Couriermail: Future Brisbane

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Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: Brisbane is no longer a big country town, it's a big city on the move

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/901838996900216833

Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: How to make our city a truly vibrant destination

BRISBANE is on the verge of becoming a great international city, but there are pieces of the puzzle missing if we want to make it a truly vibrant destination to attract tourists, new residents and businesses.

That is the view of a group of city leaders and influencers at a roundtable luncheon discussion, hosted by The Courier-Mail, to discuss the future of Queensland's capital.

The need for well-planned integrated road and rail transport, and new approaches to housing was top of mind, if we are to avoid following southern centres and preserve our enviable liveability.

And they pondered the city's identity, why local residents are Brisbane's worst advocates – and how we can put the heat on Melbourne.


Tom Seymour, managing partner with professional services company PwC, told the group that Greater Brisbane's population would swell by nearly a million people.

"By 2031, almost the population of Adelaide will move here," he said.

"So big opportunities and also some big challenges in how you absorb that many people into a place and do it in a smart way. How do you learn from where Sydney is today and have the benefit of knowing 10 years ahead of that curve, and design for that versus where Sydney is in trying to retrofit?"

Deputy Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner said: "I think we will see more change in the next five or so years than we've seen in a really long time.

"The growth of Brisbane has really gone in bursts – and I think we've got a burst coming on now and it's an exciting time."

James Tuma, national director of city-shaping specialists Urbis, said: "There's so much going on. I don't think we'll know ourselves in five to 10 years.''

BUILD IT ... THEY'RE COMING

A series of multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects to be completed over the next decade – including Cross River Rail, Brisbane Metro, the new Brisbane Airport runway and the Queens Wharf entertainment precinct – will transform the city and how we get around, as well as how we position ourselves as a magnet.

Geoff Hogg, Queensland managing director of The Star Entertainment Group, said: "Tourism across the whole state is going to go through a boom over the next 10 years. Brisbane is certainly setting itself up to really leverage that. Investment in the airport and the cruise terminal is wonderful.''

Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive and managing director Julieanne Alroe said: "Infrastructure is the great enabler. It gives a lot of confidence. I really do think that mega-city life is going to get pretty dystopian in some cases and we have the chance to have a very, very different situation here if we can put in those enabling structures.''

Wes Ballantine, Queensland general manager for toll roads operator Transurban, said while the tunnels network meant Brisbane was rare in having "built road infrastructure with the capacity to grow into the future", the great challenge now was being brave in finding new models of funding the transport options needed to service enormous residential growth on the city fringes.

Property Council Queensland executive director Chris Mountford urged an expansion of the City Deals approach to align all levels of government.

"For me, that's probably what's missing in SEQ – to work as a region and come up with the higher priority projects," Mr Mountford said.

LIVING THE DREAM

More people means more homes and more pressure on precious living space, with implications for where and how we build in future.

Marina Vit, chief executive of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Queensland) told the group: "We do a lot of research and what that shows is this tidal wave of desire for lifestyle. Young people were abandoning the notion of moving out to single-level dwellings in the suburbs when they had children, opting to live in and around urban villages in a variety of home types."

South Bank Corporation chief executive Jemina Dunn said: "Green space is going to be absolutely critical because we're going to have higher density development than we've ever seen before, and people need to get out and experience the city but they also need areas of sanctuary.''

Precincts such as the Fish Lane dining zone created by Aria Property Group in South Brisbane, and entertainment hubs such as the Queens Wharf integrated casino-resort and the Brisbane Live arena proposed for Roma Street railyards were highlighted by the group.

"The one piece that's missing is that real inner-city cosmopolitan vibrancy and I'm extremely passionate about wanting Brisbane to be the best inner-city hub in Australia," Aria founder Tim Forrester said. "The way we do that is about the laneways, the boulevards, the pocket parks – it's about the sense of discovery as you explore these inner-city areas.''

University of Queensland Deputy Vice-Chancellor Iain Watson suggested establishing the 20 things Brisbane was best at and promoting them – and our universities would be among them.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland general manager advocacy, Kate Whittle, said: "We need to have a serious conversation about how we educate our kids for that new economy and have it industry-facing.''

And Jock Fairweather, whose firm Little Tokyo Two runs The Capital start-up hub, says Brisbane can be an entrepreneurial hotspot, if more established wealth is directed to young up-and-coming companies as venture capital.

SELLING THE CITY

What is Brisbane's brand?

Brisbane Marketing chief executive Brett Fraser said there was an unrivalled level of collaboration between main players in promoting the city as a "highly attractive destination'' with "more red carpet than red tape".

Mr Hogg said the city needed a local narrative that everyone would embrace. "Talk to the one in four people who moved here or were born overseas and they will rave about the place. Talk to a big chunk of those who grew up here and they talk about the Gold Coast.''

Mr Schrinner said: "Melbourne tried to claim to be the world's most liveable city. We know that's s--- – absolute rubbish. But for 20 years, they have told people that.''

Mr Di Bella's solution: "Put a billboard up in Melbourne – right in Flinders St – showing Brisbane's weather. It's four degrees or something down there today."

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/901838817467834372

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/901839691271462913

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/901839607955734528

[ozbob]

A lot of puff and wishful hope in the main.

A disconnected dysfunctional public transport system does not help.  We are still not confident that enablers such as Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro will actually get built!  Face it, Brisbane baulks at something as basic as bus network reform .. 

Brisbane is changing, and many would suggest that it is just becoming a congested conglomerate of disorder.  Not much time left to sort it.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Editorial: The shape of Brisbane to come as we look to the future without losing the past

SUCCESSFUL cities are not accidents of history. The urban centres which are envied for their economic opportunity, affordability and quality of life have had to work hard at managing the often difficult balance between embracing change and growth, and still retaining their identity and history.

This is the challenge that Brisbane faces as it looks forward over the next 15 years. No longer are we the "big country town", the sleepy northern capital that has been the perennial butt of jokes from our brasher and more overgrown southern neighbours.

We have come a long way from our origins as a penal settlement that grew into a regional capital, with an economy based on servicing the agricultural and mining sectors of a state with the most decentralised population in Australia.

We are a totally different city from the one which once turned its back on our beautiful river, leaving old wharves in the centre of the CBD to rot into the mud. This was a city that closed for business at noon on a Saturday, and which looked to the bright lights of Sydney and Melbourne as the centre of the universe.

Over the past 15 years, Brisbane has been gripped by rapid change. Along with the soaring skyline and inner city living trend, the new tunnels, rail links and bridges, we have become a more global city — we have cuisine from around the world and tens of thousands of foreign students, and we host cultural and sporting events of international repute.

We have hosted the G20 meeting and are gearing up for another Commonwealth Games.

Old laneways have been transformed from a space for industrial bins and delivery trucks to mini food and entertainment precincts in their own right. And as fast as new high-rise unit developments have sprung up, so too have the green spaces, bikeways, parklands and boardwalks that maintain and promote our livability.

This has not happened by chance, and too many cities have got it horribly wrong when planning for growth, turning urban landscapes into jungles of utilitarian concrete and steel rather than communities focused on the people who live in them. The question now is how do we grasp an uncertain future and run with it? How do we advance the vision of a new world city without losing our friendly, open and uncrowded personality — that rare laid-back vibe of a greater urban area with a population of more than two million, but the amity of a country town?

Over the next two weeks, The Courier-Mail will take an in-depth look at the direction, challenges and opportunities for Future Brisbane — what our city will look like as we head into the fourth decade of the third millennium, and how we attract and manage that future growth without sacrificing our soul.

As we report today, by 2031, Brisbane will be a major international centre underpinned by booming population growth and a "network of cities'' in the southeast. This will bring with it an additional 662,000 people — more than the Gold Coast has now — taking greater Brisbane's population close to three million. All this will require more than a quarter of a million new homes, and mean some half a million more cars on our roads. The human face of our city will change as, according to research from demographer Bernard Salt, our city becomes not only more "Asian-ised", but also has an older population.

And our physical face will shift dramatically as landmark projects such as Queen's Wharf alter the cityscape, our second airport runway opens, and the medium-high density residential development of our inner urban areas continues apace. These changes bring with them as much in the way of opportunity as they do in potential problems. The basic infrastructure needed to cater for a larger population needs to not only move with the times, but to stay well ahead of them to cope with future demand.

The impact of quantum leaps in technology will also shape the way our city lives and looks. Two decades ago smartphones did not exist. Within 15 years, the concept of a head office in the centre of town could well be on its way out in an evermore interconnected world, one where commuting may be far more common by a fibre optic data network than on the South East Freeway. This is a technological shift that will bring driverless cars, artificial intelligence and innovations we have yet to dream up. It is a broader shift that will see more of us working in the services sector — caring for the ill and elderly — and where we can earn billions of export dollars from education services, advanced manufacturing and professional services.

It is a future rich with possibility, but one that needs careful planning to navigate; and the sort of long-term thinking that often eludes us. Especially it needs governments less focused on the electoral cycle and more on the future.

Ultimately though, it is the residents of this great southeast who will decide just how much of a success we make of the years ahead. This is your home, and this series is for you. Get involved.

[ozbob]

I spoke at length to the CM last week.  I stressed that unless we move forward with proper organisational reform along the lines of ' Public Transport Queensland ' it is always going to be hit and miss.   The failure we have at the moment is testament to the need for reform.  Something on this may well appear down the track ..

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Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: How Metro will change city's transport system

FIONA Cunningham swipes her smart device before she boards a Brisbane Metro to work.

There is no driver on the automated system. No Go Cards. Fiona will instead link it to the bank card on her smartphone. If there are any delays, she'll be updated via a personal message.

This is the future of Brisbane's public transport. Smart. Fast. Efficient.

For Fiona, who can use the on-board Wi-Fi to check emails or chat with friends over social media, it means she will save at least 18 minutes travel time every day on her return Metro journey from Greenslopes Bus Station to King George Square in the city.

Currently averaging about 21 minutes for a one-way trip, that should be cut down to just 12 minutes as the Metro uses 21km of busways to enjoy a streamlined run into the city.

That's a saving of almost 1.5 hours every week, or three days every year.

Cross River Rail users will benefit too. Using the $5.4 billion train line, it should take Fiona just four minutes to travel from the new Boggo Rd train station at Dutton Park to Albert St in the city when the project is completed in 2021.

A similar journey would take her almost 13 minutes on the current rail network.

Despite the 10.2km train line only running from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, the benefits will be felt across the network. Commuters from as far south as Beenleigh would be able to save up to 15 minutes in travel time. Meanwhile, eastside Cleveland residents will save up to 14 minutes as the second river rail crossing allows services to be doubled.

Griffith University's Cities Research Institute professor Matthew Burke said the current rail network was near capacity, with the only river rail crossing ino the city centre at Merivale Bridge able to handle up to just three more trains at peak. Cross River Rail will double capacity and enable nine-carriage trains to be used.

"In terms of the number of vehicles we run, we are very close to maximum capacity," Professor Burke said. "But in terms of occupants, we're not."

The region's rail system carries 229,000 passengers a day now. But a new Cross River Rail business case released by Building Queensland last week predicts that will reach 473,000 by 2026 and 659,000 a decade later.

Prof Burke said both Cross River Rail and the Metro would help drive that demand for public transport over the next 10 years from as far away as the Gold Coast as services improved.

"There's about 140 railway stations that will see significant benefits in terms of major improvements in frequency," Prof Burke said.

The $944 million Metro is counting on it too. The 2017 business case found demand for Brisbane bus travel was anticipated to double from 2016 to 2041, servicing up to 730,000 passengers per day as the Greater Brisbane population swelled 33 per cent to reach 3.5 million by 2041, according to the new Shaping South East Queensland planning document.

When the Metro starts operating in 2022 it will have repurposed the current busways for two Metro lines: One running from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street Station; the other running from UQ Lakes to the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital at Bowen Hills.

But, Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner said it had been designed with future busway extensions in mind. Options include a run further south to Springwood, another further west to Carindale, and even one north to Chermside.
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"This will obviously require the infrastructure to be built," Cr Schrinner said. "But we very much have designed a Metro system that can be expanded, and I expect it will be expanded as we go forward."

By that time, Cr Schrinner said, technology might have advanced enough for the system to be driverless thanks to it being run on a network without other transport.

"The first rollout of Metro will have drivers but my gut feeling is the second phase could be driverless," Cr Schrinner said.

Experts believe trains could follow suit by about 2041.

RACQ advocacy boss Paul Turner said driverless trains were a "natural step" in the technological "evolution", which included the use of pay-wave payments for public transport.

"We certainly see a future where there's no need for a hard copy Go Card," Mr Turner said. "You may be able to get a digital copy that fits on your phone or you may be able to directly charge it to your savings or credit account."

Mr Turner said we would soon be able to see where our buses or trains were on a real-time map. similar to what happened when you ordered an Uber.

"If we can get a text to tell us when a hailstorm is coming, we should be able to get a text to tell us that tells us when our train is cancelled or late," Mr Turner said.

For Fiona, all this means a stress-free journey on her daily commute to or from work.

"For me, catching the bus is about a chill out time," Fiona said.

"I don't have to think about the traffic. I can just prepare myself for the day. Sometimes I do emails. Other times I do social media.

"Catching public transport shouldn't be stressful. It should simply be easy and reliable."

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Couriermail --> Opinion: Brisbane needs 'City Deal' funding to build infrastructure it can grow into

In today's political climate, we seem to focus a great deal on the fact that building infrastructure creates construction jobs. And while this is clearly important, we need to remember that the bigger purpose is an investment in the future livability, productivity and affordability of a city. Infrastructure should be seen as an investment for the next generation and beyond.

As Brisbane's population grows over the coming decades, infrastructure will be key to ensuring our quality of life and prosperity not only keeps pace with this growth, but overtakes it. The trajectory that Brisbane will take as a city coming-of-age will largely be determined by the quality of the infrastructure we build, and how we create great precincts and places which capitalise on this investment.

Brisbane cannot expect to live up to its "New World City" status with a last century approach to infrastructure planning and investment.

Under current circumstances, securing city-changing infrastructure is almost impossible. Achieving the bipartisan and cross-jurisdictional support needed for a project, and maintaining it over the project's gestation period, requires a miracle. Even if a project can achieve in-principle political support, funding remains a challenge.

We only have to look at the CRR/BAT Tunnel/CRR debate to see the shortcomings of our current environment.

To achieve great infrastructure, our city needs to clear two big hurdles. We require co-ordinated long-term planning and long-term funding. To do this, infrastructure delivery must be raised above the day-to-day political fray. We need to look at mechanisms that drive alignment — and lock in commitment — across the various levels of government and the private sector.

The best-practice model to achieve this is the UK's City Deals framework, which recast how governments and the private sector think about infrastructure.

City Deals are a long-term contract between levels of government, committing funding for a priority list of projects assessed for growth potential in terms of jobs and productivity. In effect, they are a unified investment strategy designed to secure prosperity, as opposed to votes.

City Deals are a significant shift in thinking from individual project cost-benefits to a whole-of-region strategy for economic investment.

For southeast Queensland, this level of alignment on investment priorities would be incredibly powerful.

Australian policymakers have taken to the City Deal concept, with agreements in Townsville and Launceston. The Federal, State and all SEQ local governments have offered support for exploring an SEQ City Deal. But progress is hard won.

Moving ahead will take significant political will to align the conflicting priorities and interests between the levels of government. But southeast Queensland needs the real deal. Some might ask, "Why tackle SEQ instead of just Brisbane for a City Deal?" The answer is that Brisbane's economic and social success into the future is intrinsically tied to the rest of the region. Challenges like housing affordability have little to do with government boundaries.

A formal SEQ City Deal agreement should produce concrete long-term prioritisation and funding agreements for a diverse range of local projects from sewerage system upgrades to light rail schemes. This issue of financing these projects must also be honestly dealt with. Recycling existing assets to build the infrastructure of tomorrow must be part of the equation and not consigned to the political too-hard-basket.

A genuine City Deal agreement with honest economic credentials will see a flood of private investment.

The British experience has been that, once leadership is provided from government, the private sector is only too happy to get behind the program with its own investment, generating greater activity and even more jobs.

If affordability and livability are going to be the bedrock of Brisbane's success into the future, then we need a strategy to get there. We don't need to look too far to see a city that had no strategy and is now facing the consequences. Sydney's congestion and affordability crisis should be all the incentive we need.

An SEQ City Deal would help secure the long-term growth, affordability and livability in Brisbane for the next generation and beyond.

Chris Mountford is the Queensland Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia.

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/903292400755281920

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Couriermail --> Future Brisbane opinion: What won't fix city's housing affordability crisis

BRISBANE residents have lost control over how our neighbourhoods evolve and develop. Planning decisions about where to increase density are driven primarily by corporate profit and short-term vote-chasing, rather than long-term social needs and sustainable planning principles.

On current trajectories, future Brisbane may well be a divided city. The wealthy will enjoy medium-density, mixed-use neighbourhoods in close proximity to public transport, job opportunities and good schools, while the poor are banished to sprawling outer-suburban fringes.

Thousands of middle-class residents will be crowded into poorly-designed highrises with very low ratios of green space per person, working 60-hour weeks just to cover the mortgage.

Rising sea levels and heavier rains will flood low-lying neighbourhoods more often, and skyrocketing inner-city land values will mean governments never have enough money to acquire land for new parks, drainage infrastructure and community facilities.

The word "affordability" has been largely absent from Future Brisbane conversations. But neglecting to discuss the issue doesn't change the fact that right now, tens of thousands of Brisbanites are homeless. Public housing waiting lists are so long that residents are advised not to bother applying unless they qualify as "very high needs".

Suburbs like West End and New Farm, which once derived their special character in part from the fact that rich and poor residents lived in close proximity, are becoming glossy brochure parodies of their former selves.

Increasing the supply of apartments hasn't substantially improved affordability for first-homebuyers, because wealthy investors consistently outbid them.

In suburbs like South Brisbane, we're now seeing some investors choose to leave apartments empty rather than rent them out cheaply. Others are becoming hotel managers via websites like AirBnB, prioritising short-term visitors over longer-term local tenants.

In short, the private market is failing to deliver genuinely affordable housing.

But there are practical alternatives. Many European cities have strengthened renters' rights and invested heavily in public housing to preserve the vibrant inner-city creative neighbourhoods that attract tourists and improve urban amenity.

Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government can and should work together to fund and construct high-quality medium-density public housing in close proximity to public transport and job opportunities. And I don't just mean 140 dwellings per year like the State Government is currently proposing for Brisbane. I mean thousands of dwellings.

Vulnerable residents can be dispersed throughout the city rather than concentrated together, improving social mobility and strengthening relationships between different demographics and sub-cultures. Government-led housing projects can include sustainable design features like greywater recycling and onsite composting that would rarely be delivered by the private sector. Yes, it will be expensive. But it's still cheaper than leaving people homeless.

Realistically, a drastic increase in the construction of public housing is the only way we'll be able to address the housing affordability crisis without significantly lowering property values of existing owner-occupiers.

But the journey towards a fairer, more sustainable city need not stop there. With more investment into pollution control and revegetation, many of the creeks feeding into the Brisbane River can be restored so that once again they are clean enough to swim in (a few nets to keep out bullsharks wouldn't go astray).

A new Aboriginal cultural centre in Musgrave Park would show genuine respect for the rightful owners of this city.

Inner-city golf courses can be repurposed as fruit orchards, sports fields, nature reserves, and even tiny house eco-villages.

Roads will be narrowed, with general traffic lanes reclaimed for bus lanes, separated bike lanes and broader tree-lined footpaths.

Repair cafes, tool libraries and community composting programs will help us shift towards a less wasteful, less consumerist culture.

Sewerage will become a resource – a source of both bioenergy and fertiliser.

Suburbia's sprawling backyards will be filled with either granny flats or veggie patches, and community gardens will proliferate in under-used parklands and road verges.

Street artists will replace grey concrete with vivid murals that inspire and engage both locals and visitors.

And of course, we will abandon cringeworthy tags like 'Brisvegas' and 'new world city' in favour of a civic identity that respects and learns from its history, and embraces progress without becoming a soulless, gaudy, cookie-cutter copy of every other big new city around the world.

But perhaps most importantly, a future Brisbane can and should give ordinary residents more input and control over urban planning.

To meet tomorrow's challenges, everyone will need to be given a say, not just at election time, but through ongoing participatory democratic processes which ensure that the big decisions that shape our city benefit all of us, and not just a privileged minority.

Jonathan Sri is Brisbane City councillor for The Gabba ward

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Couriermail --> Brisbane has been ranked 23 in an influential list of top global cities

IN RECENT years Brisbane has snuck into Monocle magazine's annual top 25 global cities list.

This year it is in 23rd place, behind Melbourne in 5th and Sydney in 7th place. The top three places were occupied by Tokyo, followed by Vienna and Munich.

Why is Brisbane's presence and position on the list important?

Because the Monocle, with its headquarters in but with bureaux worldwide, is arguably one of the world's most influential magazines, read by important decision-makers, cultural mavens and opinion shapers. Being on the Monocle list could certainly help Brisbane attract cashed-up tourists and potential investors.

Monocle attributes Brisbane's presence on the list to efforts made by Brisbane City Council (BCC) and the Queensland Government to realign Brisbane as "a globally minded metropolis" over the past decade, and cites the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and the gentrification of Fortitude Valley as important elements of Brisbane's rise.

The magazine concludes its latest assessment of Brisbane by suggesting the city can improve "in the areas of homelessness and public transport".

The plans by the Queensland Government and BCC to invest in Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro should help maintain if not improve our position on the global cities ranking.

Monocle should also be impressed by a range of large and smaller-scale investments occurring across Brisbane at the moment, including the Queens Wharf integrated casino resort development, the 300 George St luxury development on the site of the old Law Courts, and the widening and beautification of Edward St to cement its reputation as a leading luxury shopping destination in the Asia Pacific.

Of course the State Government and BCC cannot simply rely on what is in train if Brisbane is to maintain or improve its position among global cities, as other cities are no doubt making their own investments in livability.

I have a number of suggestions regarding measures that can be taken by the State Government and BCC in this regard. These are based on my assessment of what would appeal to the Monocle correspondents, who appear impressed by vibrant retail and hospitality scenes, as well as an urban environment that is easy and pleasant to walk or cycle around.

The typical Monocle correspondent tends to consider himself or herself as someone who strolls around observing and enjoying city life. I would suggest some simple policy changes to improve Brisbane's livability and attractiveness.

We should remove those laws and regulations that make us appear backward and unfriendly to international visitors. The draconian ID scanning law which denied highly regarded French winemakers entry to the Gresham Hotel, and almost denied Prince Frederik of Denmark entry to Jade Buddha Bar and Kitchen should be repealed.

Another law which arguably requires reform is the compulsory helmet law, which reduces the accessibility and attractiveness of BCC's City Cycle scheme. Certainly, the typical Monocle correspondent appears enamoured with cycle friendly cities such as Copenhagen and Vienna.

We should deregulate our retail trading hours much more than the recent limited reform in response to the Mickel review. Understandably the National Retail Association considers our regulations keep the State in the "Dark Ages".

In many regional towns, including Mount Isa, Proserpine and Ayr, supermarkets still cannot open on a Sunday. And even in Brisbane most supermarkets still have to shut by 6pm on Sundays. These trading hours would seem ridiculously restrictive to international visitors, and even to visitors from other states.

Finally, you may recall the assessment of Brisbane in 2014 by renowned intellectual Alain de Botton as "ugly". Regrettably some parts of our city are ugly and unfriendly to pedestrians. Roma St in the vicinity of the Brisbane Transit Centre, parts of Milton Rd and King George Square on a hot summer's day certainly fit this description.

I very much hope that Cross River Rail will at least fix up the eyesore that is the Transit Centre. In other ugly precincts, BCC should consider whether there are cost-effective beautification options. In this regard, it should accelerate its engagement with the Turnbull Government, which in 2016 announced it would co-operate with councils to increase the urban canopy, or tree coverage, in our cities. While trees result in maintenance costs, they appear to result in more liveable communities through improving visual amenity and reducing the urban heat island effect.

Our State Government and BCC should be proud of the many positive measures they have taken over the last decade to improve Brisbane's livability, but they cannot rest on their laurels. The international competition is fierce. Fortunately, as I have suggested, there are some relatively easy measures we can take to improve Brisbane's livability.

Gene Tunny is founder of Adept Economics and writes the Queensland Economy Watch blog.

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Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: The infrastructure Queensland needs

BASED on the furore surrounding Brisbane's Cross River Rail (CRR) anyone could be forgiven for thinking that it is the only infrastructure that Queensland needs. This is a vital asset for city's economic future but it is not the only project required.

CRR unquestionably offers a good solution to the capacity constraints in our capital city's existing transport system. Its benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.4 is not bad, but to put it into context, other major infrastructure projects have significantly higher BCRs including Legacy Way Tunnel (2.08), Inland Rail (2.62), Brisbane Metro (1.91), Ipswich Motorway (3.2) and Gateway Motorway Upgrade North (4.9).

CRR is in fierce competition with other projects nationally to attract funding.

A positive BCR is not necessarily a decisive factor when it is lower than other projects that are yet to be funded.

Unfortunately, attention to Brisbane's CRR is crowding out scrutiny of the bigger picture. Infrastructure spending under consecutive governments has been in massive decline and other projects are vitally needed across the state.

State Government infrastructure spending as a percentage of the economy is essentially a third of what it was at the peak in 2007-08, and this is having profound implications for the economic benefit cascaded across the economy.

Even the State Infrastructure Plan released earlier this year does not make up for the $4.6 billion annual underspend.

The SIP marginally increases infrastructure expenditure across the forward estimates of the State Budget but it also highlights the grand canyon that exists between the infrastructure that we require and can afford.

The State Government must urgently boost infrastructure spend on 'good projects', those that have a positive BCR, and there are plenty of good ones waiting in the wings across the state.

Confirmation that the CRR will use a Public Private Partnership (PPP) is a timely reminder that there are alternative funding options on the table for projects in Queensland outside of Government pockets.

The announcement that a PPP with availability payments will be used to construct the underground elements of CRR, including the tunnel and stations, should be welcomed. This option is an internationally proven means of delivering large greenfield projects that are unable to directly collect revenue from the public.

The PPP to be used is anticipated to be a long-term contract (DBFOM: design, build, finance, operate and maintain) between the State Government and a private sector consortium, whereby the State makes annual payments across the project's life cycle for the 'availability' of the underground elements as delivered by the consortium.

The beauty of this arrangement is that the State Government's payment not only provides for the tunnel's physical availability but also other elements including performance, safety and quality of the CRR's five stations, for example.

The State Government has highlighted that it will shift risk to the private sector, which is indeed correct, but it is really a solution offering cashflow. Payments typically only begin at the start of the project's operation incentivising the consortium to provide faster delivery. In short, the State Government gets the tunnel and stations built for them and taxpayers pay for this into the longer term.

However, the one thing that may still stymie this project is the sovereign risk associated around whether it has bipartisan support from the Opposition and indeed if the State Government can follow through with its strong intent.

The fact is major projects in Queensland have got a bad rap at present and we only need to look at the ASF proposal for the Gold Coast as an example.

The next State Government must come up with the certainty of framework and a plan as to how it will fund the infrastructure that our expansive and decentralised State needs to continue to grow.

* Nick Behrens is director of Queensland Economic Advocacy Solutions

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Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: Rio Games advisors to study Games plan for Brisbane

>> https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11297.msg197724#msg197724

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Couriermail: Future Brisbane: Grand vision for Brisbane Live transport hub

>> https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12760.msg197722#msg197722

[ozbob]

This series by the Couriermail has confirmed at least the need for Cross River Rail.  Break away from the future spin and the hype. The Couriermail clearly supports Cross River Rail, it would be a tragedy for Queensland if the project was stopped by an incoming LNP Government.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

10th September 2017

Cross River Rail and the Brisbane ' Metro '

Good Morning,

The Couriermail has been publishing a series of articles: Future Brisbane

It certainly has been an interesting series, some grand visions, some hope, some sensible grounded ideas.  But one thing that is crystal clear from the Future Brisbane series is that both Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro are seen as essential for driving the future Brisbane.  As we suggested last March (see below) both projects are vital for improved transport and will drive a much better future.

It will be a tragedy for Queensland, should an incoming LNP Government stop Cross River Rail.  We call on the Queensland LNP to get onboard Cross River Rail.  We cannot wait any longer.

Best wishes,
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

Sent to all outlets:

16th March 2017

CRR and Brisbane ' Metro ' are an integrated public transport solution

Good Morning,

It is now appropriate to join Cross River Rail (CRR) and the Brisbane ' Metro ' Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) plans together conceptually and promote the integrated public transport solution they are for Brisbane and SEQ. Both projects are integrated from an operational perspective, CRR and BRT ' Metro'  should not be seen as competing projects, but as two elements of the single public transport solution.

Presenting both projects in this light will be seen by many, including the Federal Government and Infrastructure Australia, as the correct path now to public transport resilience, capacity, and hence successful delivery and outcomes. Both projects will provide the economic stimulus that is needed.

It is sad that the  Queensland LNP seem to be the only major player that does not understand the need for Cross River Rail.
[ LNP Opposition Media release  STATEMENT: Brisbane Metro http://www.timnicholls.com.au/statement-brisbane-metro/ ]

The Queensland LNP has previously stamped their public transport credentials as very mediocre with such absurd proposals as the ' Cleveland Solution ' and the ' Bus and Train ' tunnel.  They are consigning themselves to irrelevancy once again unless they come on board with the integrated public transport solution that CRR and the BRT ' Metro ' now promises for SEQ and Brisbane.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

References:

1. Cross River Rail --> https://www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/

2. Brisbane ' Metro ' -->  https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro

[Stillwater]

LNP sees its role as to oppose.  Only.  It has no coordinated, coherent plan for SEQ public transport apart from a vague promise to 'look at things through a feasibility study'.  It is the classic 'mirror response' -- we will look into it.  Not good enough.  If the C-M can articulate a vision for SEQ, the LNP can do likewise.  If they don't, people shouldn't vote for them.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/906570368340566017

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/906770166880518144

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: Major parties respond to action plan

NEW fund will be set up to boost Brisbane's chances of winning top entertainment and sports events and hosting more international festivals.

Buoyed by the sold-out success and global attention generated by the "Battle of Brisbane" boxing match between Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao, Brisbane Marketing and Brisbane City Council have committed to supporting a major events and convention bid fund in partnership with industry, to compete for more big-ticket attractions.

The Queensland Government has also backed the move – one of the 22 points in an action plan developed from The Courier-Mail's Future Brisbane series – and the LNP has also given a partial thumbs-up, saying it will fight for more major events and conventions for the state.
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Brisbane City Council has also promised to research gaps in the region's tourism facilities and services, and it has come up with a plan to address what needs to be done in readiness for an anticipated flood of Asian visitors over the coming years.

Eleven new hotels will open this year and next, but the campaign identified that at least a dozen more – on top of the five proposed as part of the Queen's Wharf integrated resort-casino precinct – will be required for Brisbane to increase its share of stays and spending by Chinese tourists.

International students remain a top target. The State Labor Government has committed to boosting the number of overseas students by a fifth each year, and the LNP says it will be announcing policies to lift the level, as well as proposing a new university campus as part of plans to redevelop the Roma St railyards.

Both parties have thrown their support behind efforts to add more direct international routes to take advantage of Brisbane Airport's second runway opening in 2020.

The Government currently budgets $83.5 million over three years across three programs but has stopped short of committing to increasing it further. The LNP simply says it will be fighting for more international flights.

s for housing, there is broad support from state politicians and the city council for encouraging new models, such as granny flats, duplexes, terraces and low-level apartment blocks in low-density areas.

The Government has emphasised this "missing middle'' approach between single detached houses and high-rises in its just-released Southeast Queensland Regional Plan.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says: "Council will consult local communities on the future of their suburb to ensure that different types of dwellings are in tune with community expectations for that area.''

Council has committed to using new green guidelines promoting designs compatible with the subtropical climate into its assessment of CBD building proposals and is now incorporating them into new neighbourhood plans.

Likewise, council officers are increasingly working with developers to create vibrant new public precincts and laneways as part of projects.

"Recent examples include Fish Lane at South Brisbane and Howard Smith Wharves, where 80 per cent of the site will be retained as open space with new parklands,'' Quirk says.

The Brisbane River will be enhanced with five new hubs to enhance recreation and tourism, while extra bridges are on the cards, along with a major expansion of South Bank Parklands.

But council has ruled out a major element of the Future Brisbane action plan – incentives to encourage businesses to set up in hubs in middle-ring and outer suburbs to relieve congestion caused by people travelling into the city centre to work.

While council supports the development of economic hubs outside the CBD, Quirk says incentives are not necessary.

"The Brisbane Metro will significantly reduce travel times and support the development and attractiveness of suburban precincts,'' he says. "Council-related costs for setting up suburban businesses are already significantly cheaper than the CBD."

State Government projections forecast that the proportion of people who commute into the Brisbane Council area from other parts of the region to work will rise from 31 per cent to 42 per cent by 2041.

Debbie Smith, managing partner for professional services firm PwC, says: "(We need to) think about how we decentralise economic activity away from the CBD and generate more opportunities for people to live closer to their places of work. This will reduce congestion and help boost lifestyles."

Top demographer Bernard Salt, who conducted exclusive research for the Future Brisbane series, highlights the need to create employment opportunities close to fast-growing residential areas away from the inner city if Brisbane is to avoid the crippling gridlock that's afflicting other cities.

He insists that direct intervention is necessary, saying: "The Government can lead this process by locating any new departments, divisions or authorities somewhere like Chermside or Mount Gravatt or Springfield, and that in turn draws businesses."

Salt has criticised the LNP for creating uncertainty by refusing to commit to proceeding with the Cross River Rail network if the party gains power, and he says any move to prioritise the construction of more roads over the $5.4 billion public transport project would merely perpetuate sprawl and congestion in the long term.

The Opposition has also refused to commit to extending the city's busway network to enable future expansion of the proposed Brisbane Metro, although it says it supports the system. Labor has backed extending the Northern and Eastern Busways.

" ... Salt has criticised the LNP for creating uncertainty by refusing to commit to proceeding with the Cross River Rail network if the party gains power, and he says any move to prioritise the construction of more roads over the $5.4 billion public transport project would merely perpetuate sprawl and congestion in the long term.

The Opposition has also refused to commit to extending the city's busway network to enable future expansion of the proposed Brisbane Metro, although it says it supports the system. Labor has backed extending the Northern and Eastern Busways. ... "

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/908727580039069699

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/908727916518817792

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Opinion: Brisbane's future liveability linked to its connections to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts

IT HAS been interesting for me to return to Brisbane and read the debate in this newspaper on Brisbane's future: the new world city.

I can report from my time in Asia there is the same competition to become a new world city among other cities in the region.

Recognition as such means investment and thus wealth for a city. Everyone is chasing the prize. In South-East Asia the significant competition is between Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Manila for leading Asia Pacific City status. It doesn't seem to matter what the politics are.

While all of them are a lot larger than Brisbane, with populations ranging from Singapore with over four million, to Jakarta with 22 million and also with significant cultural differences to Brisbane, each one of them has or is grappling with the one element that creates a key benchmark for a leading city – quality public transport.

To achieve regional recognition cities need to be on a list. Of the various lists that rate cities, the ECA list (Employment Conditions Abroad) looks at Asia Pacific cities with Singapore at No.1 for 2017. Interestingly, Brisbane came in second equal at No.2, which is great news.

ECA's Location Ratings System assesses the overall quality of living in over 470 locations worldwide and is designed to provide assistance to companies compensating employees for the adjustment required when on international assignment.

It's not a bad way of evaluating places as it includes climate, availability of health services, housing and utilities, isolation, access to a social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety, political tensions and air quality.

Proposals put forward for improving Brisbane to make it a genuinely new world city are laudable, while somewhat Brisbane CBD-centric.

Michael Rayner in a Courier-Mail article last week, "From here to modernity", talked about connectedness and seeing the city as a series of connected zones. I agree and would emphasise the high importance of the relationship between the Sunshine and Gold Coasts to Brisbane.

For Brisbane to retain its position on the list, the connectedness of the two coasts needs to be addressed.

While a short-term solution may be to build more roads, that's unlikely to provide a long-term solution as the nature of car ownership will surely change in the future. High-speed rail connections are essential and once the heavy rail and the Gold Coast trams are linked, it will spur the Gold Coast's development even further.

What I haven't seen in this current debate is discussion on the influence of government policies on these connections. Not just in providing transport but using government departments to catalyse developments that will take the load off the network.

In my former role as city architect for the Gold Coast we convened a working group to look at stimulating CBD development in Southport. Our analysis discovered that a significant number of journeys along the Pacific Motorway every day were due to coast residents having to either do business or work in Brisbane.

A change of government policy to relocate departments to the Gold Coast would not only save on building a new road but also provide the impetus Southport needs to become a viable commercial centre. The same paradigm is true for the Sunshine Coast.

Whether they like it or not governments have a significant role in catalysing development through their distribution of services.

Government investment in a railway line has made Springfield a viable district centre but it was also investment in health and education that were a major contributing factor to its success.

It is not only trains. The river as a public transport corridor is under-utilised with stringent conditions on the use of ferry terminals preventing private water-taxi services.

Why not implement a "Water Uber" service that could help transform public transport in Brisbane using the water?

Ho Chi Minh City, where I have lived for the last five years is a city that sees its destiny as being a significant city in the region.

It realised some time ago that its economic development is tied to public transport and has commenced putting in the first of eight metro lines together with a revamped bus service.

This is a city of nine million that is being slowly strangled by traffic congestion to the point where it is almost unliveable.

Infrastructure renewal was put off for a long time and so now it is playing catch up.

Brisbane's future lies in embracing its connections both within and without its central CBD core.

Ed Haysom is a leading Queensland architect who has returned to Brisbane after five years in Asia