National award win for city pitch

Moreton Bay Regional Council’s proposal to be reclassified as a city has received the Federal Government’s tick of approval by winning the 2022 Local Government National Award for Regional Growth.

Driven by Council’s discussion paper, Reimagining Our Moreton Bay, the proposal received high praise for its ambitious goal to strengthen investment and improve liveability in Moreton Bay.

Mayor Peter Flannery says the win proves Council is on the right track with its proposal to put Moreton Bay on the map nationally and reclassify itself as a city.

“It’s a huge honour for Council to receive such high praise from the Federal Government and to beat out more than 300 other Australian councils to take out the top prize,” he says.

“This just reinforces all the hard work we’ve put into our proposal to officially be recognised as a city and to ensure Moreton Bay is front and centre when I go to Canberra to discuss federal funding for key projects that will make our region an even better place to live.

“Moreton Bay is the third largest Council in the country and we’re one of the fastest growing too, which means we need infrastructure to keep pace with population growth and to deliver the facilities that our residents deserve.

“We already manage a larger population than the Australian capital, Canberra, which is a big task, but it also provides a unique opportunity to shape our future.

“We need to make the right decisions now to both protect our way of living and provide further opportunities for our residents and businesses.”

Why this matters

Mayor Flannery says becoming a city will help define what our city looks like before population growth happens to us.

“We can avoid becoming another concrete jungle like the Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney CBDs,” he says.

“We want to get on the front foot now so we can create a city we want, by building on the many urban centres we already have across the region and better connect them so that there is no central point.

“The great part is that a city reclassification will come at very little cost to ratepayers, and we have no obligation or intention to go out and change signage until our current signs require replacing.

“I’m so proud of the work we’ve done so far regardless of this award, but it is great recognition that we’re on the right track.”

Moreton Bay’s City Reclassification Proposal underwent significant community engagement in early 2022 and the submission is currently with the Electoral Commission for formal review.