Mayor Teresa Harding 2023-2024 Budget speech

22 June 2023

My fellow Councillors, CEO, residents and ratepayers of Ipswich, it is my honour to

table the Ipswich City Council 2023-2024 Budget and Annual Plan.

This is the fourth budget being handed down by this council and it is perhaps one

of the most important for our community.

We have come a long way over this term of council - through the Springfield

Halloween Hailstorm in 2020 which inflicted more than $1 billion of damage

on our community.

After years of inactivity from the previous councils on core issues such as waste

management, growth and transport, and the derelict Ipswich Mall, we knew we

had a lot of ground to cover.

We have faced these challenges head-on and today’s Budget and Annual Plan is

another big step from this council in simply getting on with the job of delivering

for Ipswich.

We have kept the average general rate increase for residential properties well

below inflation at 5.5 per cent – or an additional $1.99 per week. Similarly, the

standard commercial rate rise is 5 per cent.

Council has again, for the fifth year in a row on average, kept its rate rise

cent in the past two years. For residents, we know that groceries, housing and

essential services are more expensive than ever.

Therefore, council has given lengthy consideration to minimising the flow-on costs

to our ratepayers – while still delivering value for money for Ipswich residents.

This year, council is overseeing a record $692 million budget for our city. And

proudly, recovery, roads and rubbish are at its heart.

Almost half of this – $267 million – is committed to delivering next year’s capital

works program, with more than $500 million committed across the coming

three-year program.

Another $12 million is heading to our established suburbs as we continue our

strong commitment to council’s three-year kerb and channel program.

In our booming suburbs, council’s biggest road projects – upgrades to Redbank

Plains Road, Springfield Parkway and Springfield Greenbank Arterial – will

collectively receive a boost of more than $30 million to progress these vital works.

recovery services and infrastructure.

To meet the growing demand of our community, council will purchase 10 new and

replacement waste collection vehicles at a cost of $9 million - including

$3.3 million for a dedicated Food Organics and Garden Organics fleet.

This will see Ipswich leading the way in delivering a citywide FOGO service and

shifting to an annual, on-demand bulky kerbside collection pick up.

Council’s innovative approach will see significant volumes of waste diverted away

from landfill and back into resource recovery streams.

Residents will also be relieved to hear that council has budgeted $3.8 million for

critical upgrades to the Rosewood and Riverview refuse and recycling centres,

with a further $1.2 million for planning and design of two new resource and

recovery centres to better service the growing areas of our city.

commitments in the coming financial year will only serve to reinforce this

council’s approach.

Ipswich is also in full swing, with $53 million committed to the completion of the

Venue building and the Commonwealth Hotel in the coming financial year.

The new Venue building, which will be completed in early 2024, will not just be

home to six state-of-the-art HOYTS Cinemas but will also include 6,000 sqms

of new restaurants and entertainment options for Ipswich residents as well as

additional leasing revenue.

Council’s determination to finally deliver a revitalised CBD for the people of

Ipswich has brought close to 1 million residents and visitors back into the heart of

our city in the past financial year.

including urban greening, waterway rehabilitation and our ongoing commitment

to Enviroplan.

A further $10 million will continue to improve our parks, sporting facilities and

green spaces to ensure our city’s liveability now and for years to come.

And finally, in our commitment to delivering value for money for Ipswich residents,

council will continue to offer an incredible range of free and low costs activities

and events for all.

Council maintains more than 550 parks and reserves covering 8,500 hectares,

and more than 7,300 hectares of bushland.

community events across the city, including our world-class major events such as

Planes, Trains and Autos, SPARK Festival, Galvanised our festival of heritage and

the incredibly popular Christmas In Ipswich.

We will run more than 1,600 Healthy Active adult classes - up from 1,200 last year

- and more than 170 kids holiday programs - up from 140 last year.

And, there will be another 1,500 free programs delivered across our library network.

From our youngest residents taking part in Rhyme Time, our older kids playing

soccer or learning to skate, to our adults and seniors taking part in yoga, running

clubs and tai chi, there is something for everyone and on any budget.

Because, we know these are challenging times for all.

It is responsible, it is resilient, and most importantly, is delivered with our residents

Thank you to the Deputy Mayor and my fellow councillors for their leadership and

contributions to this Budget, as well as our CEO and her team for their hard work