Brisbane City Council Budget: Five-minute guide

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has outlined the big-ticket items for this year’s city budget.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner with the 2023-24 Brisbane City Council Budget. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has warned of the impact of inflation on Brisbane City Council’s delivery and construction, warning ratepayers “there is no magic pudding here”.

The Mayor was referring to the controversial coal royalties collected by the Queensland government to hand down its suite of rebates on Tuesday to help with families struggling with hip pocket expenses.

Council rates will rise 3.45 per cent but the council budget also includes an $80 million cost-of-living package, including initiatives to reduce daily expenses such as green waste bins and swimming at public pools.

Mr Schrinner said his financial plan would help address the housing crisis, while also featuring green space projects.

Here is what’s in it for you.

CORE NUMBERS:

• Record $4.3 billion budget
• Expected debt in 2023/24 of $3.28 billion, up from $2.87 billion in 2022/23
• Expected surplus in 2023/24 of $322,608, down from $473,778 in 2022/23
• $1.43 billion in infrastructure projects

QUARRY TRANSFORMATION

Mr Schrinner has proposed transforming two quarries into green spaces in a unique plan to turn ugly sites into useful and engaging spaces.

He identified Pine Mountain Quarry and Mount Coot-Tha Quarry to be transformed, inspired by the Eden Project in the United Kingdom which modified a reclaimed china clay pit into a visitor attraction site.

EV FERRY

The council budget includes a feasibility study into a new battery-powered river vessel to be dubbed the EVCat.

Mr Schrinner said the vessel would be ideal for river-crossing journeys such as Bulimba to Teneriffe to hold up to 58 people.

“I’m committed to building a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Brisbane and the EVCat is another demonstration of our team’s commitment to sustainability,” he said.

COST OF LIVING

In a sign of the extreme pressures on household budgets and families, the council budget follows both the state and federal budgets in focusing on cost-of-living.

“We know that right now, every household is facing pressure with rising costs from buying the weekly groceries to juggling household bills,” the annual plan and budget says.

“This budget eases pressures on residents with a general rates increase for owner-occupied houses less than half the rate of inflation, in addition to a number of reduced fees and charges.”

These include:

• Reducing green waste bins price by more than 50 per cent from $93.68 to $45 a year.
• Cutting the price of entry to council swimming pools to a flat $2 during summer months.
• Continued rates discounts and rebates for on-time payment and for pensioners

HOUSING

The Mayor said he wants to expand on the council’s urban renewal strategies by reviewing centres across the city to investigate the possibility of increasing housing stock at already built-up locations.

These areas include Carindale, Chermside, Garden City, Indooroopilly, Toombul and Toowong.

The council has also proposed transforming under-utilised office towers into residential accommodation given lower vacancy rates following the pandemic.

“We will investigate opportunities where infrastructure charges can be waived when under-utilised office buildings are converted into homes,’ Mr Schrinner said.

“While these conversions are not without challenges, this is one way we may be able to help increase our housing footprint while also reviving older buildings.”

Mr Schrinner has also previously announced $1 million would be committed from this year’s budget to make the Pinkenba quarantine facility suitable for emergency accommodation.

SUBURB SPENDING:

The Schrinner council has unveiled a $3.8 billion infrastructure plan for the next four years with a major focus on road and transport upgrades.

$109 million will be spent on drainage and $106 million on community facilities.

A further $103 million will go towards road resurfacing, $83.8 million on road upgrades, $41 million on footpaths, and $273 million on parks.

TRANSPORT

Brisbane’s transport network has received a $1.9 billion share of the budget.

Public transport networks have been given a $794.3 million boost and $125.3 million has been allocated to the construction of the Kangaroo Point and Breakfast Creek bridges.

Cr Schrinner said transport upgrades were now critical due to Brisbane’s booming population, particularly as the city prepare to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

SHORTSTAY

Council has expanded on its crackdown on short-stay rentals announced in last year’s budget by increasing the surcharge on rates from 50 per cent to 65 per cent for those who lease their homes on websites such as Airbnb and Stayz.

It has also established a task force to investigate how policies managing how the short-stay market operates and how the impact to housing stock for the city’s residents won’t be impacted.