Page 4 - BOL Feb 22 Edition

Region No More: Moreton Bay City

Starts Transformation in 2022

What’s in a name? Well, a lot when it comes to making the “This isn’t a gimmick, this is an opportunity for Moreton Bay City
world sit up and pay attention to the opportunities here in to identify where other regions in Australia have gone wrong in
Moreton Bay. their planning so that we can redefine what it means to be a
modern city.
Moreton Bay Region is wanting to become Moreton Bay City
in 2022 with the ambition of setting a new benchmark in “Specifically this will involve two things: Greening our region
urban design standards for SEQ by focussing on sustainability, and rethinking planning in response to COVID-19.
affordability, and connectivity.
“So we will enforce stronger environmental protection within
Mayor Peter Flannery said today’s unanimous resolution was all our planning frameworks to obligate developers to make
to remove the connotation of remoteness associated with the Moreton Bay City get greener as we grow and integrate nature
word ‘region’, as we seek to put Moreton Bay City on the national within our communities.
and international map ahead of the Olympics.
“And I’m proud to say we’re already walking that talk, today
“This isn’t about semantics it’s about facts - we are already bigger passing a motion to amend our Local Government Infrastructure
than Ipswich City, and Logan City, and Redland City,” he said. Plan and create more than 100 hectares of new parks, open
spaces and playgrounds for locals in growing urban areas like
“We are the third largest local government in Australia, we have Griffin and Burpengary.
one of the fastest growth rates in the country and within two
short decades our population will exceed 700,000 to be bigger “Our new Regional Environment and Sustainability Strategy is
than the entire state of Tasmania. already in development and will be going out for community
consultation mid-way through next year.
“Yet most politicians in Canberra seem to think we’re somewhere
in regional Queensland, they have no idea that we’re within 30 “It also means moving away from the traditional CBD concept,
minutes of Brisbane CBD, Brisbane International Airport and the because the coronavirus experience has proven it’s entirely
Port of Brisbane. possible to rethink the way we work, commute and enhance our
lifestyle.

“Moreton Bay City won’t have a single business district, instead
we will have satellite CBDs centred around precincts of expertise
- to harness and amplify the unique characteristics of our existing
communities.

“The blueprint for this plan is already outlined in our
Regional Economic Development Strategy 2020-41 which
articulates growth strategies for our key priority industries:
food and agribusiness, knowledge and innovation, advanced
manufacturing, and tourism.