MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
The 4507 meeting of the Brisbane City Council,
held at City Hall, Brisbane
on Tuesday 6 September 2016
at 2pm
Prepared by:
Council and Committee Liaison Office
Chief Executive’s Office
Office of the Lord Mayor and Chief Executive Officer
[4507 (Ordinary) meeting – 6 September 2016]
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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THE 4507 MEETING OF THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL,HELD AT CITY HALL, BRISBANE,
ON TUESDAY 6 MAY 2016
AT 2PM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRESENT:
OPENING OF MEETING:
APOLOGY:
MINUTES:
QUESTION TIME:
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS:
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE
ASURRENDER AND RE-GRANT OF A TELECOMMUNICATIONS LEASE TO OPTUS NETWORKS PTY LTD_
BCONTRACTS AND TENDERING – REPORT TO COUNCIL OF CONTRACTS ACCEPTED BY DELEGATES FOR JULY 2016
CHEMMANT-LYTTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
DCITY CENTRE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
ESPRING HILL NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – SEQ BUS CONTRACT
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – STREETS OF REMEMBRANCE
BPETITION – REQUESTING THE INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC CALMING IN ACACIA DRIVE, ASHGROVE
CPETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL LOWER THE SPEED LIMIT ON SWANN ROAD, BETWEEN MOGGILL ROAD AND INDOOROOPILLY ROAD/GAILEY ROAD, TARINGA, FROM 60 KM/H TO 50KM/H
DPETITION – REQUESTING RESIDENTS OF PENGAM STREET, KURABY, BE ALLOWED TO PARK ON NATURE STRIPS WITHIN THEIR STREET
EPETITION – REQUESTING IMPROVED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN NEWSTEAD AND THE GASWORKS PRECINCT
CITY PLANNING COMMITTEE
ADEVELOPMENT APPLICATION UNDER SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009 (SPA): DEVELOPMENT PERMIT – MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE FOR A CHILD CARE CENTRE, DEVELOPMENT PERMIT – RECONFIGURE A LOT AND PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO CARRY OUT BUILDING WORK ON LAND AT 2636 EMERALD STREET AND 257-273 GYMPIE ROAD, KEDRON – SABRAJA PROJECTS PTY LTD
BPETITION – OBJECTING TO A BUILDING CONSTRUCTED AT 31 AIRLIE ROAD, PULLENVALE
CPETITION – OBJECTING TO A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR MULTI-UNIT DWELLINGS (162UNITS), RESTAURANT AND SHOP AT 236-248 LOGAN ROAD AND 7A COWLEY STREET, WOOLLOONGABBA
ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – VERGE GARDENS
FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – FIELD SERVICES GROUP – ASPHALT PRODUCTION AND INNOVATION
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – GRAFFITI REDUCTION IN BRISBANE
FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION AND REPORT – NET BORROWINGS – CASH INVESTMENTS AND FUNDING FOR THE JUNE 2016 QUARTER
CONSIDERATION OF NOTIFIED MOTION – REAFFIRMING COUNCIL’S SUPPORT FOR MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY:
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:
GENERAL BUSINESS:
QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
[4507 (Ordinary) meeting – 6 September 2016]
- 1 -
PRESENT:
The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR (Councillor Graham QUIRK) – LNP
The Chairman of Council, Councillor Angela OWEN (Calamvale Ward) – LNP
LNP Councillors (and Wards) / ALP Councillors (and Wards)Adam ALLAN (Northgate)
Matthew BOURKE (Jamboree)
Amanda COOPER (Bracken Ridge)
Vicki HOWARD (Central) (Deputy Chairman of Council)
Steven HUANG (Macgregor)
Fiona KING (Marchant)
Kim MARX (Runcorn)
PeterMATIC (Paddington)
Ian McKENZIE (Coorparoo)
David McLACHLAN (Hamilton)
Ryan MURPHY (Doboy)
Adrian SCHRINNER (Chandler) (Deputy Mayor)
Julian SIMMONDS (Walter Taylor)
Steven TOOMEY (The Gap)
Andrew WINES (Enoggera)
NormWYNDHAM (McDowall) / PeterCUMMING (Wynnum Manly) (The Leader of the Opposition)
Jared CASSIDY (Deagon) (Deputy Leader of the Opposition)
SteveGRIFFITHS (Moorooka)
Charles STRUNK (Forest Lake)
ShayneSUTTON (Morningside)
Queensland Greens Councillor (and Ward)
Jonathan SRI (The Gabba)
Independent Councillor (and Ward)
Nicole JOHNSTON (Tennyson)
OPENING OF MEETING:
The Chairman, Councillor Angela OWEN, opened the meeting with prayer, and then proceeded with the business set out in the Agenda.
APOLOGY:
125/2016-17
Apologies were submitted on behalf of Councillors Krista ADAMS and Kate RICHARDS, and they were granted leave of absence from the meeting on the motion of Councillor Kim MARX, seconded by CouncillorAndrewWINES.
MINUTES:
126/2016-17
The Minutes of the 4506 meeting of Council held on 30 August 2016, copies of which had been forwarded to each Councillor, were presented, taken as read and confirmed on the motion of Councillor Kim MARX, seconded by Councillor Andrew WINES.
QUESTION TIME:
Chairman:Question Time. Are there any questions of the LORD MAYOR or a Chairman of any of the Standing Committees?
Councillor WYNDHAM.
Question 1
Councillor WYNDHAM:Thank you, Madam Chair; my question is to the LORD MAYOR. We know that 68% of Brisbane public transport commuters use the bus network for their journey to work every day. While the State Government’s Cross River Rail project is needed to address rail capacity issues, the Brisbane Metro is a vital project to ensure a quick and efficient trip to work for 68% of Brisbane’s public transport users. Could you please update the Chamber why Brisbane needs to keep pace with the bus patronage growth, and how Brisbane ratepayers will benefit from the Metro Subway System?
Chairman:Thank you, Councillor WYNDHAM.
LORD MAYOR, before I give you the call, I’d just like to acknowledge the presence of the Federal Member for Brisbane, Mr Trevor Evans MP, in the PublicGallery today.
LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:Thanks very much, Madam Chairman, and I thank Councillor WYNDHAM for the question. As Councillor WYNDHAM has clearly pointed out, the reality is that in our City of Brisbane, 68% of public transport users on a ratio of bus and rail use bus transportation, and 32% rail. As I have said here before, it differs significantly from other cities where there is a closer 50:50 split in terms of heavy rail versus other forms of public transport.
That is an historical fact. We don’t have the same number of rail corridors in our city, so the question has been, for some time now: what are we going to do to alleviate the issues of growing bus congestion in our city, thereby causing significant delays for bus commuters? This is a question which I have been asking now for some time. It was a question that I asked of the previous Newman Government, and it is a question when this Government took the Bus and Train Tunnel proposal off the table and brought Cross River Rail back, it is a question that I have continued to ask.
That is the reality. We have put this Metro forward as a means of dealing with capacity issues. It is not just the capacity issue of today where we see what is a 12minute scheduled run from Woolloongabba to the city, but often is a 20minute trip because of that bus congestion at the cultural centre, or on the Victoria Bridge, in our existing busway infrastructure.
But we have got to this, what I see as a silly situation, where you’ve got a city government here saying that, right, it is not our prime responsibility to fix this, but we will get on and we will do it. We have made a commitment to the people of Brisbane. That commitment has been endorsed resoundingly in March this year, and we are intending to get on and deliver that commitment. It comes on the back of a lot of other infrastructure we have delivered.
Let me just say, though, that the position is somewhat confusing. Yesterday we had the Premier come out and say—she said, what I’d say to LORD MAYOR Graham Quirk is he should ditch his Metro-style plan. Then we had the DeputyPremier come out today and say, well, no, that is what building Queensland will do, in response to the issue of the State Government’s involvement in the business case, and she said here that the State Government collectively will work with Council to assist them in the Metro and we have always said that the Metro needs to complement Cross River Rail which is the State’s number one infrastructure priority.
Councillors interjecting.
LORD MAYOR:Then, of course, the interviewer says: And the Lord Mayor says the same thing. He agrees. So, Madam Chairman, we are on the same page there.
Then, of course, we have the Leader of the Opposition who, in an interview the other day, said, well, it makes sense to look at the Bus and Train (BaT) Tunnel again. But I want to go back to November 2009. I want to read some quotes. This was from the Premier of the day, “The State Government has unveiled sweeping plans to modernise Brisbane’s public transport network,"Mrs Bligh said, “Those plans included an international standard underground metro rail network similar to the London Tube and the Paris Metro. I realise that there have been discussions about a return of trams and light rail to our city streets, but outside of our busways, which were designed to accommodate light rail, if needed, the time for trams in the CBD is over. That is why, along with plans to boost heavy rail capacity, we also need to start planning for an underground Metro system. By 2030, the South-East Queensland population will hit almost 4.5 million; that’s bigger than Copenhagen, Montreal, Munich and Singapore, and they all have metros.”
She went on to say, “So, if rapid Metro is to be part of our transport future, the time to talk about it is now.” That was 2009, from a Labor State Government. What I am saying is we are full bore ahead. We are not taking a backward step. We have a commitment to the people of Brisbane, and we intend to hold it.
Chairman:Further questions?
Councillor CUMMING.
Question 2
Councillor CUMMING:Thanks, Madam Chair; my question is to the LORD MAYOR. Since the CrossRiver Rail project was first announced by the Bligh Labor Government in 2010, it has been common knowledge that the GoPrint site at Woolloongabba was required for Queensland’s number one infrastructure project. Since you announced your socalled Metro during the election campaign, this fact has been reported in the press on multiple occasions by the Department of Transport and Main Roads and, indeed, during my budget reply.
Last weekend you claimed to be surprised that you couldn’t use the GoPrint site for your so-called Metro. Have you stopped listening, or will you just plough on regardless, wasting $16 million of ratepayers’ money on Metro this financial year?
LORD MAYOR:Madam Chairman, I thank Councillor CUMMING for his question. I thank him very much for it, because we have said all the way along that the business case would look at the coexistence of Cross River Rail and Metro. We are committed to that. We are not about taking over the GoPrint site; we never have been. We understand that the State have plans for that site in respect of Cross River Rail. We understand they have plans for that site in terms of a 40-storey tower. There is no reason why those plans cannot continue. They can coexist, and the invitation to the State to be a part of the business case was about working in cooperation.
I want to remind the Chamber again that the only reason we are having this discussion is because there is nothing on the table for bus commuters in this city. This Metro is about delivering the future for those commuters. We owe them nothing less. I remind this Chamber that the Labor Opposition—
Councillor interjecting.
Chairman:Councillor CASSIDY!
LORD MAYOR:—in this place, under the leadership of Milton Dick, were year after year touting: why won’t this Administration do something about public transport? They said we were just road happy. Well, the reality is, here we are, the first time we have put on a significant piece of infrastructure for public transport users on the table, and all they want to do is to be negative, to white ant that project at every step of the way.
Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:Order!
LORD MAYOR:Madam Chairman, you can’t rely on these people. You can’t rely on them to build infrastructure, and clearly you can’t rely on their word, because they wanted this Administration to come up to the plate on public transport. We have done that, and we intend to deliver it.
We delivered the Eleanor Schonell Bridge, the link between Dutton Park and the University of Queensland. That infrastructure was built. It was not our initial idea.
Councillor interjecting.
LORD MAYOR:No, but we built it. We didn’t talk about it. We actually did it. It is out there; it is being utilised. So here we have a situation where, at the election, they had a light rail plan, similar price tag to a Metro. I outlined during that election period there were several reasons why I would not support light rail, and it would have meant significant closures to the road network to deliver it.
The Metro maximises the use of existing infrastructure. It takes that infrastructure to a higher order or higher capacity use. It delivers on a plan for the future for bus commuters in this city, as well as providing an opportunity for some of those buses then, up to 200 of them in fact, to go and improve bus services around the city. Why won’t Labor in this place support that plan? Why won’t they, Madam Chairman?
Councillors interjecting.
Chairman:Order!
LORD MAYOR:Apologise—you are just an apologist for your friends in George Street, CouncillorGRIFFITHS. That is what the apology is about from your side.
Councillor interjecting.
Chairman:Councillor CASSIDY!
LORD MAYOR:Madam Chairman, we have a plan. We have shown in this place that we can deliver major infrastructure. We intend to complete that business case by May of next year. That is the time when we can go and ask for anything that might be required, but again, it is on the table. The invitation is open for the State to embed themselves in this business plan. That invitation has been there from day one when I met with Minister Hinchliffe, and it continues to remain on offer.
Chairman:Further questions?
Councillor WINES.
Question 3
Councillor WINES:Thank you, Madam Chairman; my question is to the Chairman of the Public and Active Transport Committee, Councillor SCHRINNER. Last week we were informed that the State Government had heard our concerns that were raised by this Administration regarding the TransLink bus contracts, and has ordered a review of their processes. Can you please update the Chamber on those concerns that Council had with the original process, and the latest update Council has received on the new TransLink bus contract renewal process?
DEPUTY MAYOR:Thank you, Councillor WINES, through you, Madam Chairman. I know that, Councillor WINES, you are particularly interested in this matter, and you have been very active in raising questions and concerns during Committee, and I appreciate that. We had this strange situation where we are facing a new contract for our bus services, and this is a significant contract. We are talking several hundred million dollars a year, and over afive-year term in excess of $1billion. This is a billion dollar plus contract, very important to the CityofBrisbane; very important to Brisbane City Council, and indeed, very important to the State.
We had this remarkable situation where the Public and Active Transport Committee was asked for a briefing on the contract, and our officers had been gagged by TransLink from talking about this contract. They had been forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement and could not say a word. All they could essentially say is look, we’ve had to sign this non-disclosure agreement, and refer any questions through to TransLink.
We asked TransLink to come along to the Committee. They declined. They did, however, send an officer to take notes for probity reasons. They did send an officer to take notes, to make sure that we weren’t breaching our non-disclosure agreement. But this was a very serious situation. We can’t go into a serious public transport negotiation under a veil of secrecy like this. I have very serious concerns about the way those contract negotiations were going.
When you are talking about a $1 billion contract, you are talking about essential public transport services and bus services for the people of Brisbane, a cloud of secrecy, a veil of secrecy is not the place for those negotiations to be held. But more importantly, we know that the current State Government was very critical of the former government, the Newman Government, and their approach to these negotiations, and promised they wouldn’t do the same thing as that former government. Yet, a long way down the track of these negotiations, they were going in exactly the same direction that Labor said they wouldn’t. They were going towards privatisation of services and contestability. That is where they were headed.
Councillors interjecting.