Change Commission assesses ‘Moreton Bay City’ bid

The bid for Moreton Bay Region to become Moreton Bay City is now being assessed by the independent Local Government Change Commission, after Minister for Local Government Steven Miles deemed it met the criteria.

It’s the next step in the process which began on July 20, when Moreton Bay Regional Council resolved to request the change.

On August 12, Mayor Peter Flannery wrote to the Deputy Premier and Minister requesting a change of classification and referral to the Change Commission.

Mr Miles, who lives in the region and is the State Member for Murrumba, referred the request on September 16 and said Council met all the criteria for a name change set out in the Local Government legislation.

|“This is the first time a Local Government Area has requested a reclassification under the current Regulation,” Mr Miles said.|

“Under the Local Government Regulation 2012, in order for a local government area to be declared a city, it must provide commercial, industrial, health and public sector services for the region.”

He said the area must also have had a population of at least 25,000 for the past three years, a population of at least 15,000 in its urban centre, and a population density of at least 150 people for each square kilometre of its urban centre.

“Moreton Bay is one of the fastest growing local government areas in the country with a population of more than 480,000. This is forecast to grow to close to 700,000 by 2041, a larger population than Tasmania,” Mr Miles said.

“People are moving to Moreton Bay in droves and who can blame them, I know it’s a great place to live, work and raise a family.

“It also has a larger population than several of Queensland’s seven ‘cities’, including Logan, Redland, Townsville, Mount Isa and Ipswich, and is only eclipsed in population by Brisbane and Gold Coast.

“Whether the name change occurs is now in the hands of the independent Change Commission. As a Moreton Bay Region local, I look forward to hearing the Change Commission’s recommendations.”

Bid to put city on the map

Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Peter Flannery said he hoped the Commission would understand the rationale behind Council’s request and help to put Moreton Bay on the map as a city with multiple centres.

“By definition we are already a city, our population is already bigger than Canberra, but we are missing out on funding because politicians have mistaken our region for being a regional centre,” Mayor Flannery said.

|“The growth challenge ahead here is real, it’s here, and as much as we might like to pretend it’s not happening - the truth is that ignoring reality won’t make it go away.|

“We all know the poor planning that continues to plague Paramatta as the bit between Sydney and the Blue Mountains, I will not stand by and allow the same to happen to us between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.”