MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
The 4514 meeting of the Brisbane City Council,
held at City Hall, Brisbane
on Tuesday 6 December 2016
at 2pm
Prepared by:
Council and Committee Liaison Office
Chief Executive’s Office
Office of the Lord Mayor and Chief Executive Officer
[4514 (Ordinary) Meeting – 6 December 2016]
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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THE 4514 MEETING OF THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL,HELD AT CITY HALL, BRISBANE,
ON TUESDAY 6 DECEMBER 2016
AT 2PM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRESENT:
OPENING OF MEETING:
MOTION OF APPRECIATION:
MINUTES:
QUESTION TIME:
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS:
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE
ALEASE OF PREMISES FOR THE GARDEN CITY LIBRARY
BLOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
CMAJOR AMENDMENT TO BRISBANE CITY PLAN 2014 FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PURPOSES
DBRISBANE CITY COUNCIL EP031 OFFSETS POLICY
EFUNDING AGREEMENT AND OPERATING AGREEMENT FOR THE NEW KOALA RESEARCH CENTRE
FFERNY GROVE-UPPER KEDRON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
GADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AMENDMENT 2016
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE (Special report)
ASTORES BOARD SUBMISSION – APPROVAL TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE INNER CITY BYPASS UPGRADE
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE (Special report)
ATEMPORARY LOCAL PLANNING INSTRUMENT 05/16 – PROTECTION OF CHARACTER BUILDINGS
PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – USE OF BANANA BARS ON THE BIKEWAY NETWORK
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – CBD PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
BPETITIONS – REQUESTING A SPEED LIMIT REVIEW ON SUMNERS ROAD, RIVERHILLS
CPETITION – REQUESTING ROAD IMPROVEMENTS ON RAILWAY PARADE, NORMAN PARK
DPETITION – REQUESTING IMPROVED SAFETY AND REDUCED CONGESTION AT ROYAL PARADE, BANYO
EPETITION – REQUESTING EIGHT PARKING BAYS ON REYNOLDS STREET, CARINDALE
CITY PLANNING COMMITTEE
ADEVELOPMENT APPLICATION UNDER SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009 (SPA) – DEVELOPMENT PERMIT – MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE FOR MEDIUM IMPACT INDUSTRY AND A HOTEL – 15PALOMAR ROAD, YEERONGPILLY – GBOON HOLDINGS PTY LTD
ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – LORD MAYOR’S COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS PROGRAM
FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BRISBANE BOTANIC GARDENS MTCOOT-THA EDUCATION PROGRAM
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BRISBANE FESTIVAL 2016
FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY
BCOMMITTEE REPORT – BANK AND INVESTMENT REPORT – 28OCTOBER 2016
CCOMMITTEE REPORT – FINANCIAL REPORTS (ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, RATES, INVENTORY, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, PROVISIONS AND MALLS) FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 2016
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:
GENERAL BUSINESS:
QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
[4514 (Ordinary) Meeting – 6 December 2016]
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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)Krista ADAMS (Holland Park)
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)
Kate RICHARDS (Pullenvale)
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)
OPENING OF MEETING:
The Chairman, Councillor Angela OWEN, opened the meeting with prayer, and then proceeded with the business set out in the Agenda.
Chairman:Councillor SRI.
Councillor SRI:Point of order, Madam Chair. Under section 11 of the Meetings Local Law 2001, I’d like to move an amendment to the agenda. I’d like to move that our agenda includes an item called Acknowledgement of Country that states the following: We humbly acknowledge that we are meeting on—
Chairman:Councillor SRI, under section 11 of the Meetings Local Law, the order in which Council proceeds with the business for a particular meeting may be altered by the LORD MAYOR or a resolution of Council or the Chairman. If you are moving a motion, you need to move a motion appropriately. You have not done that as an appropriate motion.
Are there any apologies?
Councillor SRI:Point of order—
Chairman:I’ve called for apologies, Councillor SRI. Are there any apologies? There being no apologies—
Councillor SRI:Point of order, Madam Chair.
Chairman:Point of order, Councillor SRI.
Councillor SRI:I am seeking to move this motion in accordance with section 11(3) which says that, if the agenda is sought to be amended by motion, the motion may be moved without notice.
Chairman:As there being no seconder for your motion—
Councillor SRI:Well, I haven’t moved it yet.
Chairman:You have indicated what your motion is, Councillor SRI. There is no seconder.
Councillor SRI:Okay, well, I will read the motion that I am moving. So, I move: that our agenda includes an item called Acknowledgement of Country that states the following, “We humbly acknowledge that we are meeting on stolen Aboriginal land and that sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to the various clans who claim ownership over Brisbane and to their elders past and present. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and that many wrongs against the first nation’s people of this country are yet to be compensated or rectified.”
Chairman:There being no seconder, I cannot proceed with your motion.
The motion lapsed for want of a seconder.
Chairman:Councillors, I draw to your attention the motion of appreciation at item 2 on the agenda.
LORD MAYOR, would you please move the motion?
MOTION OF APPRECIATION:
288/2016-17
The Right Honourable the LORD MAYOR, Councillor Graham QUIRK moved, seconded by Councillor PeterCUMMING, the following motion of appreciation
“That as this is the last Council meeting of the year, Council notes and acknowledges the hard work and dedication of Council officers and the contribution they have made during 2016 to help make our City an even better place to live.”
Chairman:LORD MAYOR.
LORD MAYOR:Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. As we come to the final Council meeting for this year, it is appropriate that we who are elected representatives in this place extend our appreciation to the officers of the Brisbane City Council for their efforts over the last year.
They have a term, a value statement, I suppose, which is that they are dedicated to a better Brisbane. I wish today to extend my thanks to the CEO, to the executive team, to all the officers of the Council and to all of our white and blue collar workforce. You all, in your individual ways, perform critical functions to make our city the best that it possibly can be.
I have the privilege during the course of the year as LORD MAYOR to attend ceremonies where we celebrate long service that is provided by some of our Council employees. They can be from all areas of Council—from bus drivers right through to Field Services operational personnel, people that have been in this organisation for up to 50 years in some cases. Regardless of whether people are new to the Council or have been here for a lifetime, we extend our sincere thanks to them for their loyalty to Brisbane and for the service that they provide.
There are other people who I know wish to speak today, so I just simply want to extend my thanks to all of our Council employees. I want to wish them a peaceful Christmas, a relaxing Christmas if they can get it. There will be obviously some of our staff who will be on call. We are an operation that never closes down. But I wish also to them and their families good health, happiness and the prosperity that I hope 2017 brings to them.
Chairman:Further debate?
Councillor CUMMING.
Councillor CUMMING:Yes, thanks, Madam Chair; I am happy to second this resolution. We have good quality staff, great quality staff in the City of Brisbane, and they work hard and they are very dedicated to the cause. It doesn’t matter what Administration is in office, the staff at the grass roots level do a great job for our city.
Council is a good employer, too, so I think it is a two-way street. If you pay people appropriately and give them good conditions and everything, you can expect a great effort to be put in by those staff, and that is what Brisbane City Council stands for. I am happy to endorse the LORD MAYOR’s remarks.
In my local area, where I was dealing with the parks people, of course we have probably more dealings with parks people these days since we’ve had that budget to allocate around the ward. I don’t think they got any extra staff. They seem to be doing a great job without getting extra staff to do it, and they are doing very well. Our roads and drainage people have always been good.
You’re not going to obviously get everything you want, but my dealings with staff, as long as they can give you a good reason for saying no—we’ve all got to cop a no every now and then, and quite regularly. But if the staff are reasonable and give you a reasonable response, an understanding of what the issue was, and why it is not possible, then we are happy to pass that on and back up the Council staff’s views in making their decision.
We’ve had traffic staff who seem to turn over regularly in my area. Perhaps it is because of the volume of issues they get sent. It is a very demanding area. I know the amount of work they have to get through is tremendous, but they do get a lot done. With little bits and piece here and there, they do get a lot done, and people are satisfied with the result. Every now and again, it’s got to be a no.
Likewise with the arborists, I think it is more no, than yes for the arborists, but again they are very hard working people and they do a good job. They are very knowledgeable. They are very good at coming out and having a chat to local residents. People can put up their reasons and get a response. CARS(Compliance and Regulatory Services)branch do a tremendous job. In my area they have had some great successes this calendar year. We have found a number of landowners running container parks who had no authority whatsoever to do so. There have been two of them closed down. One of them had been there for about 10 years and named a street after themselves, which wasn’t a legal street, either. That was a funny old thing.
I am still waiting for the CARS branch to sort out the builder building the illegal duplexes, LORD MAYOR, so you’ve got correspondence from me on that recently. Hopefully we can get that one down in 2017. Of course, Council staff are quite often dealing with the public. We had that tragic incident with the bus driver this year, and that just shows the terrible risks that people can be faced with when they run across people who are basically violent people and people that act in a tragic and terrible manner towards our staff. That was a shocking incident, and hopefully we won’t see anything like that again. But there is always the risk of it happening.
We are very satisfied with the staff generally. They work hard; they do a good job, and we are very happy to wish them a very happy and enjoyable Christmas and New Year, and we will see them all back again next year.
Chairman:Thank you, Councillor CUMMING.
Further debate?
Councillor KING.
Councillor KING:Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise to join this debate in support and I would like to thank the clerks here for their long hours on Tuesday nights and their patience sitting through this Council Chamber. So thank you very much. Also a big thank you of course to the CEO and the CEO’s office for all the assistance that they give us throughout the year, especially to Allyson and to Darren. They help out our office and give us advice constantly throughout the years that I have been in this place. So thank you very much to Allyson and Darren.
Of course, I believe that the northside of Brisbane or the northside of the river is the best place to live, so I would like to thank the northside Council officers—Lex, Ted, Wayne, Allan, Graham, Megan, and all the call centre staff, because I am lucky enough to have my office right next door to the Chermside call centre. Those staff members are always extremely pleasant. They fill me up to date with what’s happening around the area, and I would like to thank them—because it is a difficult job to be in our call centre, and we truly are blessed to have an award-winning call centre in Brisbane City Council.
To all the compliance officers, because they have a difficult time, as most of us would appreciate, going out and fining people for illegal parking. They are really the core face of Council, and they probably have one of the toughest jobs in Council. To our Transport Planning and Strategy (TP&S) staff, to our local Asset Services, to our bus drivers, and a very big thank you to our construction workers who go out there in this heat that we have experienced over the last couple of weeks, pouring the concrete, doing the bitumen for our roads, filling our potholes, doing all that core work that is every day Brisbane City Council work. So thank you so much to all our officers in Council. Thank you.
Chairman:Further debate?
Councillor CASSIDY.
Councillor CASSIDY:Thanks very much, Madam Chair. I rise to enter the debate, and add my congratulations and thanks to Council staff. As I was just jotting some things down here, I realised this list is getting quite long because there is such breadth and depth of talent and the number of staff that we have in Council. But I would just like to place on record our thanks to the clerks here in City Hall as well as the other support staff that organise things for us as Councillors here in City Hall throughout the week and on Tuesdays particularly.
To Councillor support, Allyson and Darren, as Councillor KING has just mentioned; all those IT support staff as well that are here and the call centre of course as well and those library staff. For me, as well, I would just echo what Councillor KING has just said on the northside of Brisbane, absolutely the best part of Brisbane. We have some fantastic staff out there, whether that is in parks headed up by Ted Krosman, of course; roads and drainage with Rudy and Peter; the CARS team who I know do have a difficult job at times as well in interfacing between us as Council and the public around what is appropriate and what is not. Steve Thompson out there does a fantastic job.
The arborists team with Graham Bridge and Mick Maher, of course; the leopard wood tree hornet’s nest has been stirred up in Brisbane now, and we are getting an awful lot of those, and working with that team and with local residents is very important to come up with strategies to deal with problem trees, so I would like to thank them. The Development Assessment team—Trish Jensen on the northside, a particularly busy area of Council, with a lot of development happening in some of my suburbs, so I would like to put on record my thanks to her and her team in the prompt way that they get back to us with information. TP&S, of course, Chris McCahon, Kiran Sreedharan, Natural Environment, Water and Sustainability branch, our fantastic Habitat Brisbane officers that work with the local community to make our local areas fantastic places to live and play.
Of course, 2016 is a milestone year in which we have celebrated 20 years of both the call centre and CityCats, of course, two great Labor initiatives which have been supported going forward by, of course, both sides of politics. Particularly with the CityCats, LORD MAYOR, it is great to see you are 100%on board with them now.
Again, I would just like to thank everyone, from the CEO right down throughout the entire organisation, for the hard work that they do in making Brisbane the very best city in this country to live. Thank you.
Chairman:Further debate?
Councillor HUANG.
Councillor HUANG:Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise to enter the debate and to express my appreciation to the Council officers who have helped the southside Councillors over the past year. In this year, which is about to pass, we have been through a number of challenges on the southside, especially with the severe weather events recently. We have seen lots of changes to our water and drainage systems and also a challenge to our road network.