Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk delivers a 'housekeeping' budget

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk appears to be keeping a few vote-winning projects up his sleeve, with his penultimate budget before the 2016 local government election largely focused on housekeeping.

There is “nothing sexy” about the 2014-15 budget expenditure-wise, the Lord Mayor said. By his own admission, it is one that focuses on under-the-radar projects over flashy, big-ticket items.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham QuirkCredit: Harrison Saragossi

But he declined to be drawn on whether or not he was saving some potentially vote-winning items for his last pre-election budget next year.

“This is a steady-as-she goes budget and I make no apology for that because this is not a time for extravagance,” he said.

How Brisbane City Council will spend rates dollars in the 2014-15 Budget.

“People, I think, want a sound budget, they want the amenities we deliver out there in the suburbs to be good, in terms of what future budgets may hold, that’s a matter for future budgets.”

Arguably, the biggest achievement of the 2014-15 budget is its dramatic slashing of debt, without a significant rise in rates.

The record $2.4 billion debt - accrued mainly through its recent large-scale infrastructure investment program - will drop to $1.6 billion by the end of this financial year.

Finance chairman Julian Simmonds said this equated to a reduction in net debt from its current financial year peak of $2107 per person to $1411 per person.

It is then forecast to drop below $1000 in 2016-17, or less half the current level.

Rates rises this year have been modest, with an average 3.85 per cent anticipated to be added to the annual bill or an average of nearly $50 per household and business.

The debt repayment will come largely from two sources, a $400 million funding contribution from the Federal Government upon the completion of the Legacy Way tunnel in early 2015 and a new funding arrangement between water authority Queensland Urban Utilities and the Queensland Treasury Corporation.

Cr Quirk said it would eliminate the council as the "middle man" between the two entities, producing savings across the next three years.

One of the key areas of expenditure this year is on asset maintenance, with a 30 per cent rise from the current financial year.

Cr Quirk conceded there had been an underspend on asset maintenance in recent years.

“You don’t get any brownie point for asset maintenance but the last thing I want to do as Lord Mayor is leave a legacy for generations to come,” he said.

“We need to make sure we don’t forget the housekeeping and if there’s one thing I’m intent on doing as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, it’s that, it’s looking after those housekeeping matters.

“It’s great to build new things ... but we also need to be cognisant of not leaving a legacy for future generations.”

Other under-the-radar projects the budget will invest in include its access and inclusion policy, which will see $18.9 million for disability access to ferry terminals this year.

By the end of the financial year, every Brisbane bus will be accessible by commuters who use wheelchairs.

“We also have the most modern bus fleet in Australia and this year we will see 100 per cent of our buses disability accessible,” he said.

Cr Quirk also declined to be drawn on what impact the repeal of the carbon tax might have on the budget bottom line.

The issue has been the subject of much conjecture in the council chamber in recent times, as 1.9 per cent of each year’s rates rise in the last two budgets has been attributed directly to the previous Federal Labor Government’s emissions tax.

The tax was repealed in this year’s federal budget but is still yet to clear the Senate.

Until that time, Cr Quirk said he would not speculate about what the impact would be on ratepayers.

The Labor Opposition have repeatedly quizzed him on whether it will mean a rate drop or a refund to ratepayers.

“I’m not going to enter that debate until such time the Senate has made up its mind, let’s just wait and see what that outcome is,” he said.

“If the Senate does decide to abolish the carbon tax, I am happy to make announcements at that time but I’m not going to deal in hypotheticals, and that is exactly what it’s been.”

Both Cr Quirk and Cr Simmonds defended the lack of new projects in the budget, saying its prudent focus was to ensure the LNP administration did not leave a legacy of debt for future administrations.

"We're very conscious of making a firm, solid foundation on which to build the budget," Cr Simmonds said.

However Opposition Leader Milton Dick said it was a budget of recycled announcements and attacked its lack of new projects.

"This council has delivered no new ideas in this budget and it's full of recycled and re-announced projects we have heard in previous years,'' Cr Dick said.

"I'm concerned due to rising debt levels we are unable to find any new projects for our city and it appears all the Lord Mayor has to offer is the recycling of previous announcements."