Council Gets to Work on Ten Point Action Plan
Published 29 April 2020
Moreton Bay Region’s newly elected Mayor Peter Flannery has immediately put the Council to work, outlining a ten point action plan at his first meeting today.
He told the chamber it wasn’t enough for Council to simply deliver on the basics.
“These are extraordinary times, so it’s incumbent on us to implement plans to grow the local economy and create local jobs into the future,” he said.
“And I want to be clear with both Council and the community that when I use the word ‘future’, I don’t mean the next four years of a council term, I mean the futures of generations to come.
“Because behind the title of Mayor, I’m just a dad who wants his kids to have the best opportunities possible in life and I believe they can get that in Moreton Bay.
“The actions outlined in my action plan must just be the beginning, as this new Council hones its focus on economic recovery and improved community planning.”
Ten Point Action Plan:
- Reject the recommended 2% pay increase for elected members at this time.
- Immediately activate the Moreton Recovery Group to provide real time and expert external advice on the challenges we face and what’s needed in our communities.
- Start work now on a second COVID-19 Stimulus Package to assist local businesses and residents through the uncertain financial times ahead.
- Enact a new Economic Development Strategy, to be finalised within the first 100 days of office.
- Establish the Beneficial Enterprise to guide the use of council-owned land at The Mill site within first 100 days, to start the important work of attracting business investors and helping to drive economic recovery.
- Rework our Planning Scheme to meet the expectations of locals, by implementing neighbourhood plans tailored to the unique qualities of our many distinct communities across Moreton Bay Region.
- And in the interim we must protect our communities from unplanned development, by enacting a Regional Growth Management Strategy to strategically sequence development at a pace our region can absorb.
- In recent years we’ve achieved record growth in tourism visitation and expenditure, so we need to take that to the next level by partnering with Moreton Bay Industry and Tourism (MBRIT) and the private sector to unlock a new wave of tourism infrastructure investment.
- We need to continue our advocacy work for revised Koala Mapping. I propose that we embark on an Environmental Land Buy Back Program. So that Council can own and manage key green corridors across our region.
- Finally, we must complete the important internal work of implementing all the recommendations in the Grassroots Review to ensure Moreton Bay Regional Council is a modern, outcomes-forced workplace.
“So on that final point, I’d like to thank the hardworking staff at Council who have continued working while we waited for an election result to be declared,” Mayor Flannery said.
“All our staff are essential workers right now. They are still collecting our bins. Still building roads. Still maintaining council buildings and mowing parks.
“In fact, just last week staff were conducting controlled burns to protect against potential fire risks.
“We have an enormous task ahead of us as a council and a region, but we have all the tools we need to succeed in our front line and administration officers at Council.”