Living in Brisbane
February Edition 2015
A message from Lord Mayor Graham Quirk
Happy New Year Brisbane! With the summer holidays now behind us, Council is busy preparing for what will be another exciting year of events, projects and milestones for the city.
Thank you to everyone who turned out for our CBD Christmas celebrations, New Year’s Eve Fireworks spectacular and the school holiday activities at our 33 libraries across the city.
Congratulations to Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova for taking out the men’s and women’s singles finals at this year’s Brisbane International tennis tournament. Brisbane was thrilled to host a number of games as part of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and I hope you were able to get along and cheer for the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba.
To kick off the year, I encourage you to experience the best of Asian food and culture with the BrisAsia Festival from 6 February-1 March. The festival will coincide with traditional Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown Mall from 20-22 February.
This month we formally welcome our city’s new international students. Also, for the very first time, City Hall will host the Brisbane Comedy Festival Gala as part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival on 28 February.
Graham Quirk
LORD MAYOR
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Cycling Brisbane - A new initiative to encourage people of all ages and abilities to cycle more often. Find out more at www.cyclingbrisbane.com.au
BrisAsia Festival returns in 2015
Experience the best of Asian culture right here in Brisbane as the BrisAsia Festival returns from Friday 6 February to Sunday 1 March.
Festival goers can enjoy a full program of free events throughout the city including live music and performances, movie screenings, food stalls with tasty treats for sale and craft workshops.
Explore the tantalising flavours of Asian cooking at the street food events, express your creativity through cooking, art or dance workshops or learn about the birds that migrate between Australia and Japan.
Brisbane youth should dust off their best cosplay outfits (dressing as a character from a film, book or video game) for the ultimate celebration of Asian pop culture at the Neon Pop dance party.
Kicking off with the BrisAsia Festival Opening Night Party on Friday 6 February, don’t miss the opportunity to experience the tastes, sights and sounds of Asia at events right across Brisbane.
For more information and to view the full program, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/brisasiafestival
Experience a Taste of Asia
Indulge in the delectable Taste of Asia, sponsored by Treasury Casino and Hotel, as this foodie event comes to Reddacliff Place on Friday 27 February from 11am-9pm.
Learn Asian home cooking from celebrity chef and author of Adam’s Big Pot, Adam Liaw, explore the food stalls, make your own lantern, or kick back with a tasty treat and enjoy live music and entertainment.
Amigurumi
Discover the world of Amigurumi as Burnett Lane is transformed into a crocheted wonderland from 13-15 February.
Amigurumi is the popular Japanese artform of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and adorable anthropomorphic creatures.
To find out more, visit www.brisbane.qld.au/brisasiafestival
G20 leaves lasting legacy
Following two years of preparations, the G20 Leaders’ Summit has been hailed a great success locally, nationally and internationally.
Over the course of the event, delegates enjoyed some unique Brisbane experiences with the Italian and Spanish Prime Ministers touring Legacy Way, and the Indian Prime Minister unveiling a statue of Gandhi in the Roma Street Parkland.
The G20 placed Brisbane squarely in the world spotlight and the lasting legacies from the event are the new opportunities it presents such as promoting Brisbane as the ultimate city to live, visit, study, invest and do business in.
With a host of major events being held in Brisbane over the coming year, the city has now taken its place as a destination of choice for major international conferences, events and activities.
Welcoming international students
New and returning international students are invited to attend the Study Brisbane City Welcome Festival on 28 February at South Bank Parklands.
More than 60 community, leisure and education exhibitors will be available at the event to help students settle into their new home away from home and discover the vibrant, friendly lifestyle Brisbane has to offer.
Highlights include the official opening of the Lord Mayor’s International Student Friendship Ceremony and traditional Indigenous Welcome to Country, as well as live entertainment, workshops, competitions and a selection of Brisbane’s most popular and authentic international foods.
Study Brisbane’s City Welcome Festival has been running since 2009 with up to 7500 students and locals attending every year.
Brisbane-based international students will be volunteering on the day to welcome new students to the city and recommend things to see and do.
For more information, visit www.studybrisbane.com.au/festival
Team BNE
Morgan Jaffit from Defiant Development is a local entrepreneur helping to put Brisbane on the map as a creative hub for the gaming industry.
Morgan and his team of award winning game developers are being noticed around the world by making great games, such as Ski Safari, Rocket Bunnies and Heroes Call.
These games are not only popular with gamers, they are also creating local jobs. “We’re in the business of creating new, Australian-owned intellectual property and that means there’s always an opportunity to reach an audience and from there build a business”, Morgan says.
Morgan encourages local people with business ideas to try and develop them. “If you have an idea and you know you can bring something new into the world, you should go for it.”
For more information and to support Team Brisbane, visit www.teambne.com.au
Free inner-city parking
Residents can now benefit from free 15 minute parking at more than 7700 parking bays throughout Brisbane.
Free 15 minute parking is an outcome of the Brisbane Parking Taskforce and aims to make parking more convenient. It’s available at all metered parking spaces outside the CBD, including South Bank and Fortitude Valley.
All customers need to do is enter their vehicle registration number into the meter and select the 15 minutes free option. Customers should note the offer is for motorists who park and move on within this time only and is not a ‘first 15 minutes free’ promotion.
Free 15 minute parking is also available at King George Square and Wickham Terrace carparks for customers who enter and leave within 15 minutes. For more information, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call 3403 8888.
Cyclists ride with new online tool
A new online tool is making it easier for cyclists to map out their bike journey around Brisbane.
The Ride the City online route planner, available on the Cycling Brisbane website, provides step-by-step directional instructions for your journey.
Ride the City provides safe cycle planning, based on whether a cyclist wants to travel by off-road bikeways or the most direct route. It also displays points of interest, including local bike shops and CityCycle station facilities.
Cycling directions can be printed or viewed on the go, with the tool accessible on smart phones and tablet devices.
Visit www.cyclingbrisbane.com.au and simply enter your start and finish point into the route planner.
While there, join Cycling Brisbane and discover all the ways Council can help you get on your bike more often.
Cycling Brisbane is a free-to-join membership program. The website is dedicated to all things cycling, from cycling events, training courses, advice and bikepaths, to the latest deals and discounts from supporting businesses.
Get fit in 2015
If you need a little motivation to keep your health and fitness regime on track this year, why not try the Active Parks program? It offers free or low-cost activities at more than 50 local parks across Brisbane.
The Active Parks program caters for all ability levels so you can get a great workout and make new friends in your local area.
Westsiders can take part in a free interval training and core class at Jubilee Park, Bardon, every Saturday between 7 February and 7 March from 7-8am. To book your place call 0406 425 561.
Residents aged 50 years and over can also take part in the GOLD (Growing Older and Living Dangerously) program with great free and low-cost activities available across the city.
To find out more, call 3403 8888 or visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/activeandhealthy
Stay active and keep safe this summer
February’s warmer weather provides great conditions for maintaining health, attaining new fitness goals and enjoying the outdoors.
Keep safe while exercising by choosing routes popular with other runners and walkers, and where possible, aiming to run during daylight hours. Residents should also consider exercising with a friend or the family dog, and remove headphones or turn music down low to remain aware of their immediate environment.
Public safety help points are located across Brisbane and are monitored 24 hours a day. The help points are to be used in case of a medical or safety emergency, or when assistance is required. To find out the locations of public safety help points across the city, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au and search ‘public safety help points’ to view Council’s interactive map.
Boost for Brisbane’s ferry network
Brisbane residents are reaping the benefits of the city’s enhanced ferry network following the opening of the Bulimba ferry terminal and Milton CityCat terminal.
Following a major upgrade, Bulimba ferry terminal is now servicing 280 stops on weekdays – including CityCat and CityFerry services – and approximately 8000 passengers a week as Brisbane’s busiest suburban ferry terminal.
The brand new Milton CityCat terminal opened in recent weeks and is accommodating 118 CityCat stops per weekday, with 200,000 passengers expected to use this service in its first year.
Both terminals provide enhanced accessibility for passengers of all abilities and have been designed to be flood resilient.Major upgrades at a further nine ferry terminals – Regatta, Bretts Wharf, Hawthorne, UQ St Lucia, QUT Gardens Point, Sydney Street, Holman Street, North Quay and Maritime Museum – will be completed by mid-2015, weather permitting.
Walk, cycle or scoot to school
With 46 schools across Brisbane taking part in Council’s Active School Travel program, westside students are discovering the benefits of sustainable and healthy ways to get around.
The program encourages students, families and teachers to leave the car at home for at least one of their journeys to and from school, and to walk, cycle, scoot, carpool or take public transport instead.
This year, eight westside schools are participating in the Active School Travel program, resulting in less congestion in local streets, increased safety around schools and a cleaner environment.
The program also provides students and their families with new opportunities to be active and healthy.
More than 25,000 students took part in the 2014 program with schools competing for the monthly Golden Boot Award.
For more information on how you can help your children actively travel to and from school, call 3403 8888 or visitwww.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Did you know...
The heritage-listed Victoria Bridge Abutment is part of the 1896 bridge (the fourth to be built) and the first bridge across the Brisbane River not to be washed away during times of flood.
Preserving a piece of history
The historic Victoria Bridge Abutment and Memorial is undergoing a facelift to allow public access for the first time in 16 years.
Located adjacent to the Victoria Bridge, on the southern side of the Brisbane River, the abutment is the last remaining piece of the 1896 bridge which was demolished in 1969 when the current bridge opened.
It is an ideal place to take in city and river views, and is home to several memorial plaques. The refurbishment will include the installation of CCTV cameras, lighting and signage, a pavement upgrade and a pedestrian bridge between the current bridge and the abutment. For more information, email
Green Gardening Guide update
To help exercise your green thumb, the Green Gardening Guide has been launched providing a wealth of sustainability information for amateur and experienced gardeners alike.
The sixth edition of the guide covers tips for designing and caring for your garden, sharing it with wildlife and growing your own fresh produce. It also delivers tips on how to save money, time and water, and the importance of sustainable gardening methods.
Council’s Green Gardening Guide is all about making easy, cost effective and sustainable choices in your garden, which help keep our city clean and green.
You can help manage mosquito breeding areas by eliminating standing water and changing dog bowl, bird bath and pot plant holder water weekly. Remember to also check boats, old tyres and children’s wading pools regularly for stagnant water.
To read or download the sixth edition of Council’s Green Gardening Guide, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au and search ‘green gardening guide’.
Enjoy your local creek
With Brisbane renowned for its subtropical environment and outdoor lifestyle, Council’s new Waterways Activation Map helps nature lovers learn about local creek catchments, the fauna and flora found there, and the many ways to enjoy the great outdoors in their local area.
All Brisbane residents live in a creek or river catchment, with 38 major creek catchments and 630 kilometres of waterways throughout the city.
The new online interactive map helps residents and visitors discover those waterways.
It’s compatible with desktop, tablet and smart phones, and showcases creek and river catchments, associated creek catchment groups, boat ramps, selected bikeways, walking paths and trails for the
community to experience.
Information on Habitat Brisbane sites, environment centres, Council’s WaterSmart projects and links to creek fact sheets are also available.
To find out more about the Waterways Activation Map, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au and search ‘Brisbane’s Creeks’ or call 3403 8888.
What happens to your recycling?
While most residents think carefully about separating their general waste and recycling, we are often asked about where the recyclables go after collection.
Recyclables go to the Material Recovery Facility at Gibson Island where these valuable recovered resources go onto a conveyor system to be sorted by size and material type. Items are grouped as paper, cardboard, plastic, metal or glass, ready for reprocessing into new products and packaging.