Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk accused of misleading council

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has been accused of misleading a council meeting about the value of the Kingsford Smith Drive contingency figure for the second time.

BRISBANE Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has been accused of misleading a council meeting about the value of the Kingsford Smith Drive contingency figure for the second time.

Cr Graham Quirk promised to provide opposition councillors with the contingency figures for the Kingsford Smith Drive project after a heated request at Question Time on Tuesday.

Opposition leader Peter Cumming said at Brisbane City Council’s meeting on December 4 last year, Cr Quirk apologised for mistakenly saying the contingency provisions for the Kingsford Smith Drive project had been provided to Labor councillors.

“You earlier advised Labor councillors we could call for the file on the project, which contained the information we sought on contingencies,” he said.

“We followed your advice only to be advised that the contract was Cabinet-in-Confidence and no information would be supplied.

Mayor Graham Quirk. .

“You continue to mislead this chamber when Labor asks for transparency on the Kingsford Smith Drive project.

“Once and for all, will you tell this chamber and the ratepayers of Brisbane what the potential contingency costs are?”

Cr Quirk responded: “The point that I made when I apologised to the chamber was that the councillors were given an in-camera briefing around the Kingsford Smith Drive project, around the time the tender was awarded”.

He said the briefing was an opportunity for councillors to ask questions on the information they wanted.

“That’s what I apologised for. I had thought there was a figure provided, documentation that they had been provided.

“I immediately stood up in this chamber and corrected that. You are able to get that (contingency figure), but it is on the basis dealt with by this administration ... that it would be on that confidential basis.”

Last year, Cr Quirk told the chamber the information was commercial-in-confidence.

Cr Cassidy, who had asked the question that prompted Cr Quirk’s apology on December 4, stood up and said the Lord Mayor was “clearly misleading the chamber”.

“He told us to pull the file and I did that and I was told it was cabinet-in-confidence,” he said.

Cr Cassidy was reprimanded by the chair and as he sat down he said quietly: ‘he’s lying’.

The council’s response to Cr Cassidy’s request for the figures is dated January 9 and acknowledges his request for the figures made on November 30, 2018.

“This file in Cabinet-in-Confidence and therefore unable to be released under s172 of the City of Brisbane Act 2010,” it stated.

Cr Quirk continued his response after the interjection.

“What I said was you would be entitled to have that information as a councillor. I didn’t know you had sought the file,” he said.

“I will forward you the contingency figure, I will ensure you get the information.”

Cr Cassidy called out over the chamber the promise came “two months after I asked for it”.