Minutes of proceedings

The Chairman submitted to the Chamber the motion for the adoption of the Clean, Green and WaterSmart City program and it was declared carried on the voices.

2. MOVING BRISBANE PROGRAM:

The DEPUTY MAYOR, Councillor Adrian SCHRINNER, Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee moved, seconded by Councillor Ian McKenzie, 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 WaterSmart City program as contained on pages 49 to 67, and schedules on pages 155 to 173 so far as they relate to Program 2, be adopted.

DEPUTY MAYOR: Yes, Madam Chairman. As I was saying, the Moving Brisbane program is all about mobility. It has been a key focus for this Administration from the beginning, and one that we have continued to invest in. It is easy to pay lip service to that but the reality is, in this budget, once again we see approximately half of the entire Council budget going into this program. So almost 50 per cent is going into this one program, which is all about mobility.

It is about not only the road network and footpaths and bike paths; it is also about public transport and the whole range of mobility initiatives across the city. One thing when it comes to mobility that we continue to stress, and that stress is indicated in the way funding is allocated, is that mobility is about freedom of choice. It is about ensuring that we invest across the different modes of transport rather than just picking one or two particular modes. So we have been clear about that. It is about choice.

It is about saying that, if people want to catch the bus or the ferry, that is great; we will provide Australia's most modern fleet for them to use. It is about ensuring if the people want to walk and cycle to work or to the shops, they can do so safely on paths that have been provided as part of our record investment in bikeways and footpaths. If people want to drive to where they want to go, we are not going to make them feel like bad people for doing that. We are not going to make them feel guilty, and we are not going to punish them.

That is an important point because there are some people out there who very clearly claim that this Council should not be spending money on roads, and they are not ashamed about saying that. There is one person in this Chamber who has very clearly said that on numerous occasions, that we should take a roads diet, and we all know who that is—the alternative Leader of the Opposition, or maybe the next Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Helen ABRAHAMS.

It is very clear that Councillor ABRAHAMS believes we should not invest money in roads. But she also believes that we should tax people off the roads by introducing a cordon toll, and she has said that just recently, which was published in a book about traffic congestion. We do not share that view. Ultimately we want to make sure that all of the different modes of transport are invested in, and it is not a zero sum game. So, investing in one mode does not mean you cannot invest in another mode. It is not one wins and one loses; it's got to be a balanced investment across those modes.

This budget essentially provides a balanced investment across the mobility modes of our city. I have no doubt that, if we asked the community: should we stop spending money on roads, there would be a resounding no. The feedback that we continue to receive from the community is that we want more spending on roads, more spending on public transport, and more spending on active transport. So that is exactly what we are doing. We have listened, not based on some kind of philosophical or ideological approach, but from the practical needs and requirements of Brisbane residents to get around the city.

This program delivers record investment in public transport that we have continued to deliver over successive budgets, record investment in active transport, and record investment in road maintenance and upgrades. This has been done, as I mentioned, consistently through the term of this Administration. It has seen us deliver Australia's most modern bus fleet. It has seen us deliver a whole raft of new CityCats and, also in this budget, invest in refurbishment of older CityCats. With the bus fleet, we now have 100 per cent of buses air conditioned and 100 per cent disability compliant and easily accessible by prams and wheelchairs.

This year we will see 60 new buses purchased over the next 12 months, which is all about keeping the bus fleet modern. We heard one of the Opposition Councillors scoffing that, oh well, you are buying 60 new buses, but you are also retiring 60 buses. That is actually called renewal. That is called renewal of the fleet and keeping it modern. When a bus reaches a certain age, and I understand it is around 20 years old, it should be retired. So we are all about keeping the fleet modern, because people want that better standard of accessibility; they want that better standard of comfort, and we need to make it comfortable and accessible for people to catch public transport in our city.

We will continue the record investment in bikeways and footpaths; an absolutely essential part of this Administration's agenda. I did want to point out, though, that one of the biggest new initiatives in this budget was a project which was the four-laning of the Inner City Bypass (ICB). Some people have used this as an example of how the Administration is only focused on roads.

DEPUTY MAYOR: We heard the Opposition just saying absolutely. Well, the interesting part is—and I actually mentioned this in the information session last Friday—that out of the $80 million allocation for this project, approximately half of that is about putting an access ramp from the Inner Northern Busway into the ICB to allow buses to use the Legacy Way tunnel. So, this is actually just as much a public transport project as it is a road project.

So, for an $80 million investment, we will get a benefit for both motorists and a benefit for bus users by allowing the Legacy Way tunnel to serve as essentially the Legacy Way busway. That is what it will be able to do. So buses can come off the Inner Northern Busway near the Royal Brisbane Hospital, down onto the ICB and straight into the Legacy Way tunnel. So that is what we would like to see achieved through this project. So it is about public transport improvements and improvements for motorists as well.

Importantly, there is a 66 per cent boost in road resurfacing as a result of this budget investment. That is significant. Some 66 per cent is obviously a big jump, but what we have seen here is the single largest investment in road resurfacing that any Administration has ever made in the history of the city. So, $100 million in one year. I have to say this is very justified.

The last several years have seen significant deterioration in the road network. That deterioration is primarily as a result of weather events that have hit our city. We have seen the 2011 floods where many, many roads were submerged. We have seen numerous storm and flood events since then in recent years, very costly events for our city, but also events that deteriorate the life of our road network. When a road is flooded or submerged, it takes years off the road's life. We did testing after the 2011 flood, and roads that were supposed to last for 20 years were lasting for many years less than that as a result of the flooding and the impacts on those roads.

So this $100 million investment will help deliver better roads for Brisbane, and to help deal with that degradation that we have seen as a result of flooding and storm events in recent years. It is an important investment in the suburbs of Brisbane. Right across the city, this investment is being made, from suburbs near the city all the way out to the outer suburbs of our city. This money will flow on and deliver benefits, and it is a welcome investment by the LORD MAYOR in asset maintenance.

If we spend the money on roads in this way, it will actually save ratepayers' money in the long term. There will be less requirement on those roads for pothole filling and patching in the future. So the reactive maintenance requirements reduce if the road is done properly when we resurface it. So it is a very good outcome for the city, and all Councillors across the city will see their wards benefit from this investment.

I did hear, as well, some criticism from the Opposition on decorative lighting in this budget. We have heard some lines from them about the lighting projects and how it is supposedly a waste of money. I did want to draw Councillors' attention to page 160 of the budget, which is the schedules, and the Bridges and Culverts Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project.

One of the new things in this budget—and it hasn’t drawn any attention so far—is that we will be replacing the lights on the Victoria Bridge from fluorescent tube lights, as they are at the moment, to LED lights which are programmable in the same way that the Storey Bridge is programmable. So, what we will essentially achieve is when the Storey Bridge is lit up a certain colour, the Victoria Bridge can be lit up in the same colour.

Councillors interjecting.

Chairman: Order!

DEPUTY MAYOR: When City Hall is lit up in a certain colour, with the LED lights on City Hall, those two bridges can be in the same colour. That is all about promoting a whole range of great causes in our city; things like breast cancer awareness. There is a whole range of initiatives that we give publicity to through the use of those LED lights.

But it is not just decorative. The current fluorescent tubes on the Victoria Bridge are at the end of their life, and they need to be replaced. So this financial year, we would have had to make the decision to replace old technology with old technology, or indeed, replace old technology with new and more efficient technology, and that is what we have chosen to do. So, with this $1.1 million investment in lighting on the Victoria Bridge, we will see not only an opportunity to support the vibrancy of the city but also to save money for ratepayers.

LED lights are estimated to be at least 50 per cent more efficient than the fluorescent lights that are on the bridge at the moment. They also require less maintenance, less changing and work that is required on an ongoing basis. So we will see ongoing savings to the people of Brisbane, both in electricity costs, which benefit ratepayers directly, and in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the savings in this budget.

It is part of a program that is gearing up within Council to replace old style lights with new LED or efficient technology. We had the 25,000 street lights replaced recently with more efficient bulbs. We have just been doing a project in the King George Square car park to replace the old fluorescent tubes with LED lights, and that will be finalised this financial year as well. That is just one practical example of some of the small but important things we are doing in this program.

There is a new investment in this program as well in enhanced school zone safety. Schools that previously were not eligible to get school zones on their frontage because the frontage had a multi-lane road now can have those school zones installed. That is a great outcome for student safety across the city. We are seeing major roads like Moggill Road, Old Cleveland Road, Cavendish Road, Forest Lake Boulevard, Annerley Road, Beaudesert Road, Wynnum Road, Logan Road and Murphy Road—there is a whole range of roads across the city that will now benefit from having safer school environments.

Not only will we be installing the school zones; we will be installing the flashing school zone lights as well to really ensure that motorists are aware of the school zone in place. So that is a great outcome for our students. It is a new program that we are keen to see continue going forward.

I also wanted to talk about some of the technology improvements and parking improvements that we are going to be making this year as well as part of the budget. Once again these have been criticised by the Opposition. They seem to be against new technology and better ways of doing things. They are against making it easier for people to find and pay for parking. They are against it. So they criticise these things, just like they criticised free Wi-Fi in parks, but they will be proven wrong.

When this is rolled out, I am sure that the residents of Brisbane will take it up and use it, and it will be a better and more effective system, to make it easier for people finding parking around the city. The ability to book a space in advance will be part of the technology. The ability to top up your meter without going back to the car will be part of that technology. We are also looking at ways that we can improve our parking permit scheme as well. So we will be going out to tender later this year to procure a digital permit system that will make it faster and easier for residents who want to access parking permits. That will replace the existing paper-based system which is cumbersome and takes a long time for residents to obtain permits.

We want to make it easier for people, and these two initiatives I have just mentioned are part of the solution.

Chairman: DEPUTY MAYOR, your time has expired, thank you.

Councillor MATIC, as secondary Chairman, you have 10 minutes.

Councillor MATIC: Thank you, Madam Chairman. As Chairman of the Public and Active Transport Committee, I rise in support of Program 2, Moving Brisbane, and confirm my support for the LORD MAYOR's 2015-16 Budget. For the third year running, this year's budget not only demonstrates the significant commitment and vision that the LORD MAYOR has for Brisbane, but also his willingness to put his money where his mouth is to keep our city growing, moving and improving.

As we have already heard, there are many direct benefits of this budget to the people of Brisbane. As Chair of the Public and Active Transport Committee, there are some specific achievements in areas which I would like to highlight. Firstly, I congratulate the LORD MAYOR on his ongoing commitment to modernising Brisbane's public transport with this year's considerable contribution of $228 million directed to public transport and bikeway initiatives.

We recognise that the people of Brisbane and the many visitors to our great city have varied needs when it comes to public transport, and we recognise that a growing city requires a strong and diverse transport system in order to thrive. That is why we have ensured our investment is spread across a range of areas, various modes of transport, including ferries, ferry terminals, buses, bus stops and bikeways.

Councillors will already be aware that Brisbane can boast the most modern bus fleet in Australia, and the first fleet that is fully wheelchair accessible. This is something of which we are particularly proud. But despite our considerable achievements to date, we recognise that there is still more to do. That is why we remain committed to ongoing investment in Brisbane's public and active transport infrastructure, to ensure it provides access to both residents and visitors alike. We want to see an inclusive public transport network which allows all people to safely and efficiently reach their destinations.

We on this side of the Chamber are all about ensuring value for money for Brisbane ratepayers. That is why I am delighted to talk today about the further upgrades in this year's budget with respect to the city's expansive CityCat network. As Brisbane residents know well, the iconic fleet of vessels which traverse our river include a mix of colourful CityCats, City Ferry Services and the CityHopper, Brisbane's free inner-city ferry service.

The CityHopper helps make Brisbane a tourist friendly destination and complements our free City Loop bus service. This service will continue to operate free of charge. In relation to the CityCats, I can also advise that, during the last financial year, we delivered two additional CityCats, increasing Council's fleet to 21. This year I am excited to announce an impressive $5.2 million has been allocated over three years towards reviving the older Generation 1 CityCats. This money will involve both internal and external upgrades, and will breathe new life into these vessels, many of which have been operating since the mid-1990s.

It will serve to maximise the potential of these vessels which have served the people of Brisbane so well to date. These refurbished CityCats will also, excitingly, feature decorative wraps, some of which will honour the many achievements of our city's great sporting teams, and will prove a talking point for domestic and international visitors to our city. I am always pleased to be part of initiatives which promote civic pride, and this is a perfect example of just such a project. The wraps will represent many of the sporting teams the people of Brisbane know and love.

Council's 21st CityCat, Gilwunpa, already sports a wrap honouring the Queensland Firebirds who, as of Sunday, became the 2015 netball champions. But our commitment does not just stop with the refurbishment and redecorating of our CityCats. We have also been busy investing in the long-term infrastructure needed to keep our city moving. As I mentioned, this time last year not only have we delivered on our promise to finish the new CityCat terminal at Park Road, Milton, but we have also refurbished and upgraded the seven flood recovery ferry terminals.

These are in addition to the disability upgrades at Bulimba, Hawthorne and Brett's Wharf. These terminals have all been built to the one-in-500-year flood standard and feature dual berthing. Importantly, these rebuilt terminals have significantly improved accessibility features, including innovative DDA compliant articulated gangways.

In addition to the innovative DDA-compliant gangways, these terminals also feature added seating and rest zones, accessible ramps, continuous handrails along the gangway and pontoon to guide commuters from the terminal entrance to the boarding gate, and simple journey maps with braille that will include where you are and which direction you can travel to other terminals. This budget has dedicated $4.455 million this financial year to continue planning and preparation to upgrade the remaining ferry terminals in the network in line with disability standards and targets.

We remain focused on our ongoing commitment to supporting bus services in this city. In this past year, we spent $31 million acquiring 60 new environmentally friendly buses. These new buses boast DDA compliance, and with Australia's most modern fleet, maintenance costs are reduced as older, higher maintenance buses can be retired. This year's budget also includes a substantial $81.9 million to Brisbane Transport to enable them to keep our city moving.

An integral part of our ongoing support of Brisbane's bus network is the Blue and Maroon CityGliders. Council recognises the importance of providing a range of transport options to the people of Brisbane, and that is why we have committed over $12 million to continue these two services over the next financial year. In addition to operating the Brisbane bus fleet, Council also provides 6,500 bus stops and enables nine well-situated bus interchanges to help people to access those bus services. A key objective of Council is to provide a bus stop network that is accessible to all members of the community, including people with disabilities, seniors and families.

The 2015-16 Budget allocates over $25 million for the Brisbane Bus Stop Accessibility program to progressively upgrade and improve accessibility to our bus stop network. The program will ensure that all bus stops provide an accessible level of service that is consistent across the network. Importantly, it will provide or upgrade facilities such as seating, allocated spaces for wheelchairs, and shelters in designated locations. These locations include high-demand areas such as hospitals, employment centres, local community facilities and retirement villages. The Brisbane Bus Stop Accessibility program will continue beyond the current four-year budget to provide a fully DDA accessible bus stop network by 2022.

Madam Chairman, I am pleased to inform you that our significant investment in ferries, ferry terminals and bus services has not overshadowed our recent cycling investment. Council recognises that cycling is an important mode of transport which many people of Brisbane love to use, and which can help contribute to a healthy lifestyle and cleaner environment. This year's budget supports cyclists and budding cyclists by dedicating $31 million towards on-road and off-road cycling paths. This is in line with the 2012-16 Better Bikeways for Brisbane program which, once completed next year, will boast an impressive network of bikeways and connections to employment and tourist areas.

Councillors will recall that this year's budget allocation is part of the broader Better Bikeways for Brisbane program which sees $120 million invested between 2012 and 2016 to upgrade and expand the city's bikeways and associated services. It also complements the $100 million investment in new bike infrastructure made between 2008 and 2012. Collectively, this is a considerable contribution. We will also continue to promote Cycling Brisbane, our free membership initiative which encourages people of all ages and abilities to cycle more often and to utilise the extensive bikeway network available.

By ensuring that our city is easy to get around, and by encouraging people to utilise bikeways and cycling options, Council is helping reduce congestion and assisting our city to become more sustainable, healthy and accessible. I could talk at length about the ways in which this year's budget supports the important initiatives which fall within the Public and Active Transport portfolio, but there is one thing in particular I would like to note. That is our Active School Travel program.

It is one which helps to reduce congestion in our suburbs and keep our children healthy and street-safe. The Active School Travel program educates and motivates students, parents and teachers to leave the car at home and to actively travel to and from school. This year there are 15 new schools participating in addition to the 30 schools which have previously been involved and who are continuing to receive support from Council to implement their programs. The 2015-16 Budget provides $708,000 in support of this initiative.

In conclusion, this Administration will continue to provide public and active transport opportunities for the people of Brisbane, and will provide the infrastructure which the people of Brisbane both demand and deserve. We will continue to encourage people to get active, explore our city, and to do so in a safe and accessible manner. This budget supports these objectives with investment and functionality and accessibility at our ferry terminals and bus stops, improved bus and ferry services and vessels, and our continued investment in bikeways. I thank the LORD MAYOR and Councillor SIMMONDS for their work on this budget, and for the important initiatives contained within, and I commend this budget to the Chamber.

Chairman: Further debate?

Councillor GRIFFITHS.

Councillor GRIFFITHS: Yes, thanks, Madam Chair; I rise to speak on all parts of Program 2. This budget really proves that the LNP has no vision. In fact, we heard no vision during any of the budget speeches, and we heard no vision today for public transport. It is a sham that they are interested in public transport, a sheer veneer that they are interested in doing anything about the city's public transport issues.

What we have seen the LNP deliver on is a cut of over 1 million people from using the buses last financial year. Let's see how many fewer people use the buses this year. We know with that cut of people using or not using public transport that there's also been a 4.5 per cent increase in congestion on the city's roads.

Madam Chair, this Budget fails to deal with congestion and fails to deal with public transport, but let's look a little deeper. In terms of the budget, it's such an important item for the LNP. It's so important for the progress of our city that they've managed to allocate four pages of talking about public transport in this particular document, which is 269 pages. Four pages to public transport; what a shame.

In terms of Moving Brisbane it's four pages out of 17. What does that say to you about where the priority lies with public transport and this Administration? Who could forget the LNP's bus optimisation program that saw a $20 million cut to services which is still ongoing, as well as a cut to numerous services.

The other thing we've heard bleating today about 60 new buses, and oh gee, that's alright because we're retiring 60 new buses. What about mentioning the fact that at the last election you actually promised 90 buses? None of that's happening. If you were really interested in growing the fleet, if you really believed more people were going to be catching our buses, why aren't you producing more buses than you're retiring?

Madam Chair, we're seeing an increase in density but not an increase in buses. This is one of the greatest failures of the LNP Administration and it's not missed by the community. Under the LNP we saw the fares rise by 7.5 per cent in 2014; 7.5 per cent. No wonder—no wonder there were one million fewer passengers on our buses and they're laughing about this fact.

Councillors interjecting.

Chairman: Order.

Councillor GRIFFITHS: Was it not enough, Madam Chair? Was it not enough?

Councillor interjecting.

Chairman: Councillor MATIC—Councillor MATIC refer to Councillors appropriately please.

Councillor GRIFFITHS: Maybe—sorry—

Chairman: Thank you.

Councillor GRIFFITHS: Maybe they wanted to increase it by more. Their vision—their vision for public transport is appalling.

Now we hear about cordon tolls. We hear about how much one Councillor on this side of the Chamber likes cordon tolls. Your cordon tolling—your cordon tolling is your parking meters. You've introduced those all across the inner-city suburbs. That's your way of keeping cars out of the inner-city. That's your way of charging a tax. Parking meters are a tax. They're a tax on business, they're a tax on residents and they're stopping businesses from performing. Don't deny it, don't deny it. Parking meters are nothing more than a tax on residents. They're nothing more than the LNP's sneaky form of cordon tolling.

If that wasn't bad enough—if that wasn't bad enough, the LNP have moved into the suburbs and they now allow parking fees at Indooroopilly, Carindale, Chermside and Mt Gravatt. Anything to stop people from using public transport, any way possible, and what's worse—what's worse is these fees keep increasing.

So don't attack Councillor Helen ABRAHAMS. Be honest—be honest about yourselves and be honest about what you're doing. Businesses know it, residents know it.

Now, Madam Chair—

Councillors interjecting.

Chairman: Order.

Councillor GRIFFITHS: Madam Chair, it's astounding that for a $1.7 billion project that is Legacy Way, they forgot to add an important on-ramp off-ramp that was worth $80 million. Woops. We actually planned a $1.7 billion project but we forgot an $80 billion how do you get on it, how do you get off it. Amazing, Madam Chair. If you don't think—if you don't think residents in the suburbs don't see this constant feverish approach to spending money on toll tunnels and on inner-city roads you've got another think coming.

The southern suburbs all the time tell me how much rates they're paying but how little they're getting for it. Yes, you keep going, you keep going, keep talking about your toll tunnels in the southern suburbs. See how it works for you.

Madam Chair, in terms of the southside, in terms of congestion on the southside—and we know the LNP don't worry about the southside. We know there are major congestion hotspots and these are not being dealt with. I would suggest that you come and wait in line at Coopers Plains or Coorparoo railway crossings. It was good enough for the LNP in conjunction with the State Government to do the Telegraph and Robinson Road crossings on the northside. Great, good on you, smart. Why are you ignoring the southside? Why are you not working in partnership—why are you not working in partnership—why are you not working in partnership with the State Government to fix these problems?

In fact it was interesting—

Chairman: Order. Councillor MATIC.

Councillor GRIFFITHS: —In fact it was interesting, Madam Chair, that the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) came out and said that this $700 million splurge that this LNP Administration are going to go on with for Kingsford Smith Drive would be better spent on the Coopers Plains and Coorparoo rail crossings. Better spent because we're actually seeing less traffic on that road at the moment than there was 10 years ago. Madam Chair, another $700 million for an inner-city project, while residents at Coopers Plains and Coorparoo wait 20 minutes to get across a track.

We've seen an increase in density, we've seen an increase in infrastructure charges, we've seen an increase in congestion, and we're seeing it impact on residents and business. We're forgetting about the suburbs.

I know Councillor Shayne SUTTON has been on and fighting the good battle for Wynnum Road, but what about Ipswich Road? What about Balham Road where we've increased density for industry? The great furphy as well is the unsafe bikeways. The LNP Administration scoff that our bikeways are safe. Can I say that women have contacted me in relation to feeling unsafe on Riawena Road bikeway at Salisbury, Yeronga bikeway that runs through Moorooka, and Coopers Plains bikeways. The LNP's response? You can wait a couple of years, there's a long list.

Madam Chair, we're not taking safety in the suburbs properly. We're not worrying about safe links to bus stops or railways. We need to be spending money across the whole city so that women in the outer suburbs feel safe just like people in the inner-city suburbs.

Finally, Madam Chair, I just want to pull up a point about the amount we're spending on resurfacing of our roads and I'd like to give this example—Railway Terrace roundabout at Moorooka. It is one of the most potholed, jigsawed pieces of infrastructure that I've ever seen. Did it get any infrastructure spending money, any resurfacing money this year? No. So it will remain there as a reminder for residents that in fact money isn't being allocated on need; it's being allocated on pork barrelling.

We've got to forget the coloured lights and get the money into the suburbs, onto our roads and, in fact, fixing the lighting of our bikeways. To me, Madam Chair, this budget just proves there is no vision from the LNP. This is a budget about getting re-elected. It's a veneer of a budget for public transport, while we're increasing density and increasing congestion on our roads, and so far the result of the LNP's progress with regards to public transport has been that we've seen one million fewer residents using our buses.

Chairman: Further debate? Order.

Councillor HUANG.

Councillor HUANG: Thank you, Madam Chairman. I rise in support of the program Moving Brisbane and express my support and appreciation to the LORD MAYOR and the relevant Chairmen for their vision and leadership by making the vital investments in this city's public transport and transport network. This will ensure that this city will continue to enjoy sustainable population and economic growth.

Brisbane, as Australia's new world city, continues to be the focal point of international visitors, interstate and overseas migrants, and investment targets in Australia. While we continue to enjoy the benefits of this influx of people and capital that has been driving the economy of this city, we need to keep investing in our public transport and transport network and infrastructure to ensure the city's sustainable growth for the generations to come.

The 2015-16 Budget fosters the commitment and vision of the LORD MAYOR and this Administration in keeping Brisbane moving, growing and improving. Madam Chairman, transport infrastructure has a direct impact on the economic growth of an area. An efficient transport network that allows better and smoother movement of people and goods will effectively improve this city's economic competitiveness and living standards.

As both Councillor SCHRINNER, as the Chair for Infrastructure, and Councillor MATIC, as the Chair for Public and Active Transport, have stated, this budget will continue to bring vision and action in providing Brisbane with a world-class transport network and public transport choices.

There are a number of important initiatives contained in this 2015-16 Budget, including delivery of 60 new air-conditioned and accessible rigid equivalent buses to ensure that Council's fleet is one of the most modern in Australia; undertake detailed planning for future DDA-compliant ferry terminals; continuing the upgrade of bus stops and ferry terminals to provide a more accessible public transport network and to meet requirements of the DDA; continue operation of the Congestion Reduction Unit; continued rotation of the portable speed warning signs; additional enhanced school zone signage for schools on multi-lane roads and assist Queensland Rail with the installation of the bridge strike beams and safety signage.

Madam Chairman, of course there are more initiatives than I have just mentioned, but these are the initiatives that I feel strongly about. As a person without physical disability, I think it may be difficult for us to understand the hardship someone with a disability has to endure. I can always remember one of my aunties, who suffered polio since she was a child, talking to me in tears about how she had to crawl the stairs on one of the old-style buses and the humiliation she had to live with.

Madam Chairman, 100 per cent low floor-buses is a significant achievement of this Administration, and further work on our bus stops and ferry terminals to make them accessible and DDA-compliant is an important target that will benefit all residents of our city.

This Council also provides around 6,500 bus stops and enables nine well situated bus interchanges to help people to access bus services. The key objective of Council is to provide a bus stop network that is accessible to all members of the community, including people with a disability, seniors and families, especially those dads and mums with prams.

The 2015-16 Budget allocated over $25 million for the Brisbane accessible bus stop program to progressively upgrade and improve accessibility to our bus stop network. The program will ensure that all bus stops provide an accessible level of service that is consistent across the network. Importantly, it will provide or upgrade facilities such as seating, allocated spaces for wheelchairs and prams, and also shelters in designated locations. These locations include high-demand areas such as hospitals, employment centres, local community halls, local community facilities and retirement villages. The Brisbane accessible bus stop program will continue beyond the current four year-budget to provide a fully DDA accessible bus stop network by 2022.

In addition to disability compliance to bus stops, this Administration has also delivered on our promises to finish the new CityCat terminal at Park Road, Milton, but we also have refurbished and upgraded the seven flood recovery ferry terminals. These are in addition to the disability upgrades at Bulimba, Hawthorne and Bretts Wharf ferry terminals. These terminals have been built to the one-in-500-year flood standard and feature duel berthing at all sites except Maritime Museum, and most importantly, these rebuilt terminals have significantly improved accessibility features, including innovative DDA compliant articulated gangways which support people in wheelchairs and with disabilities.

The gangway on the flood recovery terminals are also designed to detach from the shore during a flood event. In addition to the innovative DDA-compliant gangways, these terminals also feature added seating and rest zones, accessible ramps, continuous handrails along the gangway and pontoon to guide commuters from the terminal entrance to the boarding gate. Also improve terminal lighting as well as simple journey maps with Braille that will include where you are and which direction you can travel to other terminals.

This budget has dedicated $4.45 million this financial year to continue planning in preparation to upgrade the remaining ferry terminals in the network, in line with disability standards and targets, which will support our residents with disabilities.

Madam Chairman, I'd also like to briefly touch on Active School Travel program and school zone traffic management initiatives contained in this budget. As a result of Brisbane's continual growth, we see an increase in traffic, traffic volumes and challenges around the school zones. Programs like Active School Travel helps to reduce congestion in our suburbs and keep our children healthy and street-safe, which is the most important education value in this Active School Travel.

This Active School Travel program educates and motivates students, parents and teachers to leave their cars at home and actively travel to and from school. The 2015-16 Budget provides $708,000 in support of this initiative. This funding will encourage more and more Brisbane schools to choose to support Active School Travel, helping improve the road environment around schools and making the roads safer for students, parents and residents.

Madam Chairman, investment in transport infrastructure and network, and in public and active transport, is vital in keeping a city growing and prospering, and at the same time improving the lifestyle and amenities in an urban environment.

Program 2 of this budget has provided both the vision and action to achieve these objectives. I'd like to congratulate the LORD MAYOR and Chairman for Infrastructure and Chairman for Public and Active Transport in delivering a budget that the people of this city demand and deserve. I commend this budget to the Chamber.

Chairman: Further debate?

Councillor JOHNSTON?

Councillor JOHNSTON: Yes, Madam Chairman, I rise to speak on Program 2 – Moving Brisbane.

Moving Brisbane, on the face of it, looks like there are some good initiatives that are being funded under this program item. For example, I would like to mention the safer school signage that we're now delivering to schools on main roads.

Now I think that is actually quite a good project, and it's a good thing that we are contributing to safety around schools because I think State Governments of all political persuasions have actually failed to fully deliver on their promises.

But the problem we have, Madam Chairman, is it was kept secret, so if there was going to be funding that we were going to start to allocate to something the State Government had previously done, I think the fair thing to do would have been to say we want Councillors to nominate projects in their area.

Certainly I know in my area there are projects that do want additional funding and improvements around their schools, but that didn't happen and the LNP has gone out and I think about three-quarters of the funding is going to LNP wards and a quarter to the ALP wards.

I note that there are some Councillors who are getting five projects. I mean, talk about pork barrelling. I mean, if you're in the know on this one apparently you got the signs and if you weren't you didn't.

So, Madam Chairman, that just shows the secrecy and the unfairness about the way in which this Administration approaches funding for the budget.

Now I listened to the last program item to a number of Councillors basically say that I was a whinger and I was whining and it was terrible that I didn't really understand how the budget worked and all the rest of it.

I've just got some budget figures that I'd like to put on the record for this program, so here are some of the key items being funded: bikeways this year $31 million, Tennyson Ward zero; there'll be $120 million spent over the four years by this Administration and zero will have gone into Tennyson Ward; bikeway reconstruction $2.2 million in this budget, zero in Tennyson Ward; road design $2.1 million in this budget, zero in Tennyson Ward.

Major improvements—$10.4 million for major road improvements, zero in Tennyson Ward; the bridge and culvert reconstruction $10.1 million, zero in Tennyson Ward; new bridges and culverts $2.1 million, zero in Tennyson Ward; district road projects $2.2 million, zero in Tennyson Ward; school signage $700,000, zero in Tennyson Ward; local access improvements $2.7 million in the city, zero in Tennyson Ward.

Traffic counting projects $1.7 million in the city, zero in Tennyson Ward; curb and channel $8.8 million, zero in Tennyson Ward; new ramps $414,000, zero in Tennyson Ward; new retaining walls $775,000, zero in Tennyson Ward; Safe School Travel program $673,000, zero in Tennyson Ward; safer routes to school $331,000, zero in Tennyson Ward.

Footpaths, $17.4 million—I'm sorry—there was zero in Tennyson Ward until the DEPUTY MAYOR on Friday, late in the estimates, said I could have the $93,000 footpath he promised he'd do last year but didn't do and he'll do this year. So from a $17.4 million ward-wide budget there'll be $93,000 spent on some of the oldest and most neglected footpaths in the ward. Annerley comes up every time on the top of this list of existing footpaths that are rundown and in an appalling state and there is no money.

Resurfacing of roads—$100 million is allocated in the budget. There's $2 million in Tennyson Ward for eight roads. The average per ward is 15 roads and about $4 million per ward. Now some wards seem to have done quite well out of this. I've noted Councillors like Councillor ADAMS, Councillor SIMMONDS, Councillor HUANG, Councillor McLACHLAN in all of their budget—Councillor KING—in their budget newsletters they've had around 20 roads that are being resurfaced in their areas and there are eight—eight—in Tennyson Ward.

Safety rails $1.5 million, zero in Tennyson Ward; Congestion Reduction Unit $6 million citywide, zero in Tennyson Ward; suburban street upgrades $2.1 million, zero in Tennyson Ward.

Now, Madam Chairman, I'm going to move an amendment in a moment, but what I want to say is that this budget—

Councillors interjecting.

Chairman: Order.

Councillor JOHNSTON: —this budget that the LORD MAYOR thinks is fair, that is personally determined by him and the Councillor for Walter Taylor, Councillor SIMMONDS, thinks that that is fair. They think that the residents of Chelmer, Graceville, Sherwood, Corinda, Rocklea, Tennyson, Yeronga, Fairfield, Annerley—they think that those residents who pay some of the highest rates in this city—and it was $30 million in rates they paid last year—they don't get anything in this budget program, other than eight roads being resurfaced and one footpath upgrade. That is it.

Now Councillor KNAPP wants to stand up over on that side of the Chamber and say, oh things get done and it's all very fair. This is exactly the same as last year. Last year there were two roads in Tennyson Ward that got resurfaced. There hasn't been a local road project in Tennyson Ward since I was an LNP Councillor. If you think for one minute that the residents out there—the residents out there don't know what you're doing, think again.

If you don't know—if you didn't take the lesson from how Campbell Newman was treated when he went out and pork barrelled and ignored other residents and said we're not going to fund your areas if you don't vote LNP—if you think my residents don't get what you're doing you lot have rocks in your head, rocks in your head—

Councillors interjecting.

Councillor JOHNSTON: Yes, you got turfed out, Madam Chairman. So in the interests of fairness—fairness—in this massive budget where I've literally got nothing—nothing—I move the following amendment: