Building Brisbane’s reputation key to investment
Despite celebrating his 30th year on Council, Brisbane Lord Mayor – Cr Graham Quirk, is refusing to dwell on the past – telling attendees at the Property Council’s latest Downtown Lunch that Brisbane residents “only want to know about today and tomorrow.”
Cr Quirk used the opportunity to outline his vision for Brisbane as a ‘lifestyle city’ and illustrated the economic benefits of attracting human capital through enhancing Brisbane’s reputation.
Utilising the Brisbane City Council’s policy levers to promote key strategic agendas – such as increasing the supply of hotels and student accommodation through infrastructure charges concessions – was highlighted by the Lord Mayor as key policy achievements over recent years.
The Lord Mayor said the property sector was one of the Council’s identified key economic contributors. Growth within city and suburban nodes is set to provide further economic growth both for the property sector and for the City generally.
Importantly, the Lord Mayor recognised areas where the property industry could simultaneously meet social needs and provide economic opportunity. Highlighting the retirement living space a key focus, Cr Quirk said that providing greater flexibility to make retirement living more competitive was a priority for the Council. The Lord Mayor expressed a desire for older Brisbane residents to remain in their existing neighbourhoods, and expressed concern that when people are “flung out to the outskirts of the city” when most are in need of security.
Cr Quirk expressed his support for the Kingsford-Smith Drive project and the BaT tunnel, describing Cross River Rail as only half the answer to the City’s infrastructure problems, with more people catching buses than trains in Brisbane.
Out of the forthcoming SEQ Regional Plan, the Lord Mayor expressed a desire to achieve greater flexibility and warned that he will be insisting on “a full government sign-up” to the regional plan to avoid previous examples of State Governments distancing themselves from the strategy when politically convenient.
The Lord Mayor expressed support for the Property Council’s Let Property Grow the Economy campaign, describing the initiative as an important part of promoting a positive message about the industry and the role it plays in our daily lives.
While recognising the “terrific potential” of Brisbane, the Lord Mayor acknowledged that building the City’s reputation and identity was the most positive manner in which the Council could attract further investment.
The Property Council would like to thank event sponsors Brookfield Multiplex and Ray White Commercial for their generous support.
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