Brisbane ratepayers will face an above-inflation rate rise of 3.8 per cent next financial year under Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s first budget since winning re-election in March.
Mr Schrinner handed down a $4 billion budget on Wednesday, as he also announced plans to overhaul the way short-stay accommodation is regulated in Brisbane by introducing a permit scheme.
Live updates
Proposal to introduce permit for short-stay accommodation still in the works
By Bridget Judd
The lord mayor has confirmed his council will accept a number of recommendations regarding the city’s short-stay accommodation market, including a proposal to introduce a permit scheme.
Asked how much the permit would cost homeowners who want to apply, Mr Schrinner says “we haven’t determined” the price.
“We’re having a look at what is charged in other areas to determine what is appropriate,” he says.
“But the other thing is, before this local law comes into effect, we need to propose the legislation, it then needs to go to the state government as well for their feedback, it needs to go to public consultation as well.”
Thanks for following along, this is where we’ll leave today’s live coverage.
Converting homes into businesses in the spotlight ‘given that we have a housing crisis’
By Bridget Judd
Turning to housing, Mr Schrinner says council is examining how many homes are currently being converted into businesses “given that we have a housing crisis and we need all the homes we can get”.
He says those who have converted their home into a business won’t be impacted, “but it’s about how we go down the track when we get further applications coming in for a home to be converted into a business”.
“We’re not saying they can’t operate there, but should we put a stop on more houses being converted into businesses in the real question we’re asking,” he says.
Why didn’t council keep the rate increase at or below the rate of inflation?
By Bridget Judd
That question was just put to the lord mayor.
He says “various figures” of inflation have been put out recently.
“But if you’re looking at the difference, we’re talking about anywhere from $3 to $6 difference across the whole year between what we’ve put forward and inflation.
“So, very minor difference between the rate increase and inflation rate.”
Pressed on why council didn’t just make it 3.4 per cent in that case, the lord mayor says “it was as low as we could get it”.
Rate outcome could have been ‘very different’
By Bridget Judd
Mr Schrinner says the council set out to reduce its expenditure and make “sensible savings in our budget” to keep rates “as low as possible”.
“Today’s rate outcome, that could have been very different if we hadn’t have taken the action we took last year to rein in expenses and to make sensible savings of 10 per cent, the rate outcome would have been very different,” he says.
“Double digit outcome, double digit rate rise, and we’ve worked hard to make sure that didn’t happen.”
Brisbane budget ‘closer to a household budget’
By Bridget Judd
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is speaking now.
He says the budget is “responsible” and keeps the city “living within our means”.
“[It is] a critical focus of this budget. We’re not a council or level of government that can benefit from coal royalties like other levels can,” he says.
“Our budget is closer to a household budget.”
The average rates hike of 3.8 per cent for owner occupiers is slightly above Brisbane’s most recent annual inflation rate of 3.4 per cent – and means the average bill will increase by about $2 per week.
In his speech to the council chamber, Mr Schrinner described the increase as an “extraordinary result in the current climate”.
“Of course, this follows an increase of just 3.45 per cent last year, which was well below the 5.4 per cent average of our neighbouring south-east Queensland council,” he said.
“We’ve done the hard work to trim council spending by 10 per cent under our sensible savings plan – a plan we announced before the election.
“Without that plan, rates today could have increased by as much as 32.6 per cent.”
At an earlier press conference, Mr Schrinner indicated the difference between a 3.4 per cent increase and a 3.8 per cent increase was only an extra $3 to $6 on an annual rates bill.
Council fees and charges will also increase, on average, by 3.8 per cent next financial year.
The total size of the 2024-25 budget will come in at about $4 billion and includes an infrastructure spend of almost $1 billion.
Net debt for the 2023-24 financial year is expected to be about $3.49 billion, before climbing to $3.7 billion in 2024/25 and then dropping to $3.64 billion in 2025/26.
New permit scheme for short-stay accommodation
Mr Schrinner also unveiled the findings of a taskforce he established last year to investigate the short-stay accommodation market in Brisbane.
The lord mayor confirmed his council would accept the taskforce’s recommendations, including a proposal to introduce a permit scheme under a new local law.
The proposed permit changes — which would need state government approval — require owners to nominate a property manager to be available seven days a week to respond to complaints.
Property owners who lease their home on the short-stay market would also need to prove they have planning permission before being granted a permit.
It also means home owners in low-density residential zones would likely be barred from getting a permit and leasing their property on platforms such as Airbnb.
Mr Schrinner said the council has estimated that at least 420 homes are being used for short-stay accommodation in low-density Brisbane suburbs that would not meet those planning requirements.
“While a large part of regulating short-stay accommodation falls outside the jurisdiction of local governments, I hope we can work with the state government to introduce sensible changes,” he said.
“This will allow us to strike a better balance for our residents and visitors, and provide a model for common-sense regulation of this sector, which can be replicated across the state and beyond.”
The council introduced a rates surcharge on short-stay properties two years ago, which will continue in the next financial year.
Mr Schrinner indicated the permit would come at a cost, but the council was yet to determine what that would be.
Cheap summer swims to continue
The budget features measures that Mr Schrinner took to the March council election, including the continuation of $2 pool admission this summer.
The lord mayor said the council would likewise back another election commitment by seeking expressions of interest to find new traffic management technology for the city’s roads.
“By utilising smart technology, including artificial intelligence, we have great potential to get our roads and buses operating more efficiently,” he said.
Mr Schrinner revealed the council would pause its food waste recycling trial – arguing that the program “costs so much and delivers so little”.
The council had been trialling food waste recycling since 2022 in certain parts of the city using existing green bins.
Mr Schrinner told the council chamber an analysis of the program had found only about 4 per cent of the waste collected in green bins was food scraps.
“While processing regular green waste costs just $7.80 a tonne, processing green waste that includes food scraps increases nearly twenty-fold to $150 a tonne,” he said.
“So expanding Brisbane’s food waste recycling service to all 156,000 households with a green bin would cost council about $20 million a year.”
Mr Schrinner said the council would launch a “detailed investigation” into less costly ways to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill.