CanDo's Cost Cuts

The following press release from the PremierThe Honourable Campbell Newman was sent out yesterday.


First Newman Government Cabinet Meeting focusses on cost of living savings

The focus of today’s first Newman Government Cabinet Meeting was action to deliver the LNP’s Lower Cost of Living for Families Package for Queenslanders.

Premier Campbell Newman said cost of living in Queensland had skyrocketed under Labor and the LNP Government’s focus was to act immediately to start addressing cost of living issues.

Premier Campbell Newman said at today’s meeting, Cabinet had resolved to move forward with regulation to freeze private motor vehicle registration for three years from 1 July 2012.

“Cabinet also formally approved the reinstatement of the principal place of residence stamp duty concession from 1 July 2012, which will save Queenslanders up to $7,000 when they purchase an average family home,” Mr Newman said.

Mr Newman said Cabinet approved plans to halve the previous Labor Government’s scheduled fare increases in 2013 and 2014 to 7.5 per cent, and to implement a new weekly nine journey cap on the go card, so the 10th journey and any additional journey a commuter takes each week will be free commencing 1 July.

“By making these changes, we are delivering real public transport and cost of living savings for Queenslanders,” Mr Newman said.

“Cabinet also resolved to remove Labor’s flawed waste levy, which was a huge slug on businesses, families and councils - and we will be looking at alternative funding streams to deliver an industry driven waste strategy as part of the budget process.”

Mr Newman said Cabinet also looked at some options to address the issue of high electricity costs for Queenslanders.

“As a first action, the LNP government will legislate to ensure carbon tax costs can be displayed on Queenslanders’ electricity bills by 1 July to coincide with the introduction of the Carbon Tax,” Mr Newman said.

“That means people will get to see the real cost of the Carbon Tax on their electricity bills.”
Following Cabinet consideration today, the Queensland Water Commission and Treasury will also deliver an accelerated review of bulk water prices, with options for a new price path to be brought back to Cabinet by 31 May 2012.

The Newman Government committed to a Lower Cost of Living for Families Package prior to the election, which included:
· Freezing or lowering the standard domestic electricity tariff and showing the cost of the Commonwealth’s carbon tax on electricity bills;
· Reducing the cost of water for families in South East Queensland;
· Freezing family car registration fees for the next three years;
· Halving the two scheduled increases in public transport fares and making the 10th and any additional journey each week on the go card free;
· Abolishing the waste levy from 1 July 2012;
· Re-introducing transfer duty concessions for the principal place of residence.

10 April 2012 Media Contact: Kylie Jacobson 0419 850 223

Forum to find ways to grow a stronger Brisbane

The following Press release came from the Qld State Government in August 2011.

I suspect they are barking up the wrong tree....

There seems to be very little in any of the Qld State Government Strategies on how to transition our society to be resilient in the face of the challenges of Climate Change and/or Peak Oil......

Agriculture, Food and Regional Economies
The Honourable Tim Mulherin
11/08/2011
Forum to find ways to grow a stronger Brisbane

Brisbane residents are being urged to attend a public forum on Monday night to share their ideas on new plans to help shape the South East's future.

The State Government has released three visionary long-term planning documents that aim to strengthen the state's regions: the Queensland Regionalisation Strategy (QRS), the Queensland Infrastructure Plan (QIP), and the Bruce Highway Upgrade Strategy (BHUS).

Minister for Regional Economies Tim Mulherin said the government now needed Queenslanders to share their ideas on the plans.

"These are exciting times as we move to shape the growth of every region across the state over the next 20 years and beyond," Mr Mulherin said.

"Given the importance of these plans it's vital they reflect the views, values and opinions of the locals who live and breathe these areas.

"That's why we're holding this forum in Brisbane - specifically to hear from local residents.

"This is your opportunity to share your ideas directly with senior government ministers, provide feedback on the plans, and participate in consultation workshops."

Mr Mulherin said South East Queensland was one of Australia's fastest-growing metropolitan areas, contained within just 1.3 per cent of the state's area.

"By 2031 this region is expected to grow from just under 3 million people to nearly 4.4 million," he said.

"While we are encouraging people to reside in other areas of the state, we have to recognise that many people will continue to want to live in the south-east corner.

"This means we have to continue to build on the region's current strengths - that of the area being the service centre and skills, distribution and logistics hub for regional supply chains - while developing new opportunities.

"South East Queensland is a significant tourism destination and the gateway to the rest of Queensland, and we want to boost food processing, mining services and mining technology capabilities to service regional industries.

"Other ways to improve the region's prosperity will focus on it being a key hub for Queensland's service economy, with specialised skills in professional services such as information and communications technology, and biomedical services.

"Some of the priority projects that will help drive the region are Cross River Rail, Ipswich Motorway upgrade, Airport Link, Moreton Bay Rail Link, Springfield passenger line (Richlands to Springfield), the Smart State Medical Research Centre, Queensland Police Academy, the Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct, the Queensland Children's Hospital, expansion of the Ipswich and Princess Alexandra hospitals, and the Port Connect (Lindum Road - Pritchard Street) project."

The Brisbane Way to Grow forum will be held from 4.30pm for 5pm start (until 7pm) on Monday, August 15 at the State Library of Queensland, Cultural Centre, Stanley Place, Southbank.

Register your attendance by emailing waytogrow@qld.gov.au or calling 1800 093 903, and to view the documents go to www.qld.gov.au or call the number above.

Community consultation on the documents runs until September 9, 2011.

A message to Graham Quirk

A Message to Graham

With households feeling the weight of cost-of-living pressures and Brisbane still recovering from the impact of January’s floods, I’m mindful of the need for a responsible, ‘back to basics’ approach to Council’s finances.

That’s why I wonder why the largest line item in the 2011/12 budget is $456m for another road tunnel, while basic services like libraries & parks were cut in March 2011. Residents of Brisbane are suffering a rate rise to pay for the "Tunnel Vision" which was hospital passed from Can Do Campbell to Captain Quirk.

Graham is on track to deliver a little bit of guilt offset that was promised (and paid for) in 2008 - planting two million trees, purchasing 500 hectares of bushland for conservation, putting 500 new buses on Brisbane roads and chipping away at a $100 million upgrade to our fragmented bikeway infrastructure. In reality, how far will $100m go? How much has been spent? What improvements have there been?

At the same time Captain Quirk is proceeding with his white elephant, Northern Link Road Tunnel from Toowong to Kelvin Grove, (also known as the Legacy Way). The Federal Government have poured half a billion dollars down another hole in the ground. Additional funds will be bled from core Council services, with record spending on one single road project.

Captain Quirk is committed to making Brisbane a rabbit warren of tunnels. Like his predecessor - Campbell Newman, Quirky will leave our children with a Legacy of Debt. This tunnel unlike all the others is fully funded by taxpayers and ratepayers. Clem 7 and Airport Link were privately funded. Legacy way is not.

If you have any questions, or would like more information on what this year’s budget means for you, please contact the Lord Mayor's office on 3403 4400 or e-mail Captain Quirk at lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au

Rowan Barber

BRISBANE RESIDENT

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A Message from Graham

With households feeling the weight of cost-of-living pressures and Brisbane still recovering from the impact of January’s floods, I’m mindful of the need for a responsible, ‘back to basics’ approach to Council’s finances.

That’s why my 2011/12 budget is focused on improving core Council services while delivering one of the lowest rate rises in the past 35 years.

We’ re on track to deliver key promises we made in 2008 - planting two million trees, purchasing 500 hectares of bushland for conservation, putting 500 new buses on Brisbane roads and completing a $100 million upgrade to our bikeway infrastructure.

At the same time we are proceeding with our important traffic congestion busting project, Legacy Way, with a welcome contribution from the Federal Government. Additional funds will be invested in core Council services, with record spending on road resurfacing and footpaths.

I’m committed to making Brisbane a cleaner, greener and more inclusive city. This Budget - concentrating on the fundamentals of rates, roads and rubbish - does exactly this.

If you have any questions, or would like more information on what this year’s budget means for you, please contact my office on 3403 4400 or e-mail me at lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au

Graham Quirk

LORD MAYOR

my letter to Lord Mayor Campbell Newman asking him to be an advocate for the people of Brisbane

Dear Lord Mayor,

Sorry I have not written for a while. I note that we are in a Federal election campaign and I have also been distracted by the State Government's failure to regulate the coal seam gas development and underground coal gasification industries.

Again I would like to commend Brisbane City Council and your administration, for having a better response to address the causes and the consequences of climate change than your opponents and colleagues at a Federal level.

Since I sent you the correspondence below on the 14 July 2010, I have had two letters from you and a phone call from one of your staff, informing me that you are considering your response.

My question is really quite simple. Would you please re-consider your strategy to provide more & more infrastructure for individual cars as proposed by the "TransApex"?

You have done a great deal to address the issues of traffic congestion in the city of Brisbane. Perhaps it is time for you to focus on advocacy for the people of Brisbane with the State and Federal Governments to provide us with the iconic, rapid, mass transport systems that we need.

kind regards,

Rowan Barber
30 Normanby Terrace
NORMANBY Q 4059

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On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 9:49 AM, Rowan Barber wrote:

Campbell Newman
Lord Mayor
Brisbane City Council

Dear Lord Mayor,

I find myself needing to commend you once again for Brisbane City Council's green initiatives.

Last night, I observed you launching the EzyGreen programme in the "Green Street Mall".

I have signed up to EzyGreen and I will be encouraging my friends, neighbours and personal and professional contacts to do the same.

EzyGreen and purchasing of renewable energy for the Council are commendable and practical actions. EzyGreen will help your constituents address their personal behaviours which lead to excessive generation of Greenhouse gases.

However, your relentless pursuit of the "TransApex" projects sends a mixed (conflicting) message. Providing more infrastructure for motor vehicles will only encourage people to continue to drive.

You have stated that "TransApex" has widespread support and two electoral victories and the conditional approvals by the Coordinator General, demonstrate a "mandate" to procede with the "TransApex" strategy.

I would ask you to reconsider your "TransApex" strategy in light of the following recent developments (which have not been considered previously):
* the failure of the Clem7 to attract the predicted traffic flows and toll revenues;
* the impact of revenue losses on the viability of the Northern Link Road tunnel;
* the impact of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the perception and reality of reliance on motor vehicles;

If these matters are not considered, then I can only assume that EzyGreen and the purchase of GreenPower are simply attempts to GREENWASH and provide some sort of guilt offset.

This is akin to being unfaithful to your lovely wife - Lisa and then believing that paying others to be refrain from infidelity would somehow compesate Lisa for your behaviour.

I apologise for the personal nature of this letter. The Northern Link Tunnel has deeply personal impacts on the amenity of my precinct and the future for my 11 month daughter. I also have grave concerns for vulnerable people and species we share this planet with.


Regards,

Rowan