City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery has fired a clear message towards the state government - show us the money! It has come in response to the draft Shaping SEQ 2023 Regional Plan Update.
“The premier needs to pay attention to the City of Moreton Bay,” Mr Flannery said. “The infrastructure outlined for Moreton Bay in the state’s draft SEQ Infrastructure Supplement (SEQIS) is not good enough. The proposed infrastructure is not sufficient for our projected growth. We can’t develop land for housing without infrastructure.”
Mr Flannery said with our population expected to be more than 800,000 by 2046 (300,000 more than what we currently have) the growth is coming and more money is needed to accommodate it. “If we are to shoulder the bulk of the growth – the state government needs to put its money where its mouth is because the truth is they haven’t been,” Mr Flannery said. “We commissioned a report to look at state investment in Moreton Bay. It shines a harsh light on the Palaszczuk Government’s spending across SEQ. On a per capita basis, Moreton Bay is consistently one of the lowest funded SEQ councils. “Out of the seven large SEQ councils, Moreton Bay ranks fifth for the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program funding on a per capita basis. Almost half of the state’s transport expenditure in our area is for planning and maintenance. Moreton Bay is the lowest funded council in terms of investment in local road networks.”
Mr Flannery believes our council area should be at the top of the list as we have the population to demand it and continue to welcome new residents.
“We are the third largest council in Australia,” Mr Flannery said. We will welcome more than 12,500 people every year for the next 25 years. That’s 240 people - or 92 new dwellings - every week. For once, let’s build the roads, bridges, schools and housing as we grow. Our submission outlines additional projects that must be included to support housing, jobs and population growth. That list includes major road corridor upgrades, new roads, bridge crossings, rail level crossing removals and a freight terminal.
“Council has identified 15 additional region-shaping infrastructure projects including most importantly the Buchanan Road corridor upgrade. While the long-awaited Bruce Highway western alternative is included, the state government needs to urgently super charge progress on this project. “Council does not support the inclusion of Elimbah in the Urban Footprint at this stage. The significance of Waraba and Morayfield South (100,000 residents combined) needs to be recognised and must be prioritised for planning and infrastructure delivery before Elimbah.”
Jobs were also another factor highlighted by Mr Flannery as needing more attention. “This draft plan also falls short of our minimum employment growth needs by 50,000 jobs,” he said. “Moreton Bay needs its fair share of the anticipated job growth; at a bare minimum we will need 3.7 new jobs for every 10 new residents. The plan outlines only 2.3 jobs per 10 new residents.
“We are asking for the state government to show us the money and we will show you how to create a city that people love even as it grows.”
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