councillor Vicki Howard (Deputy Chairman), and

Councillors Helen Abrahams, Geraldine Knapp, Shayne Sutton and Andrew Wines.

A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTER-RETAILER) UNDER

THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009: PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO

VARY THE EFFECT OF THE PLANNING SCHEME (LEVEL OF

ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS),

RECONFIGURATION OF A LOT AND MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE

(SINGLE-UNIT DWELLINGS, MULTI-UNIT DWELLING AND

COMMUNITY FACILITY) – 110 DARCY ROAD, SEVEN HILLS –

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS NO.1 PTY LTD

A003422979

1.

750/2013-14

The Acting Team Manager, Development Assessment Planning Services East, Development

Assessment Branch, City Planning and Sustainability Division, reports that a development application (distributer-retailer) has been submitted by Wolter Consulting Group Pty Ltd, on behalf of Property Developments No.1 Pty Ltd, on 14 August 2012, as follows:

Development Aspects: Preliminary approval to vary the effect of the planning scheme

Building work (preliminary approval)


Reconfiguration of a lot (development permit)

General description of proposal: Subdivision of land

Dedication of park, bushland and community facility

Single-unit dwellings (12 units)

Multi-unit dwelling (129 Units)

Land in the ownership of:

Property Developments No.1 Pty Ltd


110 Darcy Road, Seven Hills

Described as:

Lot 425 on SP 130939 Parish of Bulimba




- 52 -

2. This impact assessable application was properly made on 27 August 2012 and proposes the following components to be developed in stages:

- a preliminary approval to vary the effect of the planning scheme to allow future use for a display dwelling and estate sales office to be exempt development; for future

- home business to be self-assessable; and code assessment of future development applications for house, multi-unit dwelling, single-unit dwellings, shop, indoor sport and recreation where compliant with specified parameters; a development permit for the reconfiguration of a lot to create two new roads,

-

-

- dedicate park and bushland, provision of an integrated community hub with associated carpark and provide for six residential development lots (including a lot for a future house fronting Darcy Road); development permits for the material change of use and associated reconfiguration of a lot for 12 single-unit dwellings fronting Clearview Terrace in two stages of six; development permits for the material change of use for multi-unit dwelling totalling

129 units constructed in seven stages on two of the residential development lots; and development permit for the material change of use for community facility to create an integrated community hub within the existing building (including the theatre complex) and provide for a carpark to service the hub.

3. The subject site has frontages to Foxton Street in the north and Clearview Terrace in the west, a small frontage to Darcy Road in the south, and adjoins the Seven Hills State School to the east.

4. The site is located within the River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan (the Neighbourhood Plan) and is identified as Precinct 2 – Seven Hills TAFE. The Neighbourhood Plan came into effect on 10 May 2013 during the assessment of the application. For the purposes of this application, the Neighbourhood Plan has been given weight in the assessment as allowed by section

317(1) of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 .

5. The proposed development provides for height generally consistent with the provisions of the

Neighbourhood Plan, Precinct 2 – Seven Hills TAFE.

6. Two new roads will be created to service the redeveloped site. The road off Clearview

Terrace will realign the existing main entrance to the site improving the safety of the intersection. The other road is off Foxton Street.

7. The proposal generally complies with relevant provisions of the Brisbane City Plan 2000 , including the River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan and Residential Design – Low-medium

Density Code.

8. The application was subject to impact assessment and a total of 239 properly-made submissions were received.

9. The application was referred to the Department of Transport and Main Roads (as a concurrence agency) which advised in a letter dated 19 November 2013 that it supported the application with conditions.

10. The local Councillor for the Morningside Ward, Councillor Shayne Sutton, provided an email on 7 May 2013, and a further memorandum dated 25 November 2013, outlining concerns relating to the community use building, vegetation removal and building heights in certain areas.

11. Reasonable and relevant conditions for the development have been imposed relating to park dedication, bushland dedication, provision of an integrated community hub, vegetation retention and rehabilitation, and the construction of roads.


- 53 -

12. Associated with this development approval is an executed Infrastructure Agreement between

Council and Heran Building Group Pty Ltd (Heran).

13. The Infrastructure Agreement:

- ensures the provision of non-trunk infrastructure is conditioned as part of the various development permits namely:

-

-

-

-

-

- integrated community hub land and building (including a theatre) and carpark with 50 spaces;

1.1 hectares of existing bushland; and

2,500 square metres for a local park. allows the developer to distribute entitled infrastructure charge discounts for the existing uses on the site across the various stages of the development; provides an offset against the total community purposes infrastructure charges that will be applicable across the various stages of the development; and allows Heran to have exclusive use of 1,270 square metres of the gross floor area of the integrated community hub (including the theatre) building in a shared-use arrangement with Council that will be managed and operated through an agreed

Building Management Statement.

14. 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 outlining appropriate developmental requirements.

15. The Acting Team Manager recommends that the application be approved subject to the approved plans and conditions included in the Development Approval Package submitted and marked Attachment A, and the Infrastructure Agreement – Infrastructure Agreement for

Clearview Urban Village Seven Hills. The Committee agrees with Councillors Helen

Abrahams and Shayne Sutton abstaining.



(a) a development application (distributor-retailer) was properly made on

27 August 2012 to the Council pursuant to section 260 of the Sustainable


Development Aspects: Preliminary approval to vary the effect of the planning scheme





Subdivision of land

Dedication of park, bushland and community facility

Single-unit dwellings (12 units)

Multi-unit dwelling (129 Units)





Described as:





- 54 -

(b) The Council is required to assess the application pursuant to Part 7A

(distributor-retailer) and sections 314 and 316 of the Sustainable Planning Act

2009 , and decide the application under sections 324, 326 and 327 of the Act; the Council—


314, 316, 324, 326 and 327 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 relevant to the application considers that: i. the applicant has demonstrated that the proposal does not cause ii. conflict with the State Planning Policies, Planning Regulatory

Provisions or the Regional Plan; the proposal is consistent with the general intentions for the Brisbane

City Plan 2000 ; iii. the proposal will not detrimentally impact on the amenity of the neighbourhood; iv. v. the proposal provides a tangible community benefit with the provision of parkland, bushland and community facility; the proposal will facilitate Brisbane’s diversity of housing choice and vi. provision of community facilities through the provision of land for residential and compatible non-residential uses through the preliminary approval. The preliminary approval varies the effect of the planning scheme for the material change of use but does not vary the Brisbane City Plan 2000 codes or policies; and representations to all submissions lodged pursuant to the Sustainable

Planning Act 2009 for the proposed development made have been addressed;

(d) Accordingly considers that, having executed the Infrastructure Agreement and if reasonable and relevant conditions were imposed on the development, it would be appropriate that the proposed development be carried out on the subject land;

(e) Issue Brisbane City Council Adopted Infrastructure Charges Notices for the development pursuant to the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and Brisbane

Adopted Infrastructure Charges Resolution (No. 3) 2013, for the transport, community purposes and stormwater trunk infrastructure networks;

(f) Under section 755A of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, Council, on behalf of Queensland Urban Utilities as the Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer

Authority, will issue Adopted Infrastructure Charges Notices for the sewerage and water supply trunk infrastructure networks; and

(ii) whereas the Council determines as in (i) hereof, THE COUNCIL APPROVES THE

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) referred to above subject to the conditions in the Development Approval Package, submitted and marked Attachment A, and the signed Infrastructure Agreement – Infrastructure

Agreement for Clearview Urban Village Seven Hills, 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 it with a copy of the Infrastructure Charges Notices;

(e) notify the Councillor for the Ward of Morningside, Councillor Shayne Sutton, of this decision;


- 55 -

(f) notify the submitters of this decision; and

(g) notify the Department of Transport and Main Roads as a concurrence agency of this decision

ADOPTED

B DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) UNDER

THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009: RECONFIGURATION OF A

LOT (ONE INTO TWO LOTS) AND MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE FOR

MULTI-UNIT DWELLING (AGED CARE FACILITY) – 110 DARCY ROAD,

SEVEN HILLS – PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS NO.1 PTY LTD

A003470228

751/2013-14

17. The Acting Team Manager, Development Assessment Planning Services East, Development

Assessment Branch, City Planning and Sustainability Division, reports that a development application (distributor-retailer) has been submitted by Wolter Consulting Group Pty Ltd, on behalf of Property Developments No.1 Pty Ltd, on 16 October 2012, as follows:







Subdivision of land into two lots

Multi-unit dwelling for aged-care accommodation (142 beds)




Described as:




18. This impact-assessable application was properly made on 31 October 2012 and proposes the following components:

- a development permit for the reconfiguration of a lot to create a new access road into

- the site, subdivide off a lot for the development of the aged-care facility and have a balance lot for future subdivision and development; and a development permit for the material change of use for multi-unit dwelling, being a

142 bed Aged Care Accommodation within an existing building to be renovated and refurbished. The building is located in the south-western corner of the site and has no existing street frontage.

19. The subject site has frontages to Foxton Street in the north and Clearview Terrace in the west, a small frontage to Darcy Road in the south and adjoins Seven Hills State School to the east.

20. The site is located within the River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan (the Neighbourhood Plan) and identified as Precinct 2 – Seven Hills TAFE. The Neighbourhood Plan came into effect on 10 May 2013 during the assessment of the application. For the purposes of this application the Neighbourhood Plan has been given weight in the assessment as allowed by section

317(1) of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 .

21. A new road off Clearview Terrace to provide access to the development will realign the existing main entrance to the site improving the safety of the intersection.

22. The proposal generally complies with relevant provisions of the Brisbane City Plan 2000 , including the River Gateway Neighbourhood Plan and Residential Design – Low-medium

Density Code.


-

- 56 -

23. The application was subject to impact assessment and one properly-made submission (a petition with 30 signatures) was received.

24. The application was referred to the Department of Transport and Main Roads (as a concurrence agency) which advised in a letter dated 19 November 2013 that it supported the application with conditions.

25. The local Councillor for the Morningside Ward, Councillor Shayne Sutton, was notified of the application on 7 November 2012 and on 19 May 2014 indicated, in an email, support for the transition of the existing building to aged care.

26. Reasonable and relevant conditions for the development have been imposed relating to the construction of roads, protection of vegetation and provision of landscaping and carparking.

27. Associated with this development approval is an executed Infrastructure Agreement between

Council and Heran Building Group Pty Ltd (Heran).

28. The Infrastructure Agreement:

- ensures the provision of non-trunk infrastructure conditioned as part of the various development permits namely:

-

- integrated community hub land and building (including a theatre) and carpark with 50 spaces;

- 1.1 hectares of existing bushland; and

- 2,500 square metres for a local park. allows the developer to distribute entitled infrastructure charge discounts for the existing uses on the site across the various stages of the development; provides an offset against the total community purposes infrastructure charges that

- will be applicable across the various stages of the development; and allows Heran to have exclusive use of 1,270 square metres of the gross floor area of the integrated community hub (including a theatre) building in a shared-use arrangement with Council that will be managed and operated through an agreed

Building Management Statement.

29. 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 outlining appropriate developmental requirements.

30. The Acting Team Manager recommends that the application be approved subject to the approved plans and conditions included in the Development Approval Package submitted and marked Attachment A, and the Infrastructure Agreement – Infrastructure Agreement for

Clearview Urban Village Seven Hills. The Committee agrees unanimously.



(a) a development application (distributor-retailer) was properly made on

31 October 2012 to the Council pursuant to section 260 of the Sustainable







Subdivision of land into two lots

Multi-unit dwelling for aged care accommodation (142 beds)


- 57 -





Described as:




(b) The Council is required to assess the application pursuant to Part 7A

(Distributor-Retailer) and section 314 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 , and decide the application under section 324;

The Council—


314 and 324 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 relevant to the application considers that: i. the applicant has demonstrated that the proposal does not cause ii. conflict with the State Planning Policies, Planning Regulatory

Provisions or Regional Plan; the proposal is consistent with the general intentions for the Brisbane

City Plan 2000 ; iii. the proposal will not detrimentally impact on the amenity of the neighbourhood; iv. the proposal provides a tangible community benefit through the provision of aged-care accommodation for the ageing population; v. vi. the proposal will enhance the locality through the re-use of a currently unused building; and representations to all submissions lodged pursuant to the Sustainable

Planning Act 2009 for the proposed development made have been addressed;

(d) Accordingly considers that, having executed the Infrastructure Agreement and if reasonable and relevant conditions were imposed on the development, it would be appropriate that the proposed development to be carried out on the subject land;

(e) Issue Brisbane City Council Adopted Infrastructure Charges Notices for the development pursuant to the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and Brisbane

Adopted Infrastructure Charges Resolution (No. 3) 2013, for the transport, community purposes and stormwater trunk infrastructure networks;

(f) Under section 755A of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 , Council on behalf of Queensland Urban Utilities as the Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer

Authority, will issue Adopted Infrastructure Charges Notices for the sewerage and water supply trunk infrastructure networks; and

(iiiii) whereas the Council determines as in (i) hereof, THE COUNCIL APPROVES THE

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION (DISTRIBUTOR-RETAILER) referred to above subject to the conditions in the Development Approval Package, submitted and marked Attachment A, and the signed Infrastructure Agreement Infrastructure –

Agreement for Clearview Urban Village Seven Hills, 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;


- 58 -

(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 it with a copy of the Infrastructure Charges Notices;

(e) notify the Councillor for the Ward of Morningside, Councillor Shayne Sutton, of this decision;

(f) notify the submitters of this decision; and

(g) notify the Department of Transport and Main Roads as a concurrence agency of this decision

ADOPTED

ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

Councillor Fiona KING, Deputy Chairman of the Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor Ryan MURPHY, that the report of the meeting of that Committee held on 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor NEWTON:

Councillor KING? Any debate? Councillor NEWTON.

Yes thanks very much, Madam Acting Chair. I rise to speak on Item C of this report which is quite a comprehensive petition dealing with three different issues in the one petition. That's calling on Council to improve the awareness signage around the shore birds in the local area on the Sandgate Brighton foreshore, to install no feeding signs at Einbunpin Lagoon and improve maintenance around

Einbunpin Lagoon. Madam Acting Chair, I'm pleased to support the petition response today. As mentioned it does deal with three different topics and I'll talk briefly on each of them.

But having said I do support the petition response, I acknowledge that there is more work that needs to be done because we don't want to lose momentum on these three very important issues. At the outset I'd like to commend the head petitioner Ms Renata Hottmann-Schaefer, who has given me permission to mention her by name in the Council Chamber today. Renata has worked very hard gaining signatures on this particular Item. As you can see there are roughly

120, 130-odd petitioners which might not seem very big but Renata spoke to each and every one of these petitioners to get their support for the items raised in this report.

The thing that really struck Renata, particularly when she was down the beachfront, was how people didn't even understand the term shore bird or wader bird. So it took quite a conversation to indeed raise awareness. So I commend

Renata for her amazing work, not just running around and getting signatures on petitions but the conversations she has been having, and continues to have, in relation to raising awareness about these important birds.

Firstly, I guess I'll deal with the signage first and there are a couple of points here. This particular petition began in October last year. So there have been some achievements since this petition was initiated by Renata and indeed before it was officially submitted, but I guess it has helped provide some impetus in a number of areas. The local foreshores while they're not a roosting ground they're a significant feeding ground for both visiting and resident shore birds that nest nearby in places like Tinchi Tamba and at the Boondall Wetlands, Madam

Acting Chair.

Of course, the migratory shore birds fly thousands of kilometres each year from

Siberia, Alaska, through Japan to here which is quite an amazing achievement.

By the time they get here they're pretty tired and they're only very small creatures. I guess these particular birds are under threat at every stage of the way between their journeys from the northern hemisphere to here and back again. So

Renata was absolutely keen to ensure that Council was doing more to raise awareness and at the time she began this petition there was one sign on the foreshore explaining the significance of these birds as an educational experience.


- 59 -

This was done as part of the foreshore upgrade back about six or seven years ago. Since then a secondary sign has been installed with some observation binoculars up around Rotary Park, which Councillor KNAPP and I attended the official launch of with our visitors from Narashino who help look after these migratory birds on the way. So we're making a step in the right direction.

There's still more to be done but it does note in paragraph 27 there is some work being done on the sharing shorelines proposal to see whether we can find a space where dogs can go, because while they're not allowed to be on the foreshore off the leash currently, that's not the practice.

So we're hoping to find a solution to that, Madam Acting Chair, and hopefully we can get some signage to complement that and do some greater education and enforcement which is part of the proposal that's been currently out to the community for discussion. So I'm excited about that and I'm excited to see there's a commitment in this particular report to doing more awareness raising in terms of the significance of our shore birds, which we have a responsibility to do under the Ramsar agreement that Brisbane City Council is part of.

The second part is about Einbunpin Lagoon. Now many of you in the Chamber have heard me talk about Dowse Lagoon before and Einbunpin Lagoon is another part of the important waterway networks in Sandgate. It was a fresh water supply for both our first people, the Turrbul people who were in that area and through to our early European settlers. Indeed when some work was done de-silting the lagoon some evidence of an old windmill was found that used to pump water to the first European settlers in the area in the 1800s.

Unfortunately, due to urbanisation the beautiful waterhole has become cut off. It relies solely on stormwater runoff and it's like a little duck pond in the middle of

Sandgate so it's really suffering. It has been suffering for some years due to a lack of rainfall as well because it relies on that rainfall for turnover of water.

One of the big problems is a lot of people going down and feeding the ducks. I just wanted to reiterate that it's really important not just to feed the ducks because the people are feeding them bread. They're feeding the bread to the ducks and the other birds and the eels and the turtles.

Not only is the white bread causing the birds huge health problems contributing to Salmonella levels in the lagoon, which are killing the birds, but it's also creating an overpopulation problem. So we've got too many animals pooping in the lagoon. Pardon me—I can't think of a better way to say—but my apologies if

I've offended anyone, Madam Acting Chair. But it's creating quite a stagnant water body so it's really quite important. I've been out talking with local school children about the importance.

But I think sometimes maybe it's people who've been doing it since they've been young children who are now in their eighties who go back and reflect on those fun times as children feeding the animals, that perhaps it's that sort of awareness raising we need to work on. So I'm pleased that since the petition first began we've got new signage there. We've still got a way to go with raising awareness.

The other issue of course was the maintenance program and we were having some serious problems with the maintenance. The poor Parks crew was trying to deal with cleaning up the lagoon and all the other parks in the area. I'm delighted that since Renata initiated this petition we've got regular twice weekly maintenance on the lagoon.

We're also seeing some work being done to introduce bacteria into the lagoon to compete with the algae to try and reduce the food available for the algae so that way it's reducing the algal blooms. That seems to be working but once again,

Madam Acting Chair, I would like to ensure that that funding continues because it is right in the heart of Sandgate. It's where we hold our festivals and gatherings in our community. So it's not pretty to have this stagnant water body in the middle.

So while I support the recommendations I would like to put on the record my recommendation that this will require continued and ongoing maintenance and funding support to assist the officers in achieving that.


Acting Chairman:

- 60 -

Further debate? Councillor McLACHLAN.

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you very much, Madam Acting Chair. I'd just like to rise briefly to speak on Item C, having heard Councillor NEWTON speak passionately about her excitement for the shore birds and the migratory birds and our Ramsar agreement obligations. I'm pleased that she's very keen on protecting our shore birds and hope she will now reject the Labor Party policy of destroying the wetlands through draining them dry as a misguided attempt to control mosquito populations. Thank you, Madam Acting Chair.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor MARX:

Further debate? Councillor MARX.

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair. I also rise to speak on Item C the installation for ‘Do not feed the wildlife’ signs at Einbunpin Lagoon. It would appear from reading the report that signs previously existed, asking people not to feed the wildlife. Unfortunately the feeding continued. The report also states that Council has now replaced those existing signs with new ‘Do not feed the wildlife’ educational signs, to make clear the importance of not feeding the wildlife.

It is clear from research that throwing bread amongst other things into the waterway not only leads to poor health of the wildlife but it also means and increase in waste matter entering our waterways. One of the Council officers

Rachel, I was talking to her about it and she said some of the places she's been to have quite literally, these waterways are literally carpeted with bread. The other thing she mentioned also was obviously to do with the water quality that over nutrients lead to algae blooms from having the bread thrown in there daily.

The reason I'm entering this debate is that I too have a similar issue to this in my ward. I've had residents send me photos of turtles that have been overfeeding on the bread and then their stomachs start to expand and then it's not a good end for the turtle. So I just wanted to bring it to the attention of all the councillors here in the Chamber that as a result of this issue I did write to Councillor

SIMMONDS who, as part of his portfolio, is looking after the Living in

Brisbane brochure that gets sent out to every single resident in the Brisbane City

Council area.

He has agreed that education to the residents on this to Brisbane as a whole would benefit all of our residents, all of our wildlife and will be published in the near future. So I just wanted to make sure that all the councillors on this side and the other side of the Chamber will be happy to see that that education program will be published in the Living in Brisbane magazine. I know that when that comes out in the near future that we will be all handing that out as part of our e-news and to our ward communities because education is certainly the key to this issue. Thank you.

Acting Chairman: Further debate? Councillor KING? I will now put the report.


Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee was declared carried on the voices.

The report as follows



ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Matthew Bourke (Chairman), Councillor Fiona King (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors

Peter Cumming, Kim Flesser, Geraldine Knapp and Ryan Murphy.

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – GREEN HEART FAIR

752/2013-14

1. Cody Grosert, Principal Program Officer – Community Initiatives, Green Community

Initiatives, Major Projects and Asset Coordination Team, Natural Environment Water and

Sustainability Branch, City Planning and Sustainability Division, delivered a presentation on the Green Heart Fair held on Sunday 1 June 2014, at 7 th Brigade Park, Chermside. She provided the information below.


2.

- 61 -

The Green Heart Fair is Brisbane’s premier sustainability event and part of Council’s Green

Heart Community Engagement program. It provides an opportunity to promote initiatives and behaviour that contributes to achieving Brisbane’s environmental goals. It has a major role in demonstrating environmental leadership and showcasing green innovation. The Fair features over 40 leading sustainability organisations and community groups and provides visitors with a free, fun, family-friendly experience.

3. The Green Heart Fair was a great success. It attracted 20,000 attendees and over 3,300 free native plants were given away. An extensive range of Council initiatives were displayed and a

Cycling Brisbane Ride to the Fair was held in conjunction with the event. Engaging presentations were delivered by food experts and local celebrities, providing education and entertainment for all.

4.

5.

-

-

-

-

Community and lifestyle activities showcased at the fair included:

- growing fruits and herbs and ‘Growing local’ workshops

-

-

Eat.Grow.Live cooking demonstrations waste and recycling information invasive species displays cycling displays free native plant giveaways arts and crafts workshops.

-

-

-

-

Fun and educational activities conducted included:

- herb and veggie planting

-

- animal handling composting and worms demonstrations sporting activities appearances by Dirtgirl and Peppa Pig face painting games and storytelling.

6. Council activities and initiatives promoted at the Fair included Cycling Brisbane, Waste

Services, the 25,000 street lights program, Green Heart Schools, Green Heart Wisdom, environment centres, waterway health, Wipe-out Weeds, Brisbane Transport and the free trees program.

7. The fair also provided an opportunity to highlight the Annual Green Heart Schools Showcase

Awards, the Lord Mayor’s Young Environmental Photographer of the Year Awards and the green achievements of community groups and businesses. Photographs of the Fair were displayed throughout the presentation.

8. Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Ms Grosert for her informative presentation.



REPORT.

ADOPTED

B PETITION – REQUESTING THE REMOVAL OF A TREE AT

26 TANGLEWOOD STREET, RUNCORN

CA14/137300

753/2013-14

10. A petition from residents of Runcorn, requesting Council to remove a large Cadagi tree from


- 62 - the footpath at 26 Tanglewood Street, Runcorn, was presented to the meeting of Council held on 18 February 2014, by Councillor Kim Marx, and received.

11. The Executive Manager, Field Services Group, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provided the information below.

12. The petition contains 14 signatures.

13. Council has received several requests about the subject tree since 2008 from two residents of

Tanglewood Street. The reasons given for the removal requests include flower drop, leaf drop, dead branches and damage to the footpath. However, the resident at 26 Tanglewood

Street has always objected to its removal. The resident had also been given a guarantee by the previous ward councillor, Gail MacPherson, that the tree would not be removed.

14.

Officers from Council’s Asset Services South, Roads and Drainage Section, have visited the site on four occasions since 2008. The last inspection resulted in the footpath being repaired in the fourth quarter of 2012-13 financial year at a cost of $927.40. A photograph of the tree is submitted on file.

15. The tree may grow further, but given its present size it will probably not grow much more.

The tree is close to its peak for this species.

16.

Council’s Asset Services South, Arboricultural Tree Inspectors follow Council’s tree inspection process. Inspectors have always considered the health of the tree, nuisance litter which the tree may cause and the risk that the tree may pose. As a result of all inspections requested, Council has determined that the tree should be retained and that ongoing management, including, but not limited to, trimming of the canopy and annual inspections by

Council Arboricultural inspectors, can address nuisance and risk issues.

17. Retaining the Cadagi tree would require continued maintenance on a two to five year cycle, depending on the growth habits of the tree. Asset Services South, Arboriculture section, would also program bi-yearly inspections to assess the health and vigour of the tree.

Funding

18. Works would be carried out under Schedule 582 (Street tree maintenance).

Consultation

19. Councillor Kim Marx, Councillor for Karawatha Ward, has been consulted and supports the recommendation below.

Preferred option

20. It is the preferred option that the petitioners be advised that their request for the removal of the Cadagi tree has been assessed. Council’s tree inspection process considers the health of the tree, nuisance that the tree may cause and the risk that the tree may pose. As a result of the inspection, Council has determined that the tree should be retained and that ongoing management by Council can address nuisance and risk issues.

21. The Executive Manager recommends as follows and the Committee agrees.


That the petitioners be advised that their request for the removal of the Cadagi tree has been assessed. Council’s tree inspection process considers the health of the tree, the nuisance that the tree may cause and the risk that the tree may pose. AS A RESULT OF THE


- 63 -

INSPECTION, COUNCIL HAS DETERMINED THAT THE TREE SHOULD BE

RETAINED AND THAT ONGOING MANAGEMENT BY COUNCIL CAN ADDRESS

NUISANCE AND RISK ISSUES.

ADOPTED

C PETITIONS – CALLING ON COUNCIL TO INSTALL EFFECTIVE SHORE

AND WADER BIRD INTERPRETATIVE SIGNAGE ON THE

SANDGATE/BRIGHTON AND SHORNCLIFFE FORESHORE, INSTALL

‘DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE’ SIGNS AT EINBUNPIN LAGOON, AND

CLEAN UP LITTER AROUND THE LAGOON AS PART OF REGULAR

PARK MAINTENANCE

CA14/98091 and CA14/394586

754/2013-14

23. Two petitions from residents and visitors to the Sandgate area, requesting Council to install better shore and wader bird interpretative signage on the Sandgate/Brighton and Shorncliffe foreshore, ‘Do not feed wildlife’ signs at Einbunpin Lagoon, and also that that Council clean up litter around the lagoon as part of regular park maintenance, especially after events are staged at this location, have been received by Council. Of the two petitions, the ePetition was received during the Summer Recess 2013-14 and the other petition was presented to the meeting of Council on 13 May 2014, by Councillor Victoria Newton.

24. The Executive Manager, Field Services Group, Brisbane Infrastructure Division, provided the information below.

25. The e-Petition contained 36 signatures and the other petition had 189 signatures.

26. Council has recently provided new interpretive wader bird signage at the Brighton Foreshore, at Nineteenth Avenue, Brighton.

27.

The ‘Sharing of Foreshores’ consultation process is underway for the feasibility of providing a beach zone along the Sandgate/Brighton Foreshores for a dog-off leash area. The Councillor for Deagon Ward, Councillor Victoria Newton, is involved in the consultation process. Any new interpretive wader bird signage that is proposed for the Sandgate/Brighton Foreshores would need to work with the ‘Sharing of Foreshores’ agreement. Therefore it is recommended that, before any more signage is provided, the outcome of the Sharing of Foreshores consultation needs to be understood.

28. Einbunpin Lagoon is located in the central Sandgate business area, and there are many contributing factors and complexities with management of the water body. There is an ongoing problem with the public overfeeding wildlife in Einbunpin Lagoon with bread. This increases the volume of waste matter entering the lagoon and is not the natural diet of aquatic wildlife. This activity leads to poor health of wildlife in the lagoon.

29. Signs have been provided at Einbunpin Lagoon to educate people to not feed the wildlife, but unfortunately feeding appears to be continuing. Council has replaced the existing signs at

Einbunpin Lagoon with new ‘Do not feed wildlife’ educational signs to make clearer the importance of not feeding the wildlife.

30. In recent times, a lack of rain and lack of regular flushing of the lagoon have also contributed to water quality issues. Measures have been put in place to reduce algal bloom, and the existing aerators in the lagoon were upgraded in May this year using Parks capital funding.

31. Council has worked to provide a more frequent maintenance program for Einbunpin Lagoon.

This program has commenced, resulting in a marked improvement to the lagoon and its surrounds. Extra services are funded from the Parks lakes budget, including twice-weekly visits for rubbish removal and fortnightly water testing for algae levels.


- 64 -

32. Council staff removed a shopping trolley from the lagoon some time ago and have addressed the issue of litter and grass clippings being blown into the lagoon.

Funding

33. Recurrent funding will be required to fund the signage upgrades. Additional maintenance and litter pickup at Einbunpin Lagoon is funded from the Lakes in Parks budget, schedule 257.

Consultation

34. Councillor Newton has been consulted and supports the recommendation below.

Customer impact

35. Additional signage will provide the public with better education.

Preferred options

36. It is the preferred option that the petitioners be advised that Council has recently provided interpretive wader bird signage at Nineteenth Avenue, Brighton Foreshore. Council has also replaced the existing signs at Einbunpin Lagoon with new ‘Do not feed wildlife’ educational signs and will continue with an increased level of service to maintain and remove litter from the lagoon. Council has removed a shopping trolley from Einbunpin Lagoon, upgraded the aerators and also addressed the issue of Council staff blowing grass and litter into the lagoon.

37. The Executive Manager submits the following recommendation with which the Committee agrees.


THAT THE PETITIONERS BE ADVISED THAT COUNCIL HAS RECENTLY

PROVIDED INTERPRETIVE WADER BIRD SIGNAGE AT NINETEENTH

AVENUE, BRIGHTON FORESHORE. COUNCIL HAS REPLACED THE EXISTING

SIGNS AT EINBUNPIN LAGOON WITH NEW ‘DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE’

EDUCATIONAL SIGNS, AND WILL CONTINUE WITH AN INCREASED LEVEL

OF SERVICE TO MAINTAIN AND REMOVE LITTER FROM THE LAGOON.

COUNCIL HAS REMOVED A SHOPPING TROLLEY FROM EINBUNPIN

LAGOON, UPGRADED THE AERATORS AND ALSO ADDRESSED THE ISSUE OF

COUNCIL STAFF BLOWING GRASS AND LITTER INTO THE LAGOON.

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 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman: Councillor McLACHLAN.

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Acting Chair. Just briefly before I get to the Item before us at Item A, I'd just like to let the Chamber know that the important work being undertaken amongst other things by Councillor de WIT, Councillor MATIC and

Councillor BOURKE at the Australian Local Government National General

Assembly in Canberra today, amongst their other duties, has been to pick up yet another award. That is the collection of the award, again I think for the sixth year running, for our work in collecting mobile phones for recycling.


- 65 -

We have collected and I guess we do have a natural advantage in being one of the biggest councils in Australia but the reality is notwithstanding that fact, our improvement in recycling of mobile phones has improved 50 per cent since last year. So an incredible contribution to recycling and stands as a part of our overall commitment to increase recycling rates, particularly of e-waste. To date, in that vein, Council's transfer stations have collected about 1,500 tonnes of ewaste so far this financial year. So that's an incredible contribution. I'm sure the councillors down in Canberra have accepted that award with grace and showed the light to the other councillors of Australia about how to engage in recycling.

Madam Acting Chair, the committee presentation last week was on the Creek

Road bridge replacement. I was very pleased to go with Councillor

SCHRINNER to personally inspect this work last week. It's a great piece of work being undertaken by the Construction branch of the Field Services Group.

This is replacing an important part of the city's infrastructure—a timber bridge that was originally constructed in 1927 as a single-lane timber structure. It was well and truly overdue for replacement and is now being built to withstand, I'm sure, several decades of road traffic in the Carindale area.

This is adjacent, as most would be aware, to the Westfield Shopping Centre at

Carindale and it is a large project, some $3.35 million to provide for this bridge.

But it will provide four traffic lanes and a footpath and will be a wellconstructed concrete pile and concrete footpath. So a well-and-truly modern design and, as I say, will stand the test of time and traffic into the future. Thank you, Madam Acting Chair.

Acting Chairman: Further debate? Anything further Councillor McLACHLAN? I'll now put the report.

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.




ATTENDANCE:

Councillor David McLachlan (Chairman), Councillor Norm Wyndham (Deputy Chairman), and

Councillors Peter Cumming, Nicole Johnston, Kim Marx and Ian McKenzie.

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – CREEK ROAD BRIDGE

REPLACEMENT

1.

755/2013-14

Shane MacLeod, Manager Construction Branch, Field Services Group, Brisbane

Infrastructure Division, attended the meeting to provide an update on the construction of the

Creek Road bridge. He provided the information below.

2. The presenter noted that the work site is located along Creek Road, adjacent to Westfield

Carindale. A slide showing a map of the location was displayed.

3.

4.

-

-

-

A history of the Creek Road bridge was given by the presenter. The existing timber bridge was originally constructed in 1927, as a single lane timber structure with a pedestrian footpath. Since that time, the bridge has been widened to a two-lane timber structure with no pedestrian footpath. The existing timber bridge has an end-of-life estimated to be in

May 2014; it is in a very poor structural condition and has low flood immunity.

The new bridge structure has been designed to include a single-span concrete bridge. Other facts and design features of the new bridge structure include: four traffic lanes with footpath overall bridge structure 16.5 metres wide by 17.5 metres long work area 170 metres long


- 66 -

5.

-

-

-

-

28 pre-cast deck units

10 bored concrete piles 900 millimetres in diameter

500 tonnes asphalt used project cost – $3.35 million, including variations to date flood immunity has been increased to Q5 - Q10. -

The progress of construction of the Creek Road bridge to May 2014 was outlined. The presenter noted that the overall project program was for 11 months, from January 2014 to

November 2014. The bridge removal and construction commenced in April and is scheduled to be completed in October, with the approach road works to commence in October, with completion expected in November. Traffic diversions have been in place since April and will continue until October.

6. Slides showing the services relocation works and the traffic diversion arrangements were displayed.

7. Two short videos were shown of the existing bridge demolition and the bridge pile installation.

8. Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Mr MacLeod for his informative presentation.



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 10 June 2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor ADAMS:

Councillor ADAMS.

Thank you. Yes, the committee report last week we did on our initiative supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) engagement. A very a relevant topic to be talking about this week as we go into recess but get ready for Black History Month that is coming up in July.

According to the 2011 census, our ATSI people make up 1.4 per cent of the total

Brisbane population and 38 per cent of those are aged 15 and under. So the statistics show that 57 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are under the age of 24 compared with only three per cent over the age of 65. So there are a lot of different issues that we need to look at in our engagement with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, particularly around engaging and getting the young people to participate and be involved in the local community.

Madam Chair, our indigenous team is a service-delivery partner with many

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. We have a range of programs and initiatives and this partnership is managed through a working relationship that is about knowledge and sharing and respect of all our resources to get the best outcome for that group in Brisbane.

At the moment, we have been working very hard with our local Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander communities to make sure our community relations are becoming stronger and stronger. A first point of contact for many Council matters when it comes to indigenous issues is through our indigenous team. I think you can see through our increased visibility of this team over the last few years, particularly at our local events, that we really are seeing an increase in our


- 67 - cross-Council requests and a variety of projects where we are now helping with the engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and their input, more importantly, into Council initiatives as well. So we're making sure that we're getting that feedback back to us.

Madam Chair, one of our key initiatives this week, obviously, is the NAIDOC

(National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) celebrations coming up in July, as I said. So the week of NAIDOC is then surrounded by

Black History Month as well. We kick it off, and as I said, on 1 July and last year we saw more than 26,000 people actually involved in NAIDOC celebrations so we hope it's just going to get bigger and better this year. We have got 12 community organisations that deliver 48 events across the month of

Black History Month, including Kids in Mind, Gallang Place, Nguin Warrup, and the Acacia Ridge Community Support Incorporated as well.

So last year, as I said, we included six partnerships with those organisations that actually coordinated and delivered specific celebrations right across that month.

This year, we're going to see another whole variety of free events including traditional dances, music, art, storytelling, festivals. Some of the highlights is we've got Living History at the State Library of Queensland, from 15 to 22 July.

So that's Lafe and Kerry Charlton doing sessions of their experience of growing up in Brisbane.

We've got the Musgrave Park Family Funday on 11 July which is South East

Queensland's largest NAIDOC celebration. So that will be a big one with over

20,000 attending there. The Short Film Festival from 5 to 17 July hosted at

Brisbane Square Library. So that will showcase a work of talented ATSI screenwriters, directors and producers. Of course, don't forget Gathering that happens every Wednesday in the Queen Street Mall. The largest and most regular demonstration of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage in any capital city across Brisbane.

Of course, Madam Chair, we also have the Black Diamonds program which we continue to support. The camps and the leadership programs that are held over the Christmas holidays for many, up to 187 young people last year, to get them back in touch with their culture and to become leaders within their youth groups to show how we can continue the culture of the ATSI people in Brisbane.

In addition, we work with the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander Multi-Cultural Affairs, we have definitely an integrated approach with them throughout this month and throughout the rest of the year as well, with everything from Stylin' Up, as I said, to Gathering and to festivals held in

Musgrave Park. We also have a lot of our local private sectors, too, that help us set our priorities in our local areas for the indigenous population.

We have installed our commemorative plaques at six locations across Brisbane.

We are just finishing off down in Orleigh Park, it was a little bit more complicated but we got there. So we'll be upgrading that one in the next financial year as well. Of course, we—


Councillor ADAMS: We will be working on that in the next financial year. We are proactively working, engaging as I said, with all of the government and community non-forprofit sectors to make sure that we are delivering initiatives that involve the

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and they are giving us the feedback to make sure that we are delivering programs that they are interested and can participate in. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Oh, I should just say there is also a petition. I got so carried away with how good the Committee presentation was. There's also a petition requesting that

Council conduct more regular enforcement in Brisbane's inner-west suburbs for the parking area of Lang Park, Milton. Obviously one of our highly-used areas for parking, particularly around events time. There was only a few signatures on this petition but the representation was made by the Chamber of Commerce in that area—in particular for local businesses that were keen to see the turnover around event days, where they thought that there was a case of illegal parking


Acting Chairman:

Councillor NEWTON:

- 68 - that was not helping their economic development when it came to event days as well.

The response is there. I think it shows the complexity of parking enforcement and all the issues we have right across the city and I recommend the report and the petition to the Chamber.

Further debate, Councillor NEWTON.

Yes, Madam Chair. I rise to speak on item A of this report about Council's engagement and support working with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Brisbane. I was listening to Councillor ADAMS' comments at the start of her presentation this afternoon. It is a really stark reminder about just how many challenges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are facing.

When you look at the statistics that show 57 per cent of the Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander population are under the age of 24, it's a pretty huge reminder that we've got a long way to go in terms of improving Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander health expectancies. Sometimes I think perhaps

Australians think this is a remote or regional issue and difficulty with accessing services is because of distances. But this also is something that faces urban people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background as well.

So it is important that Brisbane City Council continues that role which has been occurring for quite some years. Councillor ADAMS spoke about the important commemorative plaques that were located across Brisbane, following the

Bringing them Home report that described the horrors of the stolen generations and was part of that healing process to firstly acknowledge that these acts had happened and to acknowledge that they were wrong.

So I'm really pleased to see work is being done to not just refresh and update but also give more significance to these important memorial sites. Having attended ceremonies both at Kalinga and in the CBD, I know how important these are to indigenous people in Brisbane. So it's important to see these enhance and continue.

Madam Chair, I also note in the report, it talks about how Brisbane has a number of different native title claimants, because the City of Brisbane is quite diverse and quite large. I'm really pleased to have built relationship with representatives of the Turrbal people and the Quandamooka people who cover Moreton

Island—or Moorgumpin, as it's known by the Nughi people, Madam Chair.

It's been quite a personal experience in terms of growth for me and creating a better understanding about our first peoples in Brisbane. Madam Chair, it talks about some of the community organisations with which Brisbane City Council engages and some of those are in the Deagon Ward, including Kurbingui Youth

Development, Koobara Kindy. While not located in Deagon Ward, they certainly do work in Deagon Ward, Jabiru and Zillmere State School, in terms of engaging with local residents.

Kabara Kindy has an amazing source of pride. That was an initiative of Aunty

Ruth Hegarty who is one of the stolen generations who felt very passionately about young people having a future in connection with culture and heritage and country, Madam Chair. So Koobara is so much more than just a kindy for indigenous kids. It's also about culture and is open to all the community. So it's a great opportunity for kids on the northside to learn about local, traditional culture as well.

Kurbingui Youth Development do provide an important role in terms of family support services and employment opportunities. I know that they have been dealing with some challenges with changes to funding arrangements at state and federal levels, but I'm pleased to see that they're still trying to continue their work.

As Councillor ADAMS mentioned, we're coming up to NAIDOC week and I always enjoy attending the Northside NAIDOC celebrations and I'm really pleased to see that Brisbane City Council, which has supported this event for


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:

- 69 - many years, continues to provide that support. I'd like to congratulate all those involved in the Northside NAIDOC Committee, which includes our own council team of Council officers, but also the Noonga Reconciliation Group, the

Committee Chair Julian Hunt who's from Kabara and our elders like Aunty Ruth

Hegarty and Uncle Alex Davidson and Uncle Lionel Watego from the Bud Dja

Dan Men's Group as well, Madam Chair.

So I'm pleased to see this relationship continue. I know that councillors on both sides of the Chamber recognise the significance and importance of continuing this relationship and continuing to grow not just at a government level but at a community level as well. One thing I know was raised last week and we'd like to see continued to be rolled out is the work that has been done working with traditional learning groups about naming the parks in our area as well, which sends a really strong message. It's an opportunity to describe some of that history and story that goes back tens of thousands of years in this country.

Further debate, Councillor ABRAHAMS.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I just wish to make one or two comments on this item regarding Council's initiatives for supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Madam Chair, last week I was fortunate enough just to pop in to the very first session of ACOSS (Australian Council of

Social Service) national conference that was held in Brisbane. There, I heard a woman, June Oscar from the Kimberley who is Australia's representation of the first peoples in overseas conferences and has done a most amazing job of working with her mob to remove alcohol and change some of the really distressing conditions there are with Aboriginal people. As we have here itemised in the report, distressing conditions for Aboriginal people in our country.

The one thing she said was, if we are talking about helping those that are disadvantaged, unless we have Aboriginal people elevated to be those that are most disadvantaged and our projects are aimed to work with them in partnership with them, we will never actually achieve advantage for anyone who is disadvantaged. It's a principle of going to those most in need and you will need most to help others. It certainly had a huge impact on those attending the conference and it's something I really believe.

One of the reasons I got up to speak is I know that the Aboriginal community on the south side will be delighted when their Sorry Site at Hill End becomes a permanent Sorry Site for Hill End. But it's also to make a plea: can there be consultation both with the Aboriginal community and the local councillor and the local residents on that site? It's a particularly prominent site and I would put that request.

Having done that, I thank very much the work that's been undertaken by one of

Council’s indigenous community development officers and the chair, Councillor

ADAMS, on this issue. Well done. I realise how hard it is and I congratulate you on that and the successful outcome of your negotiations. But I do think the next step is to have that consultation process. Councillor Krista ADAMS, here's a challenge for you.

It is something that I believe we should give serious consideration. That with the issue of land being so important to Aboriginal people, where they have and continue to identify to have specific links with some parcels of land—Musgrave

Park is one, but certainly the Hill End one is one that really, I think, we should investigate in looking for an agreement, partnership, where Aboriginal communities working together can actually look after and maintain that area of land on a contractual basis to Council.

So this is something that we should look forward to. It is something I have spoken with the Aboriginal community about and they have responded favourably to this suggestion and I think that it is innovative—which I think is the heading of this area—and something I certainly shall be continuing to lobby for.

Further debate, Councillor ADAMS. I will now put the report.


- 70 -


Brisbane Lifestyle Committee was declared carried on the voices.




ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Krista Adams (Chairman), Councillor Andrew Wines (Deputy Chairman), and Councillors

Steve Griffiths, Vicki Howard, Steven Huang, and Victoria Newton.

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – COUNCIL’S INITIATIVES

SUPPORTING ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER

ENGAGEMENT

1.

756/2013-14

Vanessa Fabre, Inclusive Communities Manager, Connected Communities Branch, Brisbane Lifestyle

Division, attended the meeting to provide a presentation on Council’s initiatives supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement. She provided the information below.

2. According to the 2011 census, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up approximately 1.4 per cent of the total Brisbane population. Results from the census showed that of that population:

12,588 people identified as Aboriginal; 1,197 identified as Torres Strait Islander; and 832 identified as being both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

3. Young people aged 15 and under make up 38 per cent of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia and 19 per cent are between the ages of 15 and 24. These statistics show that 57 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are under the age of 24.

4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 65 years comprise only three per cent of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia. The life expectancy of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is much lower than the wider population, and is 11.5 years less for males and 9.75 years for females (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005 to 2007).

5. Brisbane’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community consists of:

- Traditional Owners: Traditional Owners have a genealogical connection to a particular ancestral homeland; people who, through membership of a descent group or clan, have responsibility for caring for particular country. Traditional Owners are authorised to speak for country and its heritage. Authorisation to speak for country and heritage may be as a senior

Traditional Owner, an Elder, or in more recent times, as a registered Native Title Claimant.

-

-

Native Title claimants: there are four Traditional Owner groups that have registered Native

Title claims/interests in the greater Brisbane area (Turrbal, Jagera, Jinibara and Quandamooka) and through their Native Title claims, are proving their traditional connection to land and therefore seeking certain rights.

Historical Owners: people who have a connection to a certain area or part of country, not as

Traditional Owners with a genealogical connection to country, but by having an individual or family history of involvement in an area some time since European arrival and settlement.

-

-

Elders: have the wisdom and knowledge and play an extremely important role as care providers, educators, role models and strongly relied upon decision makers. Elders are held in the greatest respect because many of them experienced injustices to ensure succeeding generations do not suffer the same.

New and transient groups: there are fluctuating numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander people who move to Brisbane for work or for family reasons. Often relatives may come for a funeral for instance and stay for six to 12 months.

6. Council’s Indigenous Team provides ongoing community support and engagement on a range of programs and initiatives. This is done by partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations on a range of programs and initiatives. This partnership is managed through a respectful working relationship, allowing an exchange of knowledge and a sharing of resources.

7. The Indigenous Team provides advice across Council on cultural protocols, engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and cultural awareness. They support projects that engage with

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities at festivals and events such as Stylin’ Up. The team


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- 71 - works together with other government agencies and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to find ways to deliver well-designed, effectively-governed and well-supported services for the

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Brisbane.

There are a number of community organisations that Council engages with to deliver its initiatives including:

- Brisbane central – Gallang Place, Murri Ministries, Institute of Urban Indigenous Health,

Vulcana, Reconciliation Queensland

-

- inner and outer-northern suburbs – Kurbingui Youth Development, Jabiru, Koobara

Kindergarten, Zillmere State School inner and outer-eastern suburbs – Winnam Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing

-

Corporation, CEO Enterprises inner and outer-southern suburbs – Inala Wangarra, Inala Elders, Elorac Place, Mt Gravatt

East Community Hub, Aboriginal and Islander Independent School (Murri School).

Positive work has been achieved over the past couple of years between the Indigenous Team and

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, significantly improving community relations with

Council. Community members consider the team their first point of contact for many Council matters.

This has resulted in community enquiries rising by approximately 50 per cent.

Due to the increased visibility of the Indigenous Team over the past few years, the team has experienced approximately a 70 per cent increase in cross-Council requests for advice on a variety of projects including assistance to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for input into Council initiatives.

One of the key initiatives undertaken by the team is the celebrations during National Aboriginal and

Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week. These celebrations build upon Council’s commitment to creating a world class city that values its heritage and history. It has been acknowledged that there is a vibrant and diverse mix of cultures existing in Brisbane. The abundant Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander spirit that exists in the community, both nationally and internationally is showcased at formal events such as NAIDOC week.

NAIDOC provides an economic benefit to the city and encourages the growth of business and industry.

The week allows Council to build on existing community relations and networks. Council recognises the importance of NAIDOC in preserving and maintaining Aboriginal cultural heritage and it continues to promote the contribution made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the life and future of the city.

In 2013 Council worked in partnership with six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations that coordinated and delivered NAIDOC celebration events across Brisbane. Over 26,000 people attended

NAIDOC celebrations across Brisbane in 2013. Images of the celebrations were displayed.

Between 1 and 31 July each year a month-long showcase of quality Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander history, heritage and culture takes place, known as Black History Month (BHM). The events provide employment as well as developing the knowledge and skills of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander people. Over 16,950 people participated across the 31 free activities in 2013. NAIDOC Week celebrations lead into BHM. In 2014, BHM will feature a variety of free events including traditional dance performances, music, art displays, storytelling, festivals and films. The only cost throughout the event program is a gold coin donation for the Musgrave Park NAIDOC event.

The Black Diamonds program is a Council-led program that aims to increase the long-term participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in sport, recreational and arts activities with a strong cultural focus. The strong cultural focus assists in promoting self-esteem and pride while providing a safe space to address issues affecting their communities such as crime, substance abuse and youth suicide. Black Diamonds has become a trusted community brand that is founded on partnerships, acts as a referral opportunity and has gone on to leverage other initiatives such as local sport and recreation programs. The Black Diamonds Program includes two camps per year and in 2013-14 these were attended by 187 young people.

Council’s relationship with the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural

Affairs (DATSIMA) supports an integrated approach to service delivery where resources and expertise are shared. This partnership ensures greater coordination of services across government and also improves working relationships by supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of


19.

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- 72 -

Brisbane. The partnership continues with each level of government working together to improve social and economic opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through various policies and programs. The partnership facilitates ongoing engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, government agencies, community organisations and the private sector through local partnerships that identify key issues and sets priorities for the area.

The Brisbane region of DATSIMA has established five Urban Participation Reference Groups in

Brisbane: north, Inala, Mt Gravatt, north-west Brisbane and Wynnum. This strategy significantly assists Council’s engagement with communities allowing Council to respond effectively to the needs of the community. Some of the key deliverables include the development of community safety action plans, cultural learning within the education system, and an employment and enterprise expo.

Commemorative plaques were installed at six locations across Brisbane in recognition of the children and families of the Stolen Generations. Each plaque site was chosen considering cultural and historical significance, including proximity to properties involved in the Policy of Separation, proximity to attractive open space and natural water, and historical significance to Aboriginal life. Each plaque has a dedicated Stolen Generation Alliance Group that is responsible for coordinating and delivering educational activities on the history of the Stolen Generations as part of the dawn ceremonies each year held on or around National Sorry Day. Images of the dawn ceremonies were displayed.

Following a number of questions from the Committee, the Chairman thanked Ms Fabre for her informative presentation.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT COUNCIL NOTE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABOVE REPORT.

ADOPTED

B PETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL CONDUCT MORE REGULAR

PARKING ENFORCEMENT IN BRISBANE’S INNER-WESTERN SUBURBS

CA14/358409

757/2013-14

A petition from representatives of the Brisbane Inner West Chamber of Commerce, requesting that

Council conduct more regular parking enforcement in Brisbane’s inner-western suburbs, was received during the Autumn Recess 2014.

The Divisional Manager, Brisbane Lifestyle Division, supplied the following information.

The petition contains four signatures.

The petitioners state that the ongoing illegal parking is causing an inconvenience to residents and also affecting businesses in the area.

During the period of 19 May 2013 to 19 May 2014, Council received 1,976 illegal parking complaints for the areas represented by the petitioner. Compliance and Regulatory Services Branch (CARS) issued

38,046 infringement notices to illegally parked vehicles during that same period.

Whilst some of the infringement notices are issued in response to complaints, the majority are a result from Council’s ongoing proactive parking enforcement in Milton and the Lang Park Traffic Area. At all times, priority is given to parking behaviour that may cause risk to public safety.

The current ongoing proactive and complaint-based parking patrols conducted in these locations, are considered both appropriate and effective at this time.

Consultation

Councillor Peter Matic, Councillor for Toowong Ward, has been consulted and supports the recommendation below.

The Divisional Manager therefore recommends as follows and the Committee agrees, with Councillors

Steve Griffiths and Victoria Newton dissenting.



- 73 -

THAT THE COMMITTEE NOTE THE INFORMATION IN THIS REPORT AND ENDORSE

THE DRAFT RESPONSE (ATTACHMENT A BELOW) TO THE HEAD PETITIONER.

ATTACHMENT A

Draft Response

Petition Reference: CA14358409

Thank you for your petition requesting Council conduct more regular and effective parking enforcement, to protect residents and local businesses from the impact of illegal parking in Brisbane’s inner-western suburbs.

I appreciate your concerns about the inconvenience caused to residents and businesses by illegal parking. I understand that you represent businesses located in Ashgrove, Auchenflower, Bardon, Herston, Kelvin Grove,

Milton, Normanby, Paddington, Petrie Terrace and Rosalie. I am sorry that you feel that the enforcement of parking restrictions is inadequate in these areas.

I am pleased to hear that Council’s, Operations Liaison Officer from Council’s Compliance and Regulatory

Services Branch (CARS), contacted you on 22 May 2014 to discuss your concerns.

I can assure you that Council’s Parking Compliance officers conduct regular proactive patrols, and also respond to customer complaints. As the Council officer advised, Council received 1,976 complaints about illegal parking in these locations in the past 12 months, and issued more than 30,000 infringement notices.

As you are aware, enforcement of the Lang Park Traffic Area is carried out during major events at Suncorp

Stadium. In addition, officers’ conduct regular patrols in Milton and Paddington, focussing on streets in and around commercial precincts. Frequent patrols of Kelvin Grove and Herston are also scheduled, due to parking congestion caused by visitors to the Royal Brisbane Hospital, and the Queensland University of Technology’s

Kelvin Grove campus.

At this time, Council is satisfied that the level of proactive and complaint-based parking enforcement is both appropriate and effective. However, I certainly encourage all residents to report any incidences of illegally parked vehicles to Council’s 24-hour Contact Centre on (07) 3403 8888.

Alternatively, if you have any further questions, please contact Council’s Acting Parking Compliance Team

Leader on (07) 3403 8888.

Thank you for raising your concerns.

ADOPTED

FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

Councillor Julian SIMMONDS, Chairman of the Finance, Economic Development and Administration

Committee, moved, seconded by Councillor Ryan MURPHY, that the report of that Committee held on 10 June

2014, be adopted.

Acting Chairman: Debate? I will now put the report

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.




ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Julian Simmonds (Chairman), Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor (Deputy Chairman); and Councillors

Kim Flesser, Fiona King, Ryan Murphy and Shayne Sutton.


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- 74 -

A COMMITTEE PRESENTATION – LORD MAYOR’S MULTICULTURAL

BUSINESS AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2014

758/2013-14

John Cowie, Acting Manager, Lord Mayor’s Administration Office, Office of the Lord Mayor and the Chief Executive, attended the meeting to provide an update on the Lord Mayor’s

Multicultural Business Awards and Scholarship Program 2014. Mr Cowie provided the information below.

The Lord Mayor's Multicultural Round Table (LMMRT) plays an important role in encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship within Brisbane's multicultural community. The

Lord Mayor's Multicultural Business Dinner, a key initiative of the LMMRT, is an annual event that aims to raise funds to support the Lord Mayor's Multicultural Business Scholarship

Program and support new projects to assist new entrepreneurs in the multicultural community.

This year the Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Business Dinner, held on 30 May 2014, was

-

- attended by almost 480 people and raised $41,797 for the scholarship program. Thirty-two new students were admitted into the scholarship program, which includes:

-

Bachelor of Business, Queensland University of Technology

Certificate IV in Small Business, Southbank Institute of Technology

Leadership and Management Skill Training Program with Australian Institute of

Management

-

-

- Small Business Solutions with Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE.

Slides showing photographs of the Lord Mayor with scholarship recipients at the dinner were shown.

Business Mentoring Program with Career Employment Australia

Diploma of Retail Management with First Impressions Resources

The 2014 Lord Mayor's Multicultural Awards for Business awards categories and winners are:

- Multicultural Business Person of the Year: Mr Ching Hung (Don) Chiu of Fashion

Tour Pty Ltd, a travel agency promoting Brisbane’s tourism services to the Asian

- market which serviced more than 12,000 clients in 2013

Multicultural Young Business Person of the Year: Mr Takeshi Takada of Alt.vfx, an artist-run, post-production company that specialises in visual effects for the film, television and media industry, and recently won industry awards in Cannes and

-

Thailand

Multicultural Entrepreneur of the Year: Mr Igor Stjepanovic of GIS People, a geospatial and location intelligence company which has become a rising star of the technology industry.

Slides showing a photograph of each recipient were shown.

A slide showing more photographs from the dinner was shown.

The Chairman thanked Mr Cowie for his informative presentation and acknowledged the efforts of Mr Cowie’s team for their excellent work.

RECOMMENDATION:


REPORT.

ADOPTED


- 75 -

8.

B BUSHLAND PRESERVATION LEVY REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED

MARCH 2014

134/695/317/347

759/2013-14

The Manager Financial Management, Corporate Finance Branch, Organisational Services Division, provided the Committee with a report on expenditure for bushland purposes for the period ended

March 2014.

9. The Bushland Preservation Levy Report is prepared on a quarterly basis in order to show the balance of funds held for environmental bushland purposes along with details of environmental bushland expenditure.

10. The Committee noted the information contained in the report (submitted on file) and that the balance of the funds held for environmental bushland purposes for the period ended March 2014 is -$426,364.

11.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE REPORT, SUBMITTED ON FILE, BE

NOTED.

ADOPTED

PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:

Acting Chairman:

Councillor KING:

Councillors, are there any petitions? Councillor KING.

Yes, Madam Chair. I have a petition that I'm presenting from yourself to officially name the Forest Lake sports fields.

Acting Chairman:

Councillor MARX:

Acting Chairman:

Thank you, Councillor MARX.

Thank you, Madam Acting Chair, I have a petition about naming a park.

Councillor HOWARD.

Councillor HOWARD: Thank you, Madam Acting Chair. I have a petition about a tennis wall in New

Farm Park.

DEPUTY MAYOR. Acting Chairman:

DEPUTY MAYOR: Yes, I have two petitions. One presented on behalf of the LORD MAYOR regarding resident parking in Dorchester Street, South Brisbane. The other is another petition requesting support regarding the relocation of the Chandler

Markets.

Councillor McLACHLAN. Acting Chairman:

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair. I have a petition, which is an addition to an earlier petition requesting, a change in traffic speed on Vernon Terrace,

Macquarie Street, Newstead, Teneriffe, from 50 kilometres an hour to 30 kilometres an hour.

Acting Chairman: Councillor DICK.

Councillor DICK: Thank you, Madam Acting Chair, I have a petition of over 560 residents from the Paddington district, who are opposing a seven storey skyscraper in

Paddington. Disappointingly, the local councillor, Councillor MATIC, has refused to table this petition.


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:

Further petitions, Councillor ABRAHAMS.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I present a petition on behalf of

Councillor Steve GRIFFITHS and it is to make Mortimer Road safe in view of the number of trucks on that road.

Okay, any further petitions? Councillor MURPHY.


- 76 -

760/2013-14

It was resolved on the motion of Councillor MURPHY, seconded by Councillor 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. Councillor Topic

CA14/501202

CA14/508277

Fiona King on behalf of Angela Owen-

Taylor

Kim Marx

Requesting that the currently un-named sports fields in Forest

Lake be officially named as the Forest Lake sports fields

CA14/507947 Vicki Howard

Requesting the official name of Celica Street Park be changed to Lindsay Evans Memorial Park

Calling on Council to construct a tennis wall in New Farm Park

CA14/508554

CA14/497659

CA14/509014

Deputy Mayor

Deputy Mayor on behalf of the Lord

Mayor

David McLachlan

Requesting Council to exercise its power to assist with the smooth relocation of the Chandler Markets to another suitable site

Requesting improvements to the availability of residential parking spaces in Dorchester Street, South Brisbane

CA14/508742

Milton Dick

Helen Abrahams on behalf of Steve

Griffiths

Calling on Council to change the speed limit on Macquarie

Street and Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe, to 50km/h to 30km/h, and to have several pedestrian crossings put in place

Opposing a proposed development at the corner of Latrobe and

Given Terraces, Paddington

(Not considered a valid petition under AP107 – Petitions to

Council Procedure as it does not contain residential addresses of the individual signatories)

Calling on Council to make Mortimer Road, Acacia Ridge, safer for the community by: 1. redirecting B-doubles along alternate industrial roads, 2. limiting the size of heavy vehicles and large trucks, 3. setting up a school safety zone with flashing lights for Our Lady of Fatima School, 4. putting in more traffic islands so residents can cross the road safely to parks and public transport, 5. having Police regularly enforce speed limits

GENERAL BUSINESS:

Acting Chairman:

DEPUTY MAYOR:

Councillors, are there any statements required as a result of a Councillor

Conduct Review Panel Order? There being no indications, I will now proceed to general business. Councillors, are there any matters of general business?

DEPUTY MAYOR.

Yes, Madam Chairman. Look, I rise to provide a report on my recent visit to

Singapore, which councillors would be aware of as it was approved through

Council recently. I've been in this Council almost nine years now and it's the first opportunity I've had to represent the city overseas. The purpose of the visit was five-fold. First of all to attend and participate in the World Cities Summit, which is a biannual conference that's held in Singapore every two years.

Secondly, it was to attend and participate in meetings of the Council of Capital

City Lord Mayors, otherwise known as CCCLM. Third was to make contact with Singaporean investors who are looking to invest in Brisbane. Also, fourth was to promote Brisbane's role as the permanent host city for the Asia Pacific

Screen Awards, of which we had the first event last year and we're looking forward to, in December this year, holding the second event here in City Hall, which is an exciting thing for our city.

The fifth purpose was to investigate Singapore's use of technology to manage the cities—the challenges that large cities like Singapore, like Brisbane, like other cities around the world face. First of all, on the World Cities Summit, this attracted more than 125 mayors and deputy mayors from around that world.



DEPUTY MAYOR:

- 77 -

That was quite an impressive gathering of people. The big trend on the summit on the first day was mayors taking selfies of themselves and broadcasting them around the world. I did not participate in that. But it was amazing to see some mayors with 800,000 Twitter followers and incredible amounts of Facebook followers, in particular from some of the Asian countries.

But the mayors' forum on the first day was essentially the meeting of all those mayors from around the world, different parts, to talk about some key themes.

First of all was quality of life, also sustainable water and waste management, the competitive economy and driving investment into the local economy, integrated long-term planning, dynamic urban governments and intelligent cities.

Intelligent cities was definitely a big theme of the conference.

I was, on that first day, seated at a table of very interesting people. There was representatives from the US, in particular from San Francisco, Singapore, Iran— actually I had the Mayor of Tehran on my table, very interesting character and he gave me some good publicity material on Tehran. It's interesting to see even cities such as Tehran are facing a lot of the same challenges that we are in cities in Australia and also seeking actively to promote their cities around the world.

But also at that table were mayors and deputy mayors from Colombia, Belgium and the Philippines. The most interesting mayor I got to meet, though, was a mayor called Hazel McCallion. She's from Canada, she was elected in 1978 as mayor. She's still mayor now and she's 93.

They call her Hurricane Hazel because she tells it like it is. You can imagine someone like Geraldine Knapp in some ways, but more forthright than

Geraldine Knapp, running a city and the people of her city absolutely love her.

So, Councillor KNAPP, if she has served in council until 93 then there's a long future ahead of you in this Council Chamber. But it was interesting to meet some particularly interesting characters and hear their experiences from different parts of the world.

On the first evening, we had the official opening of the summit and that was opened by Singapore's Prime Minster, Prime Minister Lee, who happens to be the son of Lee Kuan Yew. So Singapore has been in the same hands for a very long time and I have to say, the government of Singapore, whatever you might say about it, has done an absolutely amazing job in lifting that country from a country with no resources, a city state, to now one of the most wealthy countries in the world with high incomes, high home ownership, very low levels of poverty and crime.

So it's an incredible, I guess, example of what can be achieved under certain circumstances. The summit continued for four days and included a wide range of informative sessions and networking opportunities. There were also a whole range of large international consulting, advisory and technology firms involved in providing information and information sessions to the representatives, including IBM, Microsoft, Accenture, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Siemens as well. I had the opportunity to meet with all of those companies while I was there.

A key part of the World Cities Summit is the announcement of the Lee Kuan

Yew World City Prize. The winner of the World City Prize for 2014 is a city in

China. Suzhou is the city. This is a city which has grown rapidly in a short period of time and the best thing about this city is that it's managed to get the balance right in preserving its history and character and a lot of the old buildings, while creating an ultra-modern central business district as well. So they've managed to get that balance right and we're seeing too many examples in

China where everything gets demolished and everything new is built in its place.

So they've kept the old and delivered the new and achieved a great balance. One of the things that they had as a challenge was to relocate some of the farmers who owned pig farms in the area. So what they did—and this is quite interesting—is that they offered each of the farmers three apartments—three new apartments. So in exchange for their land, they got three apartments. One


Acting Chairman:

Councillor SUTTON:

- 78 - was for themselves to live in, one was for their families to live in and the third one was an investment property to generate an income. It was quite an interesting scheme. I can't imagine something like that working here, but certainly it's something that that city managed to use.

Councillors would also be aware that Brisbane had a special mention in the

World Cities Prize in 2012 for our efforts—and this is a bipartisan thing—over several years in terms of urban renewal and planning. Specifically the inner-city areas such as Newstead, Teneriffe, New Farm that have really gone ahead under successive administrations. I know that Councillor OWEN-TAYLOR was the attendee from Council in 2012 at the World Cities Summit and she was there to receive that acknowledgement and mention on behalf of the city.

By the way, that World Cities Prize this year was presented by the President of

Singapore, Tony Tan. While I was also there, I had the opportunity to attend the

Australian High Commissioner's residence to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ASEAN relationship, which is obviously the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations. Mayors and senior members from all across the region attended and it was a great way of celebrating the relationship we have with those countries in

Southeast Asia.

The Australian High Commissioner to Singapore is a guy called Philip Green, who was Kevin Rudd's Chief of Staff if I remember correctly. He was an interesting character. I have to say, whatever assumptions you might make about political affiliations, he was extremely supportive of Brisbane and supportive of the lord mayors that had come over from Australia. He was very helpful in accommodating the relationships there.

I also got to do a number of site visits while I was there, to the Gardens by the

Bay, which is an incredible parkland like something you have never seen before.

It's like Southbank on steroids, it's just amazing. Anyone who ever goes to

Singapore should visit the Gardens by the Bay. I also attended a site visit to a company called NCS, which is a technology company, and they are owned by

SingTel which is obviously a sister company of Optus.

NCS is doing some cutting-edge things in terms of analytics and technology in terms of sensing. So what I mean by that is, things like facial recognition cameras that are deployed in the streets of Singapore. If someone is a wanted person, NCS cameras will detect that you're walking down the street and send an alert to the police or the authorities that you're there. So there's nowhere to hide from that type of technology but yes, there were some interesting things they're doing, not only with facial-recognition technology but also things like traffic cameras and real time traffic information. There was a whole heap of interesting things that they showed me while I was there.

DEPUTY MAYOR, regretfully that is your time expired. Further general business, Councillor SUTTON.

Thanks very much, Madam Chair. I rise tonight to speak about two things. The

Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food van that's currently located at Carina and the backflow valve devices and some comments made by the LORD MAYOR in question time this morning. I'll just go to the backflow valves first. When the

LORD MAYOR was talking, he made reference to a letter that I had written him yesterday which he clearly received today. He said that I had asked him to install backflow valves in two locations where they would be of benefit to no properties.

Madam Chair, that's incorrect. What my letter said was, it identified all the sites listed by AECOM, all the local sites in Morningside Ward listed by AECOM's backflow investigation. Then it makes particular reference to two sites that flooded in the 2011 flood. They being around Stuart Street and Jamieson Street,

Bulimba and down in Lindsay Street, Hawthorne, which also encompasses

Malcolm Street, Hawthorne.

I'm a bit concerned if the LORD MAYOR's going to be flippant about this and try to muddy the waters on it, because he told me to go check the AECOM report and I've done that and, with respect to those two sites, almost 90 homes


- 79 - were damaged, were flooded in the 2011 floods. So there are 90 homeowners,

90 property owners—90, nine zero—not zero as the LORD MAYOR said in question time, but 90 according to the AECOM report that he encouraged me to go look at.

What my letter to him said was that for those two sites in particular, I wanted to be assured that backflow valves would be installed in those locations and sought some clarification on potential timeframes. Because there are 90 homeowners out there that were impacted by the 2011 flood who are concerned about the announcement he made in terms of the cessation of the backflow valve installation funding program.

So I say to the LORD MAYOR, you can do whatever type of political defence you want, but don't muddy the waters when it comes to the facts. I have checked the report, I suggest you go and check it—through you, Madam Chair—the

LORD MAYOR goes and checks it and the LORD MAYOR's advisors who no doubt are listening to this speech go and check it, check the report because I will be contacting those 90 householders, plus the others down in Norman Park and the other areas of Bulimba that were affected. I acknowledge that there were a couple that there were none, but I didn't list them in the AECOM report,

AECOM did that.

They may not have been affected in the 2011 flood but they have flooded before. So don't be cute about it, just get on and do the job that people expect you to do.

Now, on the Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food. This is the last Council meeting and the last opportunity I will have to say thank you to The Good Foundation for bringing the Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food to Carina. As we know the classes started on 22 April and are scheduled to finish on 30 June. They have completely sold out and I am advised that more than 430 participants participated in these classes—including my husband—over the 10 week period.

Close to 100 volunteers as well.

Can I say that I've had so much positive feedback about this program. It has been really and truly wonderful to have it, not just in Brisbane but in our own back yard. So I want to thank The Good Foundation for persevering, even when

Council said no to having them in one of our parks., I thank them for going the extra mile. I want to thank Terry Mackenroth and Steve Heald from the Clem

Jones Centre for hosting Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food.

So while Brisbane City Council couldn't see the benefit of hosting them, I'm pleased that instantly Steve and Terry got it. They got it, they saw the benefit for local residents, they saw the benefit for the broader community and they bent over backwards to make sure that The Good Foundation and the Ministry of

Food had everything that they needed to get on and do the job. The Good

Foundation has asked me to express their thanks to the Clem Jones Centre saying that they were fantastic to deal with and they have singled out Steve

Heald for being, quote, ‘an amazing host’

So it is truly wonderful and as the beneficiary—not directly but indirectly—of these courses, I can say coming home to a beautiful prosciutto-wrapped chicken and roast vegetables to die for added no shortage of positive benefits to our house and what's been really beautiful is the enthusiasm, not just that I've seen in my own husband, but for families across the eastern suburbs as they've participated, the Facebook posts and then the subsequent stories about going home and sharing these cooking skills with their family.

It has truly been wonderful to see. It was also fabulous to be able to fly down to

Sydney and meet Jamie Oliver and hear directly from him about his passion for cooking and healthy cooking, to be on set when his show was filmed and when they announced Australia's next permanent Ministry of Food, because of course they have the mobile one and then they have the permanent Ministry of Food venues. Of course we know Ipswich has got a permanent one but they have recently announced another one.


Acting Chairman:

Councillor MURPHY:

Acting Chairman:


- 80 -

To be there, to hear some of the great projects that are happening with the

Ministry of Food around Australia, to be there for the announcement of the partnership between Woolworths and the Ministry of Food, it really was a wonderful opportunity that I will cherish in terms of my time as the local councillor.

I say to The Good Foundation and the Ministry of Food, come back to Brisbane any time, we would gladly have you. I am sure that whilst the eastern suburbs benefited this time, I have no doubt having seen the long and desperate line of politicians that scrambled to be part of the announcement after the original announcement was made, I would suggest that they will have not so much trouble next time finding a site as they did the first time.

So thank you to The Good Foundation, thank you to Jamie Oliver and his fabulous Ministry of Food for finding a home at the Clem Jones Centre in

Brisbane's eastern suburbs for the last 10 weeks. It certainly has been a pleasure to have you.

Further general business, Councillor MURPHY.

Thanks very much, Madam Acting Chair. Madam Acting Chair, I just want to briefly rise to congratulate a wonderful new appointment. That is the appointment of the Honourable Gary Hardgrave as the Administrator of Norfolk

Island, Madam Chair, variously known as Hurricane Hardgrave by some people, both in the LNP and the ALP. Madam Chairman, Gary is an eminently qualified person for this role. He served 90,000 people in the federal electorate of

Moreton between 1996 and 2007. He also served as the Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs from 2001 to 2004.

The Minister for Vocational and Technical Education from 2004 to 2007 and of course, the very important role, the minister assisting the Prime Minister from

2003 to 2007. Of course, we know after politics, he returned to the career from whence he came, returning to the air waves as a broadcaster, 4BC here in

Brisbane. I know that Gary has always been very fond of the multicultural communities within that particular part of the world, the electorate of Moreton, particularly the Islander communities, Madam Chairman. So it's fantastic to see that Gary will get to become part of an islander community himself for the next few years, Madam Chairman.

So I join with all Administration councillors on this side of the aisle in congratulating Gary on this new role and this very exciting next few years that he'll have as the Administrator of Norfolk Island.

Further general business, Councillor JOHNSTON.

Yes, Madam Chairman. I rise to speak on several matters, including the apparent appointment of Gary Hardgrave as the Administrator of Norfolk Island, the

Council budget tomorrow and also backflow valves. Firstly, can I say, the level of hypocrisy from the Liberal Party councillors here today is extraordinary. To stand up and to praise Gary Hardgrave in the way they have today, after they kicked him out of the Liberal Party, is the worst kind of hypocrisy going.

It is an absolute—

—absolute embarrassment that this state LNP Administration would stand up and praise him after they kicked him out of their party.







Let me say—

Oh yes, yes, yes, yes. Look, let me say this. It is a joke—it is a joke that a minister of the Howard Government, whether you like Gary or you don't, but somebody who was part of one of the most successful governments this country has ever seen, was kicked out of the Liberal Party in Queensland. Madam

Chairman, the fact that the LNP did this is a poor reflection on their judgement.




Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:



Acting Chairman:


- 81 -

Let me say, Madam Chairman, Gary's not the only one that's been done over by the LNP in Queensland—

Madam Chairman, one day, one day, Madam Chairman, I'll be gobsmacked when I hear—

Order.

—someone stand up and praise other people who've been—

Councillor JOHNSTON, just a moment. You said in your opening sentence, you wanted to speak about his appointment.

Yes.

You did not say it had anything to do with the LNP. Confine—

Order.

I—

Order. Confine your remarks to the topics you identified or I'll sit you down.

Proceed.

Thank you, Madam Chairman. I note that it is the Federal Liberal Party that have made the appointment of Mr Hardgrave to the position of Administrator of

Norfolk Island. Not the state party here in Queensland that unceremoniously dumped him. I think, Madam Chairman, that the Johnny-come-lately support from the LNP councillors for this appointment is a poor reflection their values and their respect towards others when on one hand they treat him so abysmally but yet want to stand up and praise his appointment on the other hand. I think,

Madam Chairman, the hypocrisy of that is apparent to everyone.

Secondly, Madam Chairman, backflow valves. Madam Chairman, the LORD

MAYOR had a George Bush-style mission-accomplished moment regarding backflow valves the other day and it was clear how it happened. There's a lot of discussion and criticism of it on the Council Tuesday and on the Wednesday, he put out a press release to try and bamboozle, I think, a few journalists about how much work he's actually done on backflow valves.

So, Madam Chairman, it is clear that this LORD MAYOR believes that he's fully accomplished his backflow-valve commitments. But, Madam Chairman, there is nothing further from the truth. Let me say this, Madam Chairman, an independent engineering report was released two years ago recommending 51 backflow-valve locations that are suburbs around Brisbane that would benefit from having backflow valves implemented.

This LORD MAYOR has only delivered 15 of those. There are another 36 locations around this city where an engineering report recommends that they should go ahead. At the time that report was released, the LORD MAYOR said he would do them all. A year later, he back-flipped and he has cherry-picked just 15 of the 51 to do. That is not good enough. That is by no means the completion of a commitment, Madam Chairman.

Now there were 15 alone recommended in Tennyson Ward. The LORD

MAYOR has done three of those. That is it; two in locations in Chelmer and one location in Tennyson. There are still 12 backflow valve locations in my ward that absolutely must be done. All of them will protect residents. Every single one of them. I am appalled, appalled at this LORD MAYOR's comments this morning claiming it would be a waste of money to do the rest of these backflow valves.

Well nothing could be further from the truth from my point of view. My residents want to see this Council deliver on the recommendations of the flood royal commission and Council's independent flood reports. It is clear that neither


- 82 - level of government is doing that as quickly and as responsibly as they should be. I am concerned, Madam Chairman, that there are still locations that an independent report has recommended would benefit from backflow valves and this LORD MAYOR is denying them.

These include locations in the suburb of Graceville, in Chelmer, in Fairfield and in Yeronga. Madam Chairman, they all must be done. I know that I'm probably driving people in here crazy with this but I will say it every opportunity I get: all of them have to be done, anything less is disrespectful to the residents of

Brisbane. I call on the LORD MAYOR tomorrow to fund the backflow valves that I have been requesting for the past two years in my ward. They are critical infrastructure that must be funded as a priority.

With respect to the budget tomorrow, we had a debate earlier today about the revenue flowing from Queensland Urban Utilities back to Council and the

LORD MAYOR says he invests it in projects and services around the city. Well,

Madam Chairman, not out my way he doesn't. What is very clear is, for the past few years, the LORD MAYOR has been starving Tennyson Ward and parts of the southside from funding for projects and services.

We haven't had a footpath repair for years, we haven't had a minor infrastructure upgrade like a refuge for years. We had $20,000 for seats in a park that no one wanted and they wouldn't let it be spent anywhere else. That's it. There haven't been any other parks projects for years. We haven't had SCIPs (Suburban Centre

Improvement Projects), Madam Chairman. We haven't had library upgrades that were promised in 2012 and haven't yet been delivered. The LORD MAYOR—



Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


Acting Chairman:


The LORD MAYOR—and I hear the Councillor for Marchant interjecting, I don't know if she's read her lines about whether she should be or not, Madam

Chairman, but no, probably not, Madam Chairman, her interjections appear to have got her into trouble with the media today. So—

Right, Councillor JOHNSTON, I told you to confine your remarks to the report, you have defied my ruling, resume your seat. Further general business,

Councillor ABRAHAMS.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I appreciate the opportunity to speak.

Thank you very much for that.

Yes, proceed.

Madam Chair, I just wish to speak on the issue of the budget and the desperate need for The Gabba Ward to make sure that it has appropriate capital expenditure spent into that. Madam Chair, the previous City Plan predicted an increased population in South Brisbane and West End as covered by the South

Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan, to the total of 25,000 people. Madam

Chair, the City Plan that is approved and coming into play on 1 July has, silently, just increased that population to 37,500, predicted—

Just a moment please, Councillor ABRAHAMS, there's a number of conversations going on in this Chamber. Could we just show a bit of respect here please? Councillor ABRAHAMS.

Madam Chair, thank you for the second time. Thirty-seven-and-a-half thousand people in that area. A huge increase, a silent increase, and I believe that all of the Labor councillors can remember the former Lord Mayor Campbell Newman saying, forget about the population, I will deliver the infrastructure that they need. Madam Chair, that is why I am belatedly making a plea for the infrastructure in the Gabba Ward to meet that population.

First of all, Madam Chair, it is to purchase all parkland that is in the current plan, including 182 Montague Road as an extension for Davies Park. It also includes ensuring the parks that are in the existing City Plan are delivered.

Madam Chair, it is also community infrastructure. We have heard today in the

Chamber how important community infrastructure is and with a population that


- 83 - is going from 8,000 to 37,500, believe me, that community will need community infrastructure as parklands.

Madam Chair, I have requested many years for the facilities for Davies Park to become a park for the community, for Riverside Drive to become a park rather than as it is now, half of it is a parking zone and the other half, through my intervention, has become an area that is desperately in need of facilities. Madam

Chair, in the proposals I put to the LORD MAYOR, there was $92 million in approximately 150 programs. The LORD MAYOR rolled his eyes that that was completely unacceptable and that there was just avarice or stupidity on behalf of the councillor presenting those projects.

Madam Chair, nothing could be further from the truth. Every one of those has had at least one resident, often more, often hundreds in view of parkland, requesting the infrastructure that has been requested in that area. But, Madam

Chair, I'm very aware that sometimes it's only one person that goes to the LORD

MAYOR and they will have their facility put in without any information on my behalf. So it really isn't the number of how many people it is, it should be that there is demonstrable need and they are worthy. I will get up in a Chamber and say I believe every one of those are worthy.

Madam Chair, having talked about parks, I would like to say that 32 of those projects that I have earmarked have been for parks. Some of them in Wellington

Road, Woolloongabba; Coorparoo Park, Coorparoo; Carl Street Park,

Woolloongabba and the upgrade of the skate ramp at Coorparoo are all ones where there is a park that is in desperate need of basic facilities. Basic facilities,

Madam Chair, that is a seat, a shade shelter, possibly a bubbler and certainly tree planting. So that is my plea.

As well as that, Madam Chair, every year at this time I have got up and given priority to major projects that are required in the ward, one of which is the

Riverwalk. That is a pedestrian walk that is basically on existing land that

Council has acquired, apart from five sites, which need to be cantilevered over the bank, not into the river. That walk will extend the investment that unit developers have already put into a RiverWalk between Mowbray Park and

Cairns Street. At the moment, there is investment that is a sunk investment that cannot be used because it has no connectivity.

I believe respecting the development that has gone ahead, that should be given priority. It should not be in the 2027 to '31 schedule as it is in the infrastructure charges at this moment.

Madam Chair, bikeways, I have three of the most unsafe bike hotspots in

Brisbane and I request that they are given appropriate attention, Annerley Road,

Dornoch Terrace and Dock Street are the three that I'm particular interested in.

But as well as that, if we're serious about connectivity of bikeways, we need a

Copenhagen, a contraflow lane put along Stanley Street from the Mater Hospital to the Gabba Cricket Grounds. That has been my priority and Bicycle

Queensland’s for many years.

Traffic lights in Vulture Street at Norman Street, we might have a priority where lights are—for pedestrian needs are given priority. At the moment, they have to contest against those that are there for vehicle use and they will always fall down badly. This is inappropriate. The car park at Wembley Park is in desperate need.

But, Madam Chair, also is the issue of backflow valves. I was also amazed, astounded when the LORD MAYOR said the job was done, after some cherrypicked priorities have been done and not the list that was given by the external consultants. Madam Chair, at Drury Street, Forbes Street, Montague Road in

West End, this is the sign—I think everyone can see it, I will not table it—of the level of inundation of the properties in that area.

Madam Chair, it reflects that it was once a swampy area before we had human settlement and that was listed. The plan clearly shows the demonstrable benefit from people with a backflow valve and that should be given priority. Further down Montague Road there is the need for a backflow valve otherwise


Acting Chairman:

Councillor KING:


Acting Chairman:

Councillor KING:


Acting Chairman:

Councillor KING:

- 84 -

Montague Road just doesn't work. Ryan Street, West End, one has been done, I appreciate that, but there are other houses that go under further down in Ryan

Street that need work done.

Vulture Street, one of the major streets in the area, also have people been flooded as a result of the lack of backflow valves. Madam Chair, if I can demonstrate that with a map—the map showing the properties going underwater. How can the LORD MAYOR get up today and say they're having no impact on the ones that he had left out? Madam Chair, it just doesn't—it is not believable to my residents and they will certainly be notified and they, with me, will be strongly demanding backflow valves as recommended.

Further general business, Councillor KING.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise to speak about the Grange Library upgrade and funding for communities across our city. Madam Chair, Councillor WINES and

I went out recently to inspect the new upgrades at the Grange Library which are coming along fantastically. So I'd like to say thank you to Councillor ADAMS and also to Sharan Harvey because she came out and they're doing such a wonderful job over at the Grange Library and it does officially open in a couple of weeks.

The colour schemes, the interactiveness for the children is just second to none.

So I know the Grange community are absolutely thrilled about this upgrade.

But, Madam Chair, this upgrade, this million-dollar upgrade that's been happening at the Grange was actually delayed and I have to correct the records.

It was delayed, Madam Chair, because this project was supposed to happen a few years ago. I know there's a councillor on the other side of the Chamber who thinks that nothing is spent in her ward.

Madam Chair, the Grange Library was put on hold, Madam Chair, so the $1.3 million that was going to be spent at the Grange Library was transferred—can anyone guess to which library? Fairfield Library, Madam Chair. So the councillor opposite who said nothing's happened in her ward, Madam Chair—

Order.

The project on the northside was actually delayed to be spent in that particular councillor's ward. Madam Chair, at that time—

Order.

Around that time, Brisbane had to be rebuilt, Madam Chair, after the devastating floods. I know I'm not the only councillor in this Chamber who had to give up projects in their wards to help out those councillors—


Acting Chairman:

Councillor KING:


Councillor KING:

Order.

—on the other side of the Chamber, and which we were grateful, we wanted to do.


Councillor KING:

Acting Chairman:

To actually lift and help those councillors who were affected by the devastating flood. Madam Chair, the councillor that squeals the most over there is ungrateful and does not appreciate the fact that other wards—

—actually had to give up their projects, sacrifice their projects to help her ward and to rebuild Brisbane. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Further general business? I declare the meeting closed.


- 85 -

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 Victoria Newton (received on 5 June 2014)

Q1. Can the CEO please advise how many car parks are in the Council owned King George Square car park?

Q2. Can the CEO please advise how many car parks are in the Council owned Wickham Terrace car park?

Q3. Can the CEO please advise how much revenue was raised from the Council owned King

George Square car park in:



2010/2011







2011/2012

2012/2013

2013/2014 (year to date to 31 May 2014)

Q4. Can the CEO please advise how much revenue was raised from the Council owned Wickham

Terrace car park in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q5. Can the CEO please advise what the revenue targets are for the 2013/2014 financial year for the Council owned King George Square and Wickham Terrace car parks?

Q6. Can the CEO please advise the number of parking infringements issued in our major sporting and entertainment venues traffic and parking control areas? Can the response please be provided in the following table.

The Gabba (Gabba traffic area)



2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013



2013/2014 (year to date to 31 May

2014)

Queensland Sports (Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre – also known as QEII Stadium)



2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)

Queensland Tennis Centre (parking control area)



2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)

Ballymore Stadium (Ballymore traffic area)



2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013


- 86 -




2014)

Suncorp Stadium (Land Park traffic area)



2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)

Q7. Can the CEO please advise the amount of revenue from parking infringements issued in our major sporting and entertainment venues traffic and parking control areas? Can the response please be provided in the following table.




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)


- 87 -

Q8. Can the CEO please advise the amount of revenue from parking meters in our major sporting and entertainment venues traffic and parking control areas? Can the response please be provided in the following table.




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)




2010/2011



2011/2012



2012/2013




2014)

Q9. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking infringements issued in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q10. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking infringements appealed in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q11. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking infringements waived as a result of an appeal:


- 88 -









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q12. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking infringement appeals which were lodged before 1 January 2014 and were still waiting for a decision at 31 May 2014?

Q13. Can the CEO please advise the monetary value to Council of parking infringements appeals which were lodged before 1 January 2014 and were still waiting for a decision at 31 May

2014?

Q14. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking metered space s in Brisbane City in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q15. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking meters in Brisbane in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q16. Can the CEO please advise the total number of loading bays in the Brisbane CBD, South

Brisbane (including West End) and Fortitude Valley in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q17. Can the CEO please advise the total number of taxi ranks in the Brisbane CBD, South

Brisbane (including West End) and Fortitude Valley in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q18. Can the CEO please advise the total number residential parking permits issued in:



2010/2011







2011/2012

2012/2013


Q19. Can the CEO please advise the total number of visitor parking permits issued in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q20. Can the CEO please advise the total revenue collected by Council from issuing residential and visitor parking permits in 2013/2014 (year to date to 21 May 2014)?

Q21. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking permits and visitor permits issued in

2013/2014 (year to date to 31 May 2014) in each residential parking permit area. Can the response please be provided in the following table.

Auchenflower (Wesley hospital)

Residential parking permits Visitor parking permit


- 89 -

Buranda


Dutton Park (PA Hospital)


Herston (Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital)


Holland Park West (Griffith University)


Newstead

Residential parking permits

Red Hill


Visitor parking permit


Sinnamon Park


St Lucia (University of Queensland)



West End



Sunnybank (Sunnybank Private Hospital)



Wilston and Windsor


Q22. Can the CEO please advise the anticipated revenue from parking meters in the 2014/2015 financial year?

Q23. Can the CEO please advise the anticipated revenue from parking fines in the 2014/2015 financial year?

Q24. Can the CEO please advise the anticipated revenue from the Council owned King George

Square and Wickham Terrace car parks in 2014/2015 financial year?

Q25. Can the CEO please advise the number of parking metered spaces in 2013/2014 in the following suburbs:









Kangaroo Point

Woolloongabba

South Bank

South Brisbane


- 90 -



































West End

Highgate Hill

Kelvin Grove

Tenerife

Bowen Hills

Paddington

Brisbane CBD

Milton

Toowong

Spring Hill

Fortitude valley

Herston

Newstead

New Farm

Albion

Petrie Terrace

Dutton Park

Q26. Can the CEO please advise the amount of revenue collected from parking meters in the following suburbs in 2013/2014 (year to date to 31 May 2014)











































Kangaroo Point

Woolloongabba

South Bank

South Brisbane

West End

Highgate Hill

Kelvin Grove

Tenerife

Bowen Hills

Paddington

Brisbane CBD

Milton

Toowong

Spring Hill

Fortitude valley

Herston

Newstead

New Farm

Albion

Petrie Terrace

Dutton Park

Q27. Can the CEO please advise the amount of revenue collected from parking fines in the following suburbs in 2013/2014 (year to date to 31 May 2014)





























Kangaroo Point

Woolloongabba

South Bank

South Brisbane

West End

Highgate Hill

Kelvin Grove

Tenerife

Bowen Hills

Paddington

Brisbane CBD

Milton

Toowong

Spring Hill


- 91 -















Fortitude valley

Herston

Newstead

New Farm

Albion

Petrie Terrace

Dutton Park

Q28. Can the CEO please advise the number of parking fines issued in the following suburbs in












































Kangaroo Point

Woolloongabba

South Bank

South Brisbane

West End

Highgate Hill

Kelvin Grove

Tenerife

Bowen Hills

Paddington

Brisbane CBD

Milton

Toowong

Spring Hill

Fortitude valley

Herston

Newstead

New Farm

Albion

Petrie Terrace

Dutton Park

Q29. Can the CEO please advise the number of fines issued in 2013/2014 (year to date to 31 May

2014) by the fine category? Can the response please be provided in the following table.

Section Offence

167 of Part 12 of the

Regulation

No Stopping signs

Penalty

1 penalty unit


Regulation

No Parking signs 1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping on a road with a yellow edge line

1 penalty unit

Number of fines


Regulation

Stopping in or near an intersection

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on or near a children’s crossing

1.5 penalty units

172 of Part 12 of the Stopping on or near a 1.5 penalty units


- 92 -

Section

Regulation

Offence pedestrian

[except intersection] at crossing an

Penalty


Regulation

Stopping on or near a marked foot crossing

[except at an intersection]

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping at or near bicycle crossing lights

[except at an intersection]

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on or near a level crossing

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on a clearway 2 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on a freeway 1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in an emergency stopping lane

1.5 penalty units

179(1) of Part 12 of the

Regulation

Stopping in a loading zone commercial vehicle no permit

1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping in a loading zone longer than permitted

1 penalty unit

179(2A) of Part 12 of the Regulation


1 penalty unit

179(2B) of Part 12 of the Regulation


1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping in a truck zone

0.75 penalty units

Number of fines


- 93 -

Section Offence Penalty


Regulation

Stopping in a works zone

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in a taxi zone 1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping in a bus zone 1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in a permit zone

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in a mail zone 1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping in a bus lane, tram lane, transit lane, truck lane or on tram tracks

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in a shared zone

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Double parking 0.75 penalty units

Number of fines


Regulation

Stopping in or near a safety zone

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping near an obstruction

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on a bridge or similar structure

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in a tunnel underpass

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on a crest or curve outside a built-up area

1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping near a fire hydrant

1.5 penalty units


- 94 -

Section Offence Penalty


Regulation

Stopping at or near a bus stop

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping at or near a tram stop

1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on a path, dividing strip or nature strip

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Obstructing access to and from a footpath, driveway

1 penalty unit


Regulation

Stopping near a postbox

0.75 penalty units

Number of fines


Regulation

Stopping on a road with bicycle parking sign

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping on a road with motor bike parking sign

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Stopping in a parking area for people with disabilities

2 penalty units

203A of Part 12 of the

Regulation

Stopping in a slip lane 1.5 penalty units


Regulation

Parking for longer than indicated

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Parallel parking on a road

1 penalty unit


Regulation

Parallel parking in a median strip parking area

0.75 penalty units


Regulation

Angle parking 0.75 penalty units

211 of Part 12 of the Parking in parking bays 0.75 penalty units


- 95 -

Section

Regulation

Offence Penalty


Regulation

Entering and leaving a median strip parking area

0.75 penalty units


Act

Contravention of an indication given by an emergency vehicles sign

1.5 penalty units


Act

Contravention of an indication given by a park rear in sign

0.75 penalty units


Act

Contravention of an indication given by a sign not otherwise specified in this

Schedule

1 penalty unit

106 of the Act Paid Parking & Paid

Parking Offences

0.75 penalty units

Number of fines

Q30. Can the CEO please advise the total number of parking related complaints made to the call centre in the following years:







2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013




Q31. Can the CEO please advise the top 5 parking related complaints made to the call centre in the following years:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q32. Can the CEO please advise how many faulty parking meters jobs were logged in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q33. Can the CEO please advise how many parking fines were waived as a result of parking meter



 fault in:





2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013



- 96 -

Q34. Can the CEO please advise how many parking fines were waived as a result of a parking fine being incorrectly issued or issued without cause in:









2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q35. Can the CEO please advise how many fines were issued with the assistance of number plate recognition technology?

Q36. Can the CEO provide the total number of parking infringement notices issued for “over staying the parking limit” in the following traffic area for 2012-13 and year to date 2013-14?



Woolloongabba Traffic Area,





Lang Park Traffic Area

Ballymore Traffic Area

Q37. Can the CEO provide the number of staff involved in changing the changeable signs on a game or event day in the following traffic areas?



Woolloongabba Traffic Area,





Lang Park Traffic Area

Ballymore Traffic Area

Q38. Can the CEO provide the number of complaints from residents (per Ward) who have been fined for parking in their street even though they have paid for parking permits?









Q39. Can the CEO provide the number of complaints per ward relating to non functioning parking meters:

2010/2011

2011/2012

2012/2013


Q40. Can the CEO provide the areas of individual parks in The Gabba Ward listed in the table below?

SUBURB PARK NAME

Kangaroo Point Captain Burke Park

Kangaroo Point James Warner Park

Kangaroo Point C.T. White Park

Kangaroo Point Kangaroo Point Park

Kangaroo Point River Terrace Park

Kangaroo Point Raymond Park

Kangaroo Point Main Street Park (Rotherham St)

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

East Brisbane

Mowbray Park

Norman Bridge Reserve

Norman Street Park

Real Park

Williamina Park

Heath Park

Stanley Street East Park

Woolloongabba Rotary Park

Rome Street Park


- 97 -

East Brisbane

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Kingfisher Park

Giffin Park

The Common Park

Temple Street Park

Wembley Park

Gladstone Street Park

Coorparoo Creek Reserve

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Coorparoo

Bath Street Park

Stanley Street East Park

Clarence Street Park

Barnes Avenue Park

Coorparoo future Coorparoo Park

Woolloongabba Woolloongabba Place Park

Woolloongabba Faversham Street Park

Woolloongabba Buranda Playground Park

Woolloongabba Leonard Street Park

Woolloongabba Preston Street Park

Woolloongabba Carl Street Park

Woolloongabba Deshon Street Park

Woolloongabba Turbo Drive Park

Woolloongabba Wellington Rd

Dutton Park

Dutton Park

Dutton Park

Dutton Park

Dutton Park

Dutton Park

Highgate Hill

Dutton Park

Gair Park

Ovens Head Reserve

Outlook Park

Brier Street Park

Rosecliffe Street Park

Highgate Hill Park

Highgate Hill

Highgate Hill

Highgate Hill

Highgate Hill

Highgate Hill

Highgate Hill

Greenslopes

Greenslopes

Brier Street Park

Derby Street Park

Dauphin Terrace Park

Rosecliffe Street Park

Lyons Playground Park

Brydon Street Park

Langlands Park

Chadwick Place

Q41. Can the CEO provide the cost of maintenance for parks per suburb for 2012-13 and the predicted maintenance costs for 2013-14 for the parks in The Gabba Ward?


- 98 -

Q42. Can the CEO provide the total number of complaints relating to all parks in The Gabba Ward in 2012-13 and year to date 2013-14?

Q43. Can the CEO list the parks that received the five highest number of complaints in The Gabba

Ward for 2012-13 and year to date 2013-14?

Q44. Can the CEO advise whether Council collates any park usage data and if so when and how is that data collected?

Q45. Can the CEO advise how many Council FTEs re employed to undertake maintenance of parks in the following financial years:













2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

Q46. Can the CEO advise how much Council funding was spent on parks maintenance (excluding recovery from natural disasters) for the following financial years:













2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

Q47. Can the CEO advise









How many panic buttons are installed in public places in Brisbane

Where are these buttons located

How much did these buttons cost to install

How much to these buttons cost in annual maintenance

Q48. Can the CEO advise which libraries were upgraded in the following financial years, including costs per library:





















2004/ 05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

Q49. Can the CEO provide a breakdown of funding from the State and Federal Governments in

2013/14 financial year as per the table below:

Funding Program Details of Project Amount of Grant Federal or State

Government Grant

Q50. Can the CEO provide a list of all Brisbane City Council boards, including details of membership and how much is paid in board fees:

Name of Board

Chairperson Members Remuneration Amount


- 99 -

Submitted by Councillor Victoria Newton (received on 12 June 2014)

Q1. Please advise how many Built Environment CARS Officers are employed by Council by region: North, South, East West.

Q2. Please advise how many Built Environment Complaints were lodged with Council in the:









2013/14 Financial year (Year to date figures)

2012/13

2011/12

2010/11

Q3. Please advise how many Parking Compliance Team CARS Officers are employed by Council by region: North, South, East West.

Q4. Please advise of the salary pay scales Built Environment CARS officers are remunerated?

Q5. Please advise how many complaints Brisbane City Council received concerning bus services during 2013/14 financial year?

Q6. Please advise which ten bus routes received the most complaints during the 2013/14 financial year?

Q7.

Please advise the top ten issues people raise with Council as bus complaints 2013/14 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 Nicole Johnston (from meeting on 10 June 2014)

Q1. On what date was a heritage exemption certificate obtained by Council for the proposed works for the new shed at the Queensland Blind Cricket Association grounds at Yeronga Memorial

Park?

A1. The premise of the question is false.

Q2. Under what 2013/14 Budget programme and service number are the disability works to the

Queensland Blind Cricket Association at Yeronga Memorial Park being undertaken?

A2. 4.4.1.3.

Q3. Please provide a list of Clubs, a project value and description for improvements or alterations being funded by Council under its disability improvement funding (excluding grants)?

A3. As there is no time period specified in the question, it is unable to be answered within the timeframe for responses required by the Meetings Local Law 2001.

Q4. Why was the Local Councillor, Nicole Johnston and adjoining residents not advised by

Council about the proposed works to the Queensland Blind Cricket Association at Yeronga

Memorial Park?

A4. It is not Council’s standard practice to inform a local councillor or residents when internal toilet works or alterations to door frames are undertaken on Council leased sites. Likewise, a local councillor or residents may not be advised when minor external works such as the alteration of the height of an awning or modifications of an entry path to ensure DDA compliance is undertaken.

Council undertakes consultation with a lease holder when undertaking minor work such as this – which occurred on this occasion.


- 100 -

Q5. Will Council agree to notify Councillor Johnston, in a timely way, about all future disability improvement works being undertaken in Tennyson Ward before construction commences in future?

A5. Refer to answer 4 above.

RISING OF COUNCIL:

PRESENTED:

6.15pm. and CONFIRMED

Council officers in attendance:

Angela Holmes (Team Leader, Council and Committees Support)

David Redding (Council and Committee Liaison Officer)

Billy Peers (Personal Support Officer to the Lord Mayor and Council Orderly)

CHAIRMAN


table of contents - Brisbane City Council

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

The 4439 meeting of the Brisbane City Council, held at City Hall, Brisbane on Tuesday 17 June 2014 at 2pm

Prepared by:

Council and Committee Liaison Office

Chief Executive’s Office

Office of the Lord Mayor and the Chief Executive Officer

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

PRESENT:

OPENING OF MEETING:

APOLOGIES:

739/2013-14

MINUTES:

740/2013-14

QUESTION TIME:

CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS:

ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE

741/2013-14

ADOPTED

742/2013-14

ADOPTED

743/2013-14

ADOPTED

744/2013-14

ADOPTED

INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

745/2013-14

ADOPTED

746/2013-14

ADOPTED

747/2013-14

PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE

748/2013-14

ADOPTED

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT

COMMITTEE

749/2013-14

ADOPTED

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT

COMMITTEE (Special meeting)

750/2013-14

ADOPTED

751/2013-14

ADOPTED

ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

752/2013-14

ADOPTED

753/2013-14

ADOPTED

754/2013-14

ADOPTED

FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE

755/2013-14

ADOPTED

BRISBANE LIFESTYLE COMMITTEE

756/2013-14

ADOPTED

757/2013-14

ADOPTED

FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

758/2013-14

ADOPTED

759/2013-14

ADOPTED

PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:

760/2013-14

GENERAL BUSINESS:

QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN

GIVEN:

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