MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
The 4536 meeting of the Brisbane City Council,
held at City Hall, Brisbane
on Tuesday 29 August 2017
at 2pm
Prepared by:
Council and Committee Liaison Office
City Administration and Governance
[4536 (Ordinary) Meeting – 29 August 2017]
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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THE 4536 MEETING OF THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL,HELD AT CITY HALL, BRISBANE,
ON TUESDAY 29 AUGUST 2017
AT 2PM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRESENT:
OPENING OF MEETING:
MINUTES:
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
QUESTION TIME:
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS:
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE
AAPPOINTMENT OF AGENTS FOR THE HEARING OF OBJECTIONS ARISING FROM RESUMPTION NOTICES ISSUED BY COUNCIL
BCONTRACTS AND TENDERING – REPORT TO COUNCIL OF CONTRACTS ACCEPTED BY DELEGATES FOR JULY 2017
CMAJOR AMENDMENT TO THE BRISBANE CITY PLAN 2014, PACKAGE D, CHARACTER PROTECTION
DNEWSTEAD NORTH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
ESTABLISHMENT AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE (Special report)
ATEMPORARY LOCAL PLANNING INSTRUMENT 02/17 – PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED PRIOR TO 1911
PUBLIC AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – SAFE TRAVEL TO SCHOOL
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – ARTERIAL ROADS PROGRAM
BPETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL UNDERTAKE A TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSION PROGRAM FOR ANN, MCLACHLAN AND WICKHAM STREETS, FORTITUDE VALLEY
CPETITION – REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL UPGRADE THE INTERSECTION OF RICKERTT AND CHELSEA ROADS, RANSOME
DPETITION – REQUESTING COUNCIL REGULATE PARKING ON ORFORDSTREET, TARRAGINDI
CITY PLANNING COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BOTANICA
ENVIRONMENT, PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – MOUNT COOT-THA BOTANIC GARDENS WAYFINDING PROJECT
FIELD SERVICES COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – SALVAGE 2017 RECYCLING ART COMPETITION
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – COMMUNITY BENEFITS OF LONGERTERM LEASES
FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
ACOMMITTEE PRESENTATION – BUILDING OUR LOCAL ECONOMY
CONSIDERATION OF NOTIFIED MOTION – SAME-SEX MARRIAGE:
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS:
GENERAL BUSINESS:
QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN:
[4536 (Ordinary) Meeting – 29 August 2017]
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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)
Independent Councillor (and Ward)
Nicole JOHNSTON (Tennyson)
OPENING OF MEETING:
The Chairman, Councillor Angela OWEN, opened the meeting with prayer and acknowledged the traditional custodians, and then proceeded with the business set out in the Agenda.
MINUTES:
88/2017-18
The Minutes of the 4535 meeting of Council held on 22 August 2017, copies of which had been forwarded to each Councillor, were presented, taken as read and confirmed on the motion of Councillor Andrew WINES, seconded by Councillor Steven TOOMEY.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Liz Parker – The Australian Association of Virtual Industry Professionals
Chairman:I would now like to call on Mrs Liz Parker who will address the Chamber on the Australian Association of Virtual Industry Professionals. Orderly, please show Mrs Parker in.
Thank you, Mrs Parker. Please proceed, you have five minutes.
Mrs Liz Parker:Good afternoon, Madam Chairman, LORD MAYOR and Councillors. My name is Liz Parker, and I am the owner and operator of 121 Temps. I’m here today on behalf of the Australian Association of Virtual Industry Professionals (AAVIP). This is the first not-for-profit association representing virtual assistants in Australia.
Thank you for inviting me today to give you a brief insight into the virtual assistant industry as it is placed in Australia. So you might be asking, what is a virtual assistant? Virtual assistants save time, money and stress for the businesses that hire them, the majority of which come from the small business sector at the moment. If the virtual assistant industry continues to grow at its current rate, it is clear we need more sectors to include virtual assistants in their staffing strategies and solutions.
The virtual assistant industry has been operating in Australia for over a decade. However, over the past three years, we have seen the number of participants triple in volume. It’s a new and emerging industry, and one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. The reason for this massive growth is because of its attractiveness, particularly to working women.
A typical virtual assistant would be seen as female with 10 to 15 years work experience in their particular expertise, giving them an in-depth knowledge and skills set that they can provide as a fee for service and continue to further develop these skills for the benefit of their clients. Virtual assistants work from their own home office during the hours that suit them and their families. You may not be aware that they strengthen the social fabric of each of your electorate communities because they have a work/life balance that allows them the flexibility to have hands-on involvement in their communitiesat local schools, charities and notforprofits.
Before they became a virtual assistant, they were employed across a wide range of businesses, and yes, some virtual assistants were employed by Brisbane City Council and other public sectors. Most virtual assistants begin their microbusiness after taking a break from regular employment; for instance, maternity leave or ill health.
Returning to the work force, they find they face a large range of challenges. Research shows that full time working mothers are extremely time poor. Once they have children and so much more to organise and do to be able to actually get into work, their working day becomes not eight hours but more than double that. This is the main attraction to becoming a virtual assistant; the ability to change their lifestyle landscape which gives them more time, less stress and the control over which, when and how they work.
The most obvious entry for virtual assistants into the larger industry and government sectors would be by providing casual and project support. As virtual assistants come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, likewise they have a wide range of talents and skills to offer; from admin, accounts writing, social media marketing and web support to more specialised areas such as workplace health and safety compliance and project management.
As micro-business owners, they manage all the risks of their own businesses primarily in setting up in accordance with Australian laws and insurance. AAVIP have also developed a quality business program that provides this level of support to them.
Virtual assistants can save corporate, government and non-government agencies money, time, stress and efficiencies. I believe that they are an immense, untapped resource that can make an immeasurable difference. The major benefits include drawing on a pool of readily available local workers with a wide range of experience, knowledge and skills. They can be at call or on a more regular basis. There are no hidden or added costs, and they charge a fee for service with no expectations of added benefits such as leave or professional development costs.
The virtual assistant industry is present in every electorate and has a beneficial impact to the day-to-day lives and health of the communities in which they live and participate; your electorates. Thank you, Madam Chairman, LORDMAYOR and Councillors for your time today.
Chairman:Thank you, Mrs Parker.
Response by Councillor Ryan Murphy, Deputy Chairman of the Finance and Economic Development Committee
Councillor MURPHY:Thank you very much, Madam Chairman, and thank you to Ms Parker for coming in and addressing Council today. Ms Parker, I’m Deputy Chair of Council’s Finance and Economic Development Committee which has responsibility for, amongst other things, driving innovation and the transformation in Brisbane’s digital economy. I’ve been asked to respond to you on behalf of Councillor Krista ADAMS who unfortunately will probably love a virtual Councillor here today, but unfortunately she could not be here.
I want to recognise the fantastic work that you’re doing with the Australian Association for Virtual Industry Professionals representing members from all backgrounds and all walks of life, and I say this as someone who right now has a PA who is working virtually from home, looking after her sick son, Casper, so I understand personally just how important this flexibility is for your members, as it is for many employees of Brisbane City Council.
Council absolutely acknowledges the tremendous value that the digital transformation represents and the ability of people to work virtually. As a government right now we are building smoother streets and continuing to tackle traffic congestion, and we know, for example, that less commuters on our roads means a faster journey for everyone to and from work.
Our Brisbane Economic Development Plan tells us that Brisbane’s CBD and adjacent suburbs will need to accommodate 130,000 new jobs by 2031. This growth is good, but it brings with it challenges to our existing infrastructure. Of course, we will continue to invest in building Australia’s most modern public and active transport, including building the Brisbane Metro, but it is important that as much as we build new infrastructure to cope with growing demand, we look at smart ways to go and reduce that demand.
A recent study of commuters in Tokyo found that nine to 14 million employees tele-commuted in 2010 which resulted in a 10% reduction in congestion in that city. The associated cost savings were equivalent to 26% of the city’s annual spending on public transportation. In Brisbane, Council subsidises public transport to the tune of $123 million each and every year. If the results in Tokyo were reflected here in Brisbane, that could mean a $32 million saving to Council’s budget bottom line, which is money that we could re-invest in our public transport network to make it faster and more reliable.
It means that everyone should be interested in the opportunities that virtual work and telecommuting brings. As you say, many other benefits come from telecommuting when we have a wider variety of people taking part in the workforce virtually—new mothers, those with young children, people with disabilities, or those otherwise unable or unwilling to take part in the traditional workforce, virtual employment is a rewarding way to engage in a work opportunity.
Council has a telecommuting policy for our internal employees. As many Councillors here will know, we engage with a range of professionals across a wide variety of different work disciplines on a casual basis through virtual employment. These professionals work in a range of fields across Council, including risk, quality assurance, software development, audit, town planning and accountancy.
So we would love to work with AAVIP to continue to grow awareness of virtual work around Brisbane and the possibilities that that could open to other Brisbane small businesses that would like to engage with your members. So I certainly encourage you to meet with our Chief Digital Officer, Cat Matson, and to engage with our Lord Mayor’s Small Business Forum team to talk about how we might assist Council to engage with your members, and your members to engage with the broader community.
So, Ms Parker, I pass on Council’s gratitude to you and to your board for bringing attention to this growing sector of Brisbane’s economy, and thank you very much for taking the time to address us today.
Brendan Cox – Legacy Brisbane
Chairman:Councillors, we have a second public speaker today, and I would now like to call on Mr Brendan Cox who will address the Chamber on Legacy Brisbane. Whilst Mr Cox comes in, I would like to thank all Councillors who are wearing their Legacy badges to support Legacy in this very important time.
Mr Cox, please proceed; you have five minutes.
Mr Brendan Cox:Thank you, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, LORD MAYOR, and Councillors, thank you for the opportunity to address Council today. My name is Brendan Cox; I’m the CEO at Legacy Brisbane. This is an appropriate week to speak to Council; it is Legacy Week, and really I have two parts of the message I wish to pass to Council. Firstly, to inform you of the actions that Legacy takes in each one of your electorates, and to reassure you that we stand by the families of our fallen and incapacitated veterans.
Secondly, I wish to thank you for the ongoing financial support to Legacy provided through the establishment of the Legacy Way tunnel. The annual $100,000 donation to Legacy Brisbane enables us to plan the future activities for our dependants. The original Legacy promise was made at the Battle of Pozières where a Digger, while burying his mate, pledged,‘never worry, my friend, I’ll look after your family.’ In 1923 that promise became a reality with the first Legacy club formed in Australia, and since then 49 Legacy clubs have been formed throughout our nation. Legacy Brisbane is one of those.
This week, Legacy publicly reaffirms to the Australian community that Legacy stands ready to look after the families of our fallen and our incapacitated veterans. Nationally we have 70,000 dependants; 1,900 of these are children. Legacy’s vision is to ensure no financial disadvantage nor social disadvantage to these families. In Legacy Brisbane I have 7,500 dependants under my care; 200 of these are children. These dependants can be aged between the age of five years of age through to 102.
The dependants themselves are looked after primarily by a Legatee volunteer force. These Legatees are members of Legacy and they come from your electorates. These Legatees walk into living rooms and assist with the emotional, financial and social care of the dependants. To meet the unique needs and individual needs of each dependant, we have five main program areas that I’d like to speak about. Once again, these program areas are delivered throughout Brisbane City Council.
Ageing Widows Program; our promise to our widows is to ensure that they get the quality of life that their husbands would have been proud of. We achieve this through routine visits by our Legatees and through calls from our contact centre. We ensure no social isolation and ensure prevention programs. We have ageing in-place support and in-home support.
More recently we partnered with Tradelink, the national plumbing organisation, where we take 10 of their employees, 10 Australian Defence Force personnel, go to a widow’s home once a month, and we just make sure the home is safe, and basically tidy it up for the widow. This is happening within the electorates, and from here-on in, my pledge to you is to invite you to when it is occurring within your electorate. In Aspley, on 15 September, will be the first in McDowall.
The people with disability program; we call this our Explorer Program. Our promise to our Explorers is to ensure they are supported and connected within their community. We achieve this through individualised support and prevention of social isolation.
Our Young Families Program; our promise to the young families is, despite their loss, Legacy will ensure these families stay together. We achieve this through intensive case management, children’s personal development and educational support programs.
Finally, our Youth Program, where we ensure children’s education and support, which has been a focus of Legacy since 1923. The most recent program that we’ve introduced is our Family Assist, and these are for the families of our incapacitated veterans. Legacy’s effort here towards the family is to ensure they stay together around that veteran so they, as a family unit, have the best chance of survival.
Madam Chairman, LORD MAYOR, Councillors, thank you for your time today. Thank you for your support to Legacy, and most importantly, thank you for your service to the Brisbane community. I’d be honoured to connect you to your local Legatee group Chair, and welcome any further personal interest that you may have in what Legacy is doing within your electorate. At Legacy Brisbane we are committed to delivering the services to the families of our fallen and our incapacitated veterans residing within your electorates. I wish you a good Legacy Week, and thank you for wearing the badge proudly this week. Thank you.
Chairman:Thank you, Mr Cox.
Response by Councillor Amanda Cooper, Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee
Councillor COOPER:Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I thank you, Mr Cox, for coming in to address the Chamber. It’s certainly a very good time to be talking about what Legacy does; during Legacy Week. I really do wish you the very best, and encourage everyone to support Legacy. Many of us are wearing your badge very proudly here today.
Certainly we’ve been impressed by the services that you provide for those people who have sacrificed their lives or have been incapacitated in their service to our country, because it is, I think, a very daunting task that they face, but certainly very daunting when they think about the impact on those that they’ve left at home; their families, their children, all of those people that you really do support so very well.