Moreton Bay Regional Council’s bid to be reclassified as a city is looking promising after the Council took out the 2022 Local Government National Award for Regional Growth today ahead of 300 other local governments from across Australia.
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 said the win proved Council was 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 said.
“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.”
He said Council needed to make the right decisions now to both protect the local way of living while also providing further opportunities for local residents and businesses.
“Becoming a city will help us to define what our city looks like before population growth happens to us – and we can avoid becoming another concrete jungle like the Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney CBDs.”
“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.
