Minutes of proceedings

THIRD DAY – Wednesday, 24 June 2015

The Chairman of Council, Councillor Margaret de WIT (Pullenvale Ward) – LNP

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON THE 2015-16 BUDGET:

The Chairman, Councillor Margaret de WIT, declared the adjourned meeting open and continued as follows.

The LORD MAYOR subsequently moved, seconded by the DEPUTY MAYOR:

PROGRAM PRESENTATION

Next, the Chairman advised Councillors that the presentation of the various Programs and Businesses and Council Providers would be in accordance with Chapter 6, Section 74 of the Meetings Local Law 2001. She also pointed out that she had approved the Chief Executive Officer’s request for Divisional Managers and other pertinent officers to be in the Chamber whilst the Program or Businesses and Council Providers for which their particular Unit of Administration was responsible, was being debated.

1. CLEAN, GREEN AND WATERSMART CITY PROGRAM:

Councillor Matthew BOURKE, Chairman of the Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee moved, seconded by Councillor Fiona KING, that for the services of the Council, the allocations for the Operations and the Projects for the year 2015-16 and the Rolling Recurrent Operations Contracts and the Rolling Projects for the Sustainable, Green and Clean City program as contained on pages 145 to 154, so far as they relate to Program 1, be adopted.

Councillor BOURKE: Thanks very much, Madam Chairman. I rise today as the Chairman for Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee to present the program for Program 1 as part of the LORD MAYOR's Annual Budget 2015-16 to the Chamber. Specifically, I am here to present the projects that sit under service 1.1 through to service 1.8 of the program.

Over the last three years, I have had the honour of presenting three Program 1 budgets that have focused on delivering new projects, enhancing our parks and great open spaces, maintaining the same high level of service despite challenging economic times, and most importantly, delivering on the commitments that this Administration made to the residents of Brisbane. I am pleased to say that the 2015 16 Budget continues to deliver for the residents of Brisbane.

Our focus on making Brisbane a Clean, Green and WaterSmart City has been clear for all to see. As the LORD MAYOR mentioned in his budget speech, Keep Australia Beautiful last year named Brisbane Australia's most sustainable city. The 2015 16 Budget for projects and services in Program 1 will reinforce Brisbane's status as Australia's most sustainable city. Over the last three years, Council has been able to deliver key projects that we have committed to the people of Brisbane, and we will continue to deliver on those commitments for all residents of Brisbane.

As a leader in sustainability, in the 2015-16 Budget, Council will continue its commitment to purchasing 100 per cent green power and fully offset our carbon emissions. These two programs and these two projects will see our carbon emissions continue to be reduced. But this Administration has tackled the issue of sustainability with a multi-pronged approach, one of engagement, education and practical on-the-ground projects.

As such, Council has increased the funding for GreenHeart sustainability events, and is also delivering the new Live for Less program. This budget will see Council and CitySmart launch the Live for Less program which will aim at helping households across Brisbane save on their cost of living by better managing their water, their waste, energy, and active transport.

The LORD MAYOR and this Administration have recognised the huge cost of living burdens everyday Australians face. This is why the comments from the Leader of the Opposition last week in his budget reply speech about Live for Less being a rebranded program were disappointing. His whole rhetoric last week just goes to show that those opposite have no plan for sustainability, and no plan for tackling the cost of living burdens of Brisbane's residents. Programs such as Live for Less and Reduce your Juice will have a real positive impact on the everyday lives of residents and businesses.

Unlike those sitting opposite, those on this side of the Chamber understand the struggle residents face, and that is why we continue to support CitySmart, our environmental agency which drives partnerships between Brisbane and businesses and the Council so that Australia and, indeed, Brisbane become more sustainable. I welcome the additional investment that the LORD MAYOR has made into this program.

I know that you, Madam Chairman, as well as Councillors on this side of the Chamber, are huge supporters of the Student Environment Leadership Network, or SELN, which is funded through the GreenHeart Homes and Schools program. SELN provides students with the knowledge and skills to develop and lead behaviour changing projects in their schools and local communities. As part of the schools program, SELN is an invaluable asset for students and for this Council, and we are proud of our continuing support for this program in this year's budget.

Our parks and open spaces, the climate and the green leafy suburbs are what make Brisbane such a great place to live. Improving and activating our parks is something that we on this side of the Chamber are committed to. In 2012, as part of the LORD MAYOR's commitment to making Brisbane a more inclusive and accessible city, we made a commitment to the people of Brisbane to make a new CBD all abilities playground. That has been delivered. We made a commitment to build both the Karawatha Environment Centre and the Pooh Corner Environment Centre. Well, the Pooh Corner Environment Centre has been delivered, and the Karawatha Environment Centre is under construction, and will be delivered this financial year.

Chairman: Order!

Councillor BOURKE: In November last year, we completed Frew Park, as well as—

Chairman: Order!

Councillor BOURKE: —stage 2 of the White's Hill Reserve all-abilities playground. To build on this good work, this budget will see more improvements in our parks being delivered through the Metropolitan and District Playgrounds Schedule, the Parks Access and Maintenance Rehabilitation Schedule, the Parks Infrastructure Facility and Landscape Upgrade Schedule, the PlaySafe Upgrade Schedule, and the Upgrade Neighbourhood Parks Schedule.

As you are aware, Madam Chairman, our metro and district parks playgrounds are important as they serve a role as our largest and most iconic parks in our suburbs. As such, this year we will see investments in William Street Park with a new dog off leash area, as well as a kids' bike learning track in the Karawatha Ward; installation of shade sails as well as an upgrade of the old playground in Seventh Brigade Park in Marchant Ward; the addition of all-abilities elements in Decker Park in Deagon Ward; the completion of the Bacton Road playground in Chandler Ward; and we will commence the planning for the Walton Bridge Reserve in The Gap, just to name a few.

The Upgrade Neighbourhood Parks Schedule will see a host of projects delivered across the city, including locations like Colmslie Beach, George Clayton Park in Wynnum, Keperra Picnic Grounds in Ferny Grove, the Common Park in Coorparoo, Gowan Road Park in Calamvale, Tonk Street Park in Moorooka, Orleigh Park in West End, to name a few, and those works will be completed this financial year.

These projects cover a range of different activities from playground upgrades, pathway improvements, new toilet blocks, barbeque shelter additions, car park upgrades, and lighting projects. While those opposite are happy to spend $120 million in the city in Councillor ABRAHAMS's ward, this LORD MAYOR has recognised that investment in the suburbs is paramount importance. That is why 95 per cent of the projects coming out of these schedules will be spent in the suburbs. All up, 144 projects in these schedules will be delivered in this year's budget. That is an increase of 35 projects from last year, and proof that this Administration is delivering projects that matter for the residents of Brisbane.

As announced in the LORD MAYOR's budget speech, we will be bringing back fountains to the City of Brisbane. Unfortunately, they were a casualty of past droughts. Fountains were turned off as part of the level 2 water restrictions that came into effect in 2005 when the dam levels dropped to 40 per cent. This was the responsible thing to do at the time. However, the time has come for us to reactivate these great features in our parks and CBD. Operating fountains currently grace the city in Anzac Square, the Queen Street Mall, South Bank Parklands, Roma Street Parkland, as well as the City Botanic Gardens.

In this budget, over $2 million has been allocated towards bringing back the fountain in E.E. McCormick Place in Upper Roma Street, Emma Miller Place in Roma Street, and the Moonee Memorial Fountain located at the corner of Queen and Eagle Streets. This allocation will also see the commissioning of a new location in the CBD. While designs are yet to be finalised, these new generation water smart fountains and water features will incorporate their own water storage, making it less likely that in a future drought event they will need to be turned off. This is the most responsible and sustainable approach to take.

In this year's budget, again in partnership with the State Government, Council continues its support of the Anzac Square Restoration Project. Just a couple of months ago, we saw the completion of stage 2 of the Anzac Square Restoration Project in time for the commemoration of the centenary of the Anzac landings. In this year's budget, stage 3, the internal fit-out of the crypt, the former RSL offices, and the Shrine of Remembrance, will be completed in conjunction with the State Government.

Protecting and preserving our bushland and natural areas for future generations is an ideal that this Council has believed in since the Atkinson Administration implemented the Bushland Acquisition Levy back in 1990. In the last seven years, Council has purchased more than 800 hectares of at-risk bushland across the city. Many of these purchases have played a huge role in connecting vital habitat corridors for some of our most endangered animals and plants. I am pleased to see an ongoing allocation in this year's budget of $13.8 million for the continuation of this program.

However, purchasing these parcels of land is not enough. We must also work as a Council with the many volunteer groups and organisations that help restore our bushland areas. These groups are supported again in this year's budget with allocations towards the Habitat Brisbane program, the Creek Catchment Coordinators program, as well as Council's Community Conservation Assistance grants and the Lord Mayor's Sustainability and Environment grants. The vital work carried out by these organisations further enhance the rich investment that has been made through the $2.9 million Wipe Out Weeds program where Council targets invasive plant species in some of our most bio-diverse bushland areas.

Further to that, we have also maintained our allocation to removing feral animal species from our bushland and urban areas with great results over the last two years following a significant increase in investment. This program will continue to provide valuable support and assistance to residents on acreage properties who may be experiencing problems with wild dogs, feral deer and feral pigs, and also to the suburban residents who may be encountering feral cats and feral foxes. As always, I would encourage all residents to contact Council when they see one of these animals.

Madam Chairman, Mt Coot-tha has not only been an important environmental icon; it has and continues to be an important cultural icon, not only for the residents of Brisbane but for the traditional indigenous custodians of our land. It is Brisbane's largest natural area with more than 1600 hectares of open eucalypt forest and rainforest gullies and creek vines. Approximately 370 wildlife species and 450 native plants occur in the Mt Coot-tha Forest, including a number of rare and threatened species. Of course, it is home to our second largest tourist attraction, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.

That is why this Administration has committed funding to build the new Mt Coot tha Visitor Information Centre. The Visitor Information Centre will act as a gateway to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, the Planetarium, and the wider Mt Coot tha precinct. It will also act as a meeting and information point, and provide a much-needed hub for our dedicated volunteer guides at Mt Coot-tha. I want to take this moment to pay tribute to the guides who work at Mt Coot-tha and, indeed, across all of our botanic gardens, and look forward to working with them on this exciting project.

Furthermore, Madam Chairman, enhancements at Mt Coot-tha Reserve have been funded which will include $242,000 for multi-use access tracks that will connect JC Slaughter Falls, Hoop Pine Picnic Ground, Silky Oak Picnic Ground and Simpson Falls, while $42,000 will go towards upgrading pedestrian access through the car park area to improve safety, as well as upgrades to the picnic facilities at JC Slaughter Falls and Simpson Falls. Mt Coot-tha Reserve offers an extensive network of diverse tracks and trails to cater for all forms of nature-based recreation.

This Administration has a clear record when it comes to flooding and drainage works. Unlike those opposite who did not commit one cent to backflow devices in 2012, this Administration has been able to fast-track the backflow installation program to deliver 12 locations that will see 80 per cent of the flood-affected properties from the 2011 event protected from future river flooding. But, of course, our commitment to flood mitigation has not ended. It is disappointing when we sit here and listen to those opposite claim that we are reducing funding for flood investigations. Since 2011, we have completed three catchment flood plain management draft studies—the North Bayside Catchment, the Northern Catchments and the South Bayside Catchment.

We have completed 13 creek flood studies, and they are Albany Creek, Breakfast Creek, Brighton Creek, Cabbage Tree Creek, Norman Creek, Oxley Creek, Stable Swamp Creek, Wynnum Creek, Bald Hills Creek, Bulimba Creek, Hemmant/Lytton Creek, Kedron Brook and Lota. The largest catchments in our city have all got a flood study. There are four further studies that are awaiting finalisation: the Rocky Waterholes, Sheep Station Gully, Tingalpa Creek and Nundah Creek. In this year's budget, in 1.7.1.2 and 1.7.1.3, we will deliver four more studies, in Paring Creek, Moggill Creek, a joint study with Moreton Bay Regional Council for the Pine River, as well as a creek catchment flood plain management plan for Tingalpa Creek.

Of course, we are also working with the State Government on the Brisbane River flood plain management. When this Administration talks about committing to mitigating flooding, we actually deliver. Our studies are made public; they do not sit on the back shelf for four years like those under the Australian Labor Party did. It is a classic case of look at what they do rather than what they say.

Just to eliminate all doubt for those opposite in the Labor Party, the 2015-16 Budget sees an 11 per cent increase in funding for local drainage, and a 2.5 per cent increase for major drainage work.

Councillors interjecting.

Councillor BOURKE: All up, 27 projects will be delivered this financial year, up from 22 projects last financial year.

Chairman: Order!

Councillor BOURKE: On top of this, we continue our support for the Voluntary Home Purchase Scheme, a scheme that was introduced by the previous Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman, and continued under this LORD MAYOR, Graham QUIRK. This budget is all about building on the existing commitments this Administration has made to the residents of Brisbane.

The measures we are taking, and the projects we are delivering, will continue to activate our parks and open spaces; they will continue to deliver on important flood mitigation outcomes; they will continue to make Brisbane a clean, green and sustainable city, but most importantly, Madam Chairman, they will continue to deliver for the residents of Brisbane. I commend Program 1 to the Chamber.

Chairman: I will now call on Councillor McLACHLAN, as the secondary Chairman—and just a reminder, secondary Chairmen have 10 minutes.

Thank you, Councillor McLACHLAN.

Councillor McLACHLAN: Thank you, Madam Chairman; I rise to speak to the elements of Program 1 for which I have responsibility as outlined in the budget book at 1.9 Managing and Reducing Brisbane's Waste and Litter. I am pleased that this budget continues to increase investment in our high standard award-winning waste and recycling systems in Brisbane.

Waste management is a service largely undertaken out of sight and in the background, and I am sure there are still people who believe that there is a team of garbos hanging off the back of moving trucks, jumping down and swinging the contents of bins into its back. In reality, at least here in Brisbane, waste management and resource recovery is a series of efficient services performed quickly and quietly wherever possible.

I am proud as the Chairman responsible for this service area that Brisbane's waste and resource recovery activities set a shining example in Australia for their efficiency and high standards of delivery, award-winning at every level of operation, and the benchmark against which other services in other cities are judged.

Managing waste and litter in a city the size of ours is hugely important. It is also challenging, and requires ongoing innovation and investment in continuous improvement to ensure we uphold the community standards and wherever feasible deliver new, cleaner, greener technologies. Managing and reducing Brisbane's waste and litter is absolutely a key element of achieving the Program 1 objectives of a Clean, Green and WaterSmart City.

Managing the city's waste streams and the infrastructure required for keeping our streets and parks and gardens clean are crucial elements of our New World City status. There are plenty of growing cities that do not get waste management right, and literally drown in their own garbage. We have planned for an investment in the 2015-16 Budget of over $355 million in delivering a city where more people want to come and live, a cleaner, greener, water-smart city.

It is a testament to the importance of waste management that major investments out of this budget include $121.7 million in operating funds for waste management and recycling, including city cleansing. That is a big investment, and there is even more funding than this, with additional project funding and absolutely crucial services that are provided and we will continue to provide and improve in the coming years.

Residents keep on telling us in their feedback that they like the convenience of the household rubbish collection services that we provide, now including three different categories of bins for general waste, green waste and recycling. We have now got almost 22,000 of our larger 340-litre recycling bins in circulation in Brisbane, which is a great outcome for helping to increase our recycling rates and to reduce the amount of material that goes to landfill. We will be working to make sure that more of these recycling bins are adopted and more people know about our recycling services so that we will continue to divert materials from landfill.

We are working to see recycling and recovery rates continue to improve in 2015-16, and we can do this with confidence, because the right resources and the right investments are being made by this Administration in this budget. The budget investment of $2.1 million this year will produce another great outcome for increased recycling in the delivery of the Ferny Grove and Nudgee Resource Recovery Centres that will complement our existing free recycling centres at Willawong and Chandler, increasing resource recovery, growing revenue through our tip shops and supporting the Endeavour Foundation, and completing the commitment of the LORD MAYOR to turn our transfer stations into fully fledged resource recovery centres in the term of this Administration.

This year's budget also continues support for operation of our tip shops with an investment of just over $1 million. There is an increased budget here under Program 1.9 to keep growing our green bin household green waste collection service, which is now being used by more than 69,500 Brisbane households to dispose of their lawn and tree clippings from the yards. This is a service that has been growing at an average rate of 35 bins per day since its inception, and in the current financial year it is expected to do similar numbers, a little bit more in the coming financial year, of 18,000 tonnes of green waste kept out of landfill. This is an expanding service we are very proud to be able to provide.

Team QUIRK's 2015-16 Budget continues the popular annual kerbside large item collection service. Again this year we will undertake some 300,000 kerbside pickups which will be rostered, promoted and undertaken with an investment of $6.2 million. Council encourages residents wherever possible to recycle or reuse their no-longer needed household items by linking with charities like Give It or taking them to one of our resource recovery centres so that they can go to our tip shops and benefit the Endeavour Foundation. But we provide this annual kerbside collection service for residents, and happy to do so under this budget in 2015-16 for those items that cannot be diverted to re-use through those systems.

We will continue to operate the very efficient and well managed landfill at Rochedale, and the budget allows funding for the continued operation of this facility, a facility that is operating at world's best practice. While we do our best to cut down on materials going to landfill, and we have had considerable success in doing so with a 13 per cent per capita reduction in waste to landfill since 2008, landfill operations do remain necessary and provide us with a place to dispose of the household waste that cannot be recycled or reused.

This budget allows us to continue other vital Council services, including the hazardous waste collection services, the dead animal collection service, the park and footpath bin collections, the end processing of green waste and recycling, and the requirements for essential items like wheelie bins to be supplied and serviced or repaired or replaced.

Our current waste management contracts for collection, management of transfer stations, resource recovery centres and for things like the bulk bin green waste and recycling management, these contracts will expire in 2018. That is why we put aside funds in this budget to make sure that we can progress all requirements for the management of the new contracts, the due diligence and any negotiations that will be required to make sure that these core contracts, these essential contracts, are delivered ready for the start of the new contracts in 2018.

It is important that we are properly prepared to do those new contracts, because Brisbane has the biggest contracts for waste management in Australia. We pick up over 30 million bins under the collection contracts every year, and this is the core of the services that are offered by the Field Services Branch and by Brisbane City Council in the area of waste management.

On that point, Madam Chairman, I would like to thank not just our dedicated officers in the Field Services Waste and Resource Recovery area, but also our efficient and hard-working contractors who together do such an excellent job in managing the city's waste. It is testament to their work that last year was awarded the Keep Australia Beautiful Australian Sustainable Cities Award, and we won other Keep Australia Beautiful category awards such as the Dame Phyllis Frost Litter Prevention Award and the Energy Innovation Award, all important elements of Program 1.

We are also consistently the biggest recycler of mobile phones in the nation, and proud of those achievements. These awards were picked up at the Alga Conference last week for the top collector of Queensland and Australia. Other awards that our waste team are looking to win in the current financial year include awards under the Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo Innovation Award who are very keen to see the benefits that have derived from our Brisbane Bin and Recycling app, and also to see if there is any opportunity to expand elsewhere in Australia the very successful and innovative recycling art competition for 2014-15 which was a great innovation, again drawing attention to the needs of recycling, reuse and not sending materials to landfill.

Madam Chairman, I would just like to conclude on those points as my time is about to expire. This is a crucial service for the benefit of Brisbane, for keeping Brisbane clean and green. This is a crucial service. It does not get much attention from the Opposition, we know; not a word spoken in the Leader of the Opposition's speech; two questions to me during the budget information session. But I do commend this particular service, 1.9, to the Chamber and I commend Program 1 to the Chamber today.

Chairman: Thank you.

Further debate?

Councillor FLESSER: Thank you, Madam Chair. Program 1 of this budget is the carryover capital of the budget. The carryover capital of the budget. We listened to Councillor BOURKE talk about the record expenditure. What he is forgetting about is the record carryovers and delays that we have seen in the last few years. It was very interesting; he spoke about the key city park upgrades, a record amount of money to be spent this year. What happened just recently, only a couple of weeks ago, $1.8 million taken out of the budget, carried over to future years. So he is announcing today a record spend from previous years, failing to say anything about the record carryovers and delays that come about as part of this program.

We know that there was $3.45 million in carryovers at the last budget review. I was very disappointed when I heard a question in the information sessions to Councillor BOURKE which was quite specific. A question that was answered by every other Chairperson during the Committee presentations: what was the total amount of budget carryovers from previous years into this budget? Councillor BOURKE would not answer that question. Maybe he will answer that question today when he sums up. All he could give us what was in the third budget review. Well, we know that this budget is not based on the third budget review; this is based on what is apparent today. The reason I am worried why Councillor BOURKE refused to answer that question properly, as the other Chairpersons did answer truthfully, is that there are even more carryovers and blowouts and delays in Program 1 than he is prepared to admit to.

Councillor BOURKE spoke about the past drought and how it is important that we put some money into fountains. What he is forgetting is that we have had three floods since the last drought. Seven years ago the drought finished. This is miles too late, miles too late. What Councillor BOURKE and maybe the LORD MAYOR himself are failing to do is look out the LORD MAYOR's window and see where a fountain is needed and where grass is needed. Just look out the window, LORD MAYOR; you will see where there has been a fountain in the past, and that is what Brisbane's residents are calling out for today.

We know that in summer King George Square is just like the Sahara Desert, and in winter it is freezing cold. What it needs is proper rehabilitation of that centre. I am not saying to destroy it; clearly there needs to be a water feature.

Councillor FLESSER: Yes, $22 million to turn it into a desert in summer and freezing cold in winter. Madam Chair, this side of the Council Chamber is committed to putting a fountain in King George Square and also replacing and putting some grass back there as well, so that people can go there at lunchtime and sit on the grass.

Councillor BOURKE also spoke about record spend this year on flood mitigation. Again, Madam Chair, he forgot to tell us about all the delays and carryovers just in the last few months. So we know that just a bit over a month ago he cut $1.145 million from stormwater Infrastructure Charging Plan (ICP) infrastructure at the same time there was a revenue increase from developers for ICP infrastructure of $2.7 million. So more money coming in that, at the third budget review, did he say, we've got a big long list of stormwater projects that need funding, of storm management that needs funding, did he say, okay, we've got this extra money, let's go further down the list, and every Councillor here knows we've got a big long list of drainage and stormwater works for every ward across this city.

Why didn’t he say, okay, we've got this extra money, let's start spending it and go further and further down the list to try and resolve those issues, like I have at Banyo, Northgate, Virginia and Nundah. Let's spend that money. No, what did he do? No, we'll put the $2.7 million in our pocket and we'll cut $1.45 million from the budget. But there's more. He also cut $530,000 from major drainage construction. Is he still claiming that this is a record spend in this program on flood mitigation? I don't think so, Madam Chair.

The last point I want to raise is about the Karawatha Forest Environment Centre. I think even you, Madam Chair, would forgive us for having a bit of a chuckle when Councillor BOURKE spoke about that. What do we know about the Karawatha Forest Environment Centre? We know that it was promised in 2007 as part of the election campaign by the LNP. The funding was first committed in the 2008 Budget—the 2008 Budget, eight years ago. As Councillor DICK mentioned in his Opposition reply speech, the Colosseum in Rome only took eight years to build, and it's massive. Between 72 A.D. and 80 A.D. Those Romans, 2,000 years ago, were better able to manage a project than the LNP are today, 2,000 years later.

Maybe we should have got the Romans to build the Karawatha Environment Centre. Maybe it could have been done in a shorter period of time. But what is really interesting about this project with all the cuts and delays is how much is it actually really costing? When you look at the amounts of money that have been allocated in the last eight budgets, every year the funding goes up and down, and no doubt in the budget reviews if someone was to spend a month or so going through all the budget reviews, they would see how the money was cut and the money was carried over to future years.

But let us just look at the last couple of years. Let us just look, say, from 2010. That year, all the funding was stripped from that budget, with $4.95 million allocated for future years and $2.3 million expenses. Then the next year, what happened in 2011? The budgeted capital for the project was increased to $5.4 million to be spent in the 2013-14 year, and expenses had been re-budgeted to $1.6 million. So, in 2011 we were given the promise that this project was going to cost $7 million. Well, is it costing $7 million? I am not sure how you would actually work that out. Maybe Councillor BOURKE might get up, when he responds, and tell us exactly how much is the Karawatha Forest Environment Centre actually costing.

So, four years after the project was first funded in the budget, I was startled to hear in 2012 when the LORD MAYOR got up in this Council Chamber and said that the project was actually going to start that year. So it was promised in 2007; funding allocation every year for the next four years, and finally we got an announcement that it was actually going to start. How much was allocated to it? A total of $6.46 million, with it to be completed in 2014-15. Well, Madam Chair, we have passed that milestone again.

Then in 2013—I will read the direct quote from the LORD MAYOR's speech. This is 2013, Madam Chair, ‘I am also pleased to announce that in this budget I have allocated $480,000 towards stage 1 of the $6.6 million Karawatha Forest Environment Centre.’ So, in 2007, all these cuts and delays going on and on, budget reviews, taking the money in and out, in 2013 the LORD MAYOR announced it is going to start, and the project was going to cost $6.6 million. That was in the 2013 Budget.

Where are we today? Where are we today? The LORD MAYOR has allocated another $4.697 million in this budget to finish the centre in 2015. It is absolutely impossible to work out how much it has actually cost when you consider all the carryovers, the delays, and the millions of dollars that this project has blown out by. If this project has not blown out, if there is no blow out, we want to hear Councillor BOURKE get up and tell us how much it actually is costing. One thing is for certain: those ancient Romans could have managed this project a lot better.

There is one final thing I want to mention. That is another real worry in this budget. The LORD MAYOR has announced that he is going to build the Mt Coot-tha Visitor Information Centre at a cost of $3.4 million over the next two years. Didn’t we hear something like that eight years ago, Madam Chair? Over all, I think that the residents of Brisbane would be better off getting the Romans to come in and build that centre at Mt Coot-tha, because there might be some chance it might actually get done on time and on budget.

Chairman: Further debate?

Councillor WYNDHAM: Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise to speak on Program 1 Clean, Green, WaterSmart City. We have just listened to a little Flessernomics. We listen to Flessernomics quite regularly. But we on this side of the Chamber are determined, and we are delivering. I don't care what the economist on the other side says, but the record speaks for itself. Over the past two years, Keep Australia Beautiful has named Brisbane City as Australia's most sustainable city. You don't become the best in the best country in the world by using Flessernomics. If we were to use the Flessernomics that we hear regularly in this place, we would be going backwards rapidly.

Councillor interjecting

Councillor WYNDHAM: Let's just go back to 2012 where we committed to backflow valves for flooding. There was not a whisper from the other side of anything to do with backflow valves. This was just after one of the city's most major flooding events. We are actually getting on and delivering, and still delivering on backflow valves, and managing flooding et cetera in our suburbs. Madam Chair, that is what is important to us; that is what is important to the people of Brisbane, not Flessernomics.

We also heard a bit of a tirade about King George Square. I seem to recall this morning walking past a very large temporary structure that many people are visiting in King George Square. I just wonder where we are going to be putting those things, if Flessernomics has any way. I guess it will end up back out in the burbs somewhere. I can remember going to see some events way down Hamilton way and out in the suburbs, in Seventh Brigade Park, et cetera.

Madam Chair, King George Square is the centre of our city. In some places, it is the centre of entertainment in our city. You only have to have a look at City Hall and the Christmas light thing—I know it is not in this program, but it is something that the people of Brisbane just love about our city, that they can come in and see entertainment, et cetera in that square. Councillor FLESSER wishes to take that away from the people of Brisbane.

If you look a little bit further, it is about education. Our CitySmart program and our green fairs across the city that we have—you only have to look at education, what it does. Education leads. Education doesn’t come along after and say, oh gee, we should have thought of that. We are leading this city and trying to get them on board and follow us in a journey, and that journey seems to be paying off, seeing that we have received those awards for being Australia's most sustainable city.

When you look at being sustainable, you only have to have a look at some of the programs when it comes down to statistics and things like that. We've got our tip shop program extremely popular, but not only is the tip shop program popular in that people know about it; you look at the numbers. Acacia Ridge, by the end of April 2015, will have had 122,507 visitors by the end of April this year. That is how many people went through that particular tip shop. They just did not go there for a look; they purchased and therefore they recycled many items.

If you look at the tip shop at Geebung, 47,359 visitors; once again, not lookers but doers. That means there has been 1,152 tonnes of material that has been processed through the tip shops. I will say that again: 1,150 tonnes of material. Otherwise, that would have gone to waste. Madam Chair, as you know, landfill in our city is precious, and 1,150 tonnes of extra landfill certainly would have cost this city and the residents of this city quite a great deal. Instead, they are now using that. It is going to, I guess, a very good cause in that people running the tip shops as well, the Endeavour Foundation, are getting the benefit.

We should be proud of these things. We should not be carrying on with Flessernomics over these sorts of things. These are the things that our city should be proud of. We should be teaching other cities how this is done. We also can look at some of the other statistics.

Just let's look at how much we do in the way of cleaning around our city. There has been 107,726 kilometres of streets swept in 2014-15 financial year. I am assured that this financial year we will see similar, if not more. That equates to 1,134 tonnes of debris removed by the sweepers across our city. That is just debris from off our roads. Some of it, I guess, is metals and things like that, but a lot of it can be waste that should be in bins. That is something that are getting on and cleaning up—street sweepers.

Let's have a look at the 244 tonnes of debris removed by sweepers manually across the city, the 70 tonnes removed from traffic islands—70 tonnes of debris removed from traffic islands. This is all manual work in a lot of cases. Some 1,454 tonnes was the total amount of debris prevented from entering our stormwater. What is more important than that amount of rubbish going into our stormwaters? This is a $355 million program.

I was at a healthy waterways show on Friday night, and the State Government were jumping up and down proudly saying that they were putting $11 million into enhancing our waterways. We are putting $355 million into making our city more preventative of this rubbish going down into our waterways, et cetera, therefore assisting along the way. Part of that assistance is this removal of rubbish, et cetera, from going into our waterways in the first place. It is prevention; it is proactive about it. It is not about proudly saying we are going to spend $11 million cleaning up our waterways; this is about spending money to prevent our waterways being turned into sewers, et cetera, in the first place.

Madam Chair, large kerbside items—41 per cent of our population participate in this. We collect approximately 10,600 tonnes of kerbside items in our kerbside clean-up, a program that once was, oh, we might do it this year, because it's an election year. I seem to recall that sort of on again, off again attitude to bulky kerbside pickup, I think it was in the 90s and early 2000s, under the previous government, the Labor Government. We are doing this annually, and the people just love it. That, in a sense, once again goes back to educating our population about being less wasteful, because I've noticed over the years, too, some of these numbers have dropped off. Of course, with the tip shops and that, that will continue.

But we've also got our recycle transfer stations now. There's been a 20 per cent increase in recyclables at Willawong Station due to the introduction. Once again, this just shows that we are serious about eliminating waste from the waste stream system, but about recycling. I look at it; I can remember the days when people were calling for extra bin collections, et cetera, et cetera. I think we should be educating people that it is not about extra bin collections; it's about less waste. It is about less waste in the first place, because that in itself assists us to get on and make this city so much stronger and, I guess we could say, a little bit cleaner and brighter.

We are using 100 per cent green power. We are setting an example. We have been doing that for many years. I cannot remember, but I suspect we have possibly got to go back about eight years, if not more, for the 100 per cent green power, and we are also offsetting our fleet.

Chairman: Order!

Councillor WYNDHAM, your time has expired.

Councillor WYNDHAM: Time flies when you're having fun.

Chairman: Further debate?

Councillor JOHNSTON: Yes, Madam Chairman, I rise to speak on Program 1, the Clean, Green and WaterSmart City program. I want to make a few remarks about the 2015-16 Budget. This is one of the programs where I am a regular speaker during the course of the year. I move amendments; I move motions, and it is an issue in my ward that is of particular significance.

We have some of the most beautiful parks and the oldest parks in the city and Australia in my area, and we also have some magnificent green spaces. Maintaining those is of critical importance to the community that I represent. We are unfortunately also a ward that suffers from terrible natural disasters, and we have been repeatedly flooded and affected by the super storms and so forth over the past four years. One of the issues that people in my ward are concerned about is the lack of significant investment in ongoing flood mitigation across the city, but particularly in Tennyson Ward.

It is enormously disappointing to me today that there is a budget before us that still continues to fail to invest in the necessary drainage, backflow and flood mitigation measures that our city needs. It is in times of ordinary business that you must invest in the needs of a city that is subject to flooding like Brisbane is.

I note in the budget today, and certainly from the information requests, that Councillor BOURKE has stood up and said that 95 per cent of this budget is being invested in the suburbs, and that there is an 11.5 per cent increase in the drainage budget, and that I think was the major drainage, and a 2.5 per cent increase in the minor drainage budget, and that the number of projects were up to 27 from 22.

You would think, maybe, that there would be in one of the wards that is hardest hit by flooding in this city some investment in drainage—maybe one project out of 27. I don't think that is too much to ask for. One project out of 27. There is $21-odd million being invested in stormwater drainage this year, and does anybody want to have a guess how much of it is being invested in Tennyson Ward?

Councillor JOHNSTON: Zero, thank you, Councillor CUMMING. Thank you, Councillor GRIFFITHS; zero. So there are—

Councillor JOHNSTON: Yes, and the LNP Councillors think it is funny, Madam Chairman. I can tell you the residents in my ward don't, and they understand that this is a budget that is personally determined by the LORD MAYOR of our city. I find it appalling that the LNP Administration continues to neglect the needs of Tennyson Ward. In the year 2000, a drainage report was identified for Fairfield and Yeronga, outlining the major upgrades that were necessary at that time to deal with drainage and flooding impacts in Fairfield and Yeronga. That was 15 years ago. The report itself said at that time that it was necessary to meet existing demands; that was back in 2000.

Since that time there has been major development through those areas, and there is flooding every time it rains. That is just dealing with the day-to-day drainage issues of this city, let alone mitigating the flood impacts from the January 2011 flood. There were 36 remaining backflow valves to do, of which there are about 15 in my ward that still needed doing. Again, none are being funded today. That is not good enough as far as I am concerned. We are letting residents down by failing to plan for the future and failing to invest in the necessary drainage across the ward.

This LORD MAYOR is popularly elected by the city. He is here to represent all people, regardless of how they vote. The fact that he continues to starve Tennyson Ward of vital drainage funding that his own officers said in 2000 was critically important is a major governance and leadership failure by the LORD MAYOR. The fact that the Chairman in this area stands up and crows about the fact that there is an increase in funding, whilst not allocating a single project to Tennyson Ward, is just appalling.

Some 27 projects, he said, but not one of them. There are 26 wards in the city. If you were going to do it fairly, like the LORD MAYOR said in his budget speech, you would share it out. You would make sure that the areas of greatest need on the south side are getting funded, because we know for the past four years there has been an 80 per cent investment in drainage on the north side and only 20 per cent on the south side of the city. This budget is little better. I checked it. It is 70 per cent still on the north side and 30 per cent on the south side. So not only is Tennyson Ward getting completely dudded; the south side is being ignored by the LNP Administration. That is not good enough.

It is also the case when it comes to parks. I note that there is an increase of 35 parks projects in Tennyson Ward. Does anybody want to have a guess how many parks projects are being undertaken in Tennyson Ward in this budget?

Councillor JOHNSTON: Zero; thank you, Councillor CUMMING for helping us so much. There is an investment of $15 million in park and playground projects in this budget, and not a single cent of it is going to be invested in Tennyson Ward—not a cent. Let's remember that they are here to govern for everyone, but not the people of Chelmer, Graceville, Sherwood, Corinda, Tennyson, Rocklea, Yeronga, Fairfield, Yeerongpilly and Annerley. Apparently they don't need any park investment, and they don't need any drainage investment.

Councillor JOHNSTON: It is horrific, and I agree: there is $1 million to fix up the Ken Fletcher sea wall which has fallen into the river. We still don't know why. We haven’t had a report that has been published. That is not good enough. Councillor BOURKE still can't even tell us the exact scope of the work. It might be piling, it might be reinforcement, it might be sheeting; we don't know. Three months on, from a significant park collapse, he should know, and he should know what the money is going to be spent on.

There is no money to replace the community centre either. It is not good enough. Madam Chairman, just to inject a little fairness into the debate today, I have an amendment that I would like to move to Program 1.