Brisbane News Live: Public servants could be moved out of CBD; What Treasurer Dick didn’t tell Queenslanders

Brisbane residents can expect a rate rise of 3 per cent in today’s council budget, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says.

“The council budget is very different to the state and federal budgets – we don’t have money to splash around,” Schrinner told ABC Radio Brisbane this morning.

“We put money into relieving cost pressures by keeping rates down.”

People hosting short-stay accommodation properties through platforms such as Airbnb in Brisbane will be forced to get a permit, or face a fine.

Following a year-long inquiry, Brisbane City Council will today announce a new local law requiring property owners to obtain a permit to operate as short-term accommodation hosts.

Owners will have to prove their property has proper planning approval, and a property manager must be available 24/7.

A council taskforce found long-term residents felt short-term accommodation was causing security concerns, overcrowding in common areas, noise problems and anti-social behaviour.

But it also found less than 1 per cent of Brisbane homes were used for short-term accommodation and the sector helped supplement the city’s hotels during peak times around major events.

An initial assessment found an estimated 424 short-stay properties operating in Brisbane’s low-density residential areas were unlikely to receive a development or local law permit and would have to return to the long-term rental market, or face fines for operating without a permit.

The existing “transitory accommodation rates” category will continue this year, with an extra 10 per cent surcharge in the 2024-25 budget, to be handed down today.

The top suburbs paying the special rates are Brisbane City (280), Fortitude Valley (201), South Brisbane (185) and Bowen Hills (164).

Brisbane residents can expect a rate rise of 3 per cent in today’s council budget, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says.

“The council budget is very different to the state and federal budgets – we don’t have money to splash around,” Schrinner told ABC Radio Brisbane this morning.

“We put money into relieving cost pressures by keeping rates down.”

Included in today’s council budget will be funds for an international search for new-age traffic sensors to move traffic faster through Brisbane’s busiest suburban intersections.

The $1.4 billion Brisbane Metro electric bus project will begin in December, intersections near Herston’s Inner-City Bypass will be upgraded on Milton Road, and “bus jump” lanes will be built on Ipswich and Beaudesert roads to allow buses to pull over without stopping traffic flow.

Labor’s council Opposition Leader Councillor Jared Cassidy wants this year’s budget to focus on parks, drainage and roadworks and not “flashy” overseas travel and bridge openings.

“This council should be investing in the future by focusing on community housing providers, a full rollout of a green waste program, and no more cuts to council staff and basic services.”

Yesterday we brought you the state budget. Today, it’s budget day for Brisbane City Council.

The average general rate rise is tipped to be slightly higher than the 2023-24 increase of around $80 a year (3.45 per cent).

A suite of cost-of-living concessions, included for the first time last year, is expected to be continued.

The second of Brisbane City Council’s green bridges, the $299 million Kangaroo Point to CBD bridge, opens in December, but there is no promise to begin the third, from Toowong to West End, without extra funds from other levels of government.

Brisbane’s start-up ecosystem has been ranked 34th in the world – up from 47th place in 2023 – with collective assets of $10.8 billion.

California’s Silicon Valley is still ranked first, New York second and London third, with Sydney – the largest Australian start-up capital with business assets of $72 billion – ranked 21st.

The 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report says Brisbane’s start-ups “distinguish themselves from other Australian cities by the range of entrepreneurial activities”.

“This variety is reflected in the region’s success stories, which include Edtech platform Go1, advanced machinery maintenance business GreaseBoss, video-editing software provider Clipchamp, needle-free vaccine maker Vaxxas, and flood -prediction company FloodMapp.”

Innovation Minister Leanne Linard welcomed Brisbane’s growth in start-ups, six years after a bold trial to take the city’s nascent businesses to Silicon Valley to pitch new ideas.

“For Brisbane to be named as one of the top 40 emerging ecosystems for start-ups in the world, sitting alongside innovation superhubs like Silicon Valley, New York and London, is great news,” she said.

The forecast is for a sunny day, with light winds.

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