City council overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 30 October 1924[1] |
Jurisdiction | Brisbane, Australia |
Employees | 8,233 (2019)[2][3] |
Annual budget | $4 billion (2022–23)[4] |
City council executives |
|
Key document | |
Website | www |
ASN | 18255 |
31st Council | |
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1924 |
Preceded by | City of Brisbane City of South Brisbane |
Leadership | |
Deputy Mayor | Krista Adams, Liberal National |
Leader of the Opposition | Jared Cassidy, Labor |
Chair of Council | Sandy Landers, Liberal National |
Deputy Chair of Council | Steven Huang, Liberal National |
Structure | |
Seats | 27 elected representatives including Lord Mayor and 26 Ward Councillors |
Political groups |
|
Committees | 10 |
Length of term | 4 years |
Salary | A$164,156 (2021)[a] |
Elections | |
Instant-runoff voting | |
First election | 21 February 1925 |
Last election | 16 March 2024 |
Next election | TBD |
Motto | |
Meliora Sequimur | |
Meeting place | |
Brisbane City Hall, King George Square, Brisbane |
Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisdiction includes 26 wards and 27 elected councillors covering 1,338 km2 (517 sq mi).[b][10][6] Council consists of the 26 councillors (elected or appointed to represent wards) and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane (currently Adrian Schrinner) (elected by the city as a whole). By resolution, Council may make local laws (previously known as ordinances). The Lord Mayor is responsible for the key executive functions of Council, such as implementing the policies of Council, preparing the budget and directing Council's senior employees. They are supported by the Civic Council (formally the Establishment and Coordination (E&C) Committee), whose members are drawn from Council and each chair one of Council's standing committees.[7] The council's current CEO is Colin Jensen, supported by EO Ainsley Gold.[8]
Brisbane City Council is guided by two core future planning documents: Brisbane's Future Blueprint (infrastructure, cultural, and capital works projects), and Brisbane Vision 2031 (corporate and city planning). Council also does more frequent but smaller scale community consultations through the Your City Your Say platform.[11]
Brisbane's Future Blueprint is a community-developed document, released in June 2018, outlining what the city council's goals should be. One in five households in Brisbane, representing every suburb, responded to the community consultation, totalling over 100,000 responses. More than 15,000 unique suggestions to improve Brisbane were put forward. The Blueprint provides for eight principles and 40 specific actions to make Brisbane a "friendly and liveable city":[12]
Brisbane Vision 2031 is the city council's long-term plan for developing Brisbane City. It outlines an additional eight principles to consider in developing council policy and supplements the city council's corporate plan 2016–17 and 2020–21.[13]
The Lord Mayor of Brisbane holds a role as the Chief Elected Executive of the Brisbane City Council, parallel to the role of the Chief Executive Officer, which is held by a civilian employee of the council. The Lord Mayor has a four-year term between elections, coinciding with general councillor elections.[14] The current Lord Mayor of Brisbane is Adrian Schrinner of the Liberal National Party, supported by Krista Adams, the Deputy Mayor.[6][7]
The Council of Brisbane is the high-level administrative board of Brisbane City Council, composed of all elected councillors in the City of Brisbane. There are 27 councillors, 26 from electoral wards in Brisbane and the Lord Mayor.[10]
Ordinary meetings of the council are held in the City Hall Council Chamber, 64 Adelaide Street, Brisbane. Meetings are on Tuesdays at 1pm (except during recess periods).[15]
The Chair of Council, elected by the Councillors, presides over each meeting. The Lord Mayor does not chair the proceedings. The current Chair of Council is the Councillor David McLachlan.[15]
Brisbane City Council has ten standing committees made up of and chaired by elected representatives. Each committee considers Council policies, provides advice to council and delivers results for the people of Brisbane. This includes a wide range of areas such as infrastructure, public transport and the environment. With the exception of the Establishment and Coordination Committee (also known as Civic Cabinet), the public are welcome to attend council and standing committee meetings.[16]
Since August 2021, the standing committees of Council include:
Most standing committee meetings are held on Tuesday mornings while Council is in session.[16]
The chair of each standing committee is also a member of council’s Establishment and Coordination Committee, more commonly known as Civic Cabinet. At its highest level, Civic Cabinet sets the strategic direction for Brisbane as a city and council as an organisation. The Civic Cabinet has been delegated significant responsibility by full council. Civic Cabinet meets weekly to discuss policies and strategies in areas such as major projects, finance, urban planning, transport, environment, community services and city businesses.
It is in this way that Civic Cabinet sets the strategic direction for Brisbane as a city and for Brisbane City Council as an organisation. The members of Civic Cabinet review and make recommendations to full council on major plans such as council's vision, City Plan, corporate documents and city finances.[17]
The following councillors were appointed members of Civic Cabinet in April 2024:[17][18]
The Lord Mayor is the chair of Civic Cabinet. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acts as secretary of E&C, provides executive advice and reports back to Council as an organisation.[18]
Each Civic Cabinet Chair works alongside its relevant organisational divisions to "consider Council policy, provide advice to Council and delivers results for the people of Brisbane."[19]
Within Brisbane City Council, there are six different organisational divisions representing the core tasks of the council. Each division had its own Divisional Manager, who is accountable to the Council of Brisbane, the Civil Cabinet, and the CEO. As of February 2023, the six divisions and their divisional managers are:
These divisions are organisational, meaning that they're not subject to the changes in the elected administration nor are elected themselves.[20][21]
Party | Wards | Lord Mayor | |
---|---|---|---|
Liberal National | 18 | 1 | |
Labor | 5 | ||
Greens | 2 | ||
Independent | 1 |
Ward | Party | Councillor | |
---|---|---|---|
Lord Mayor | LNP | Adrian Schrinner | |
Bracken Ridge | LNP | Sandy Landers | |
Calamvale | Labor | Emily Kim | |
Central | LNP | Vicki Howard | |
Chandler | LNP | Ryan Murphy | |
Coorparoo | LNP | Fiona Cunningham | |
Deagon | Labor | Jared Cassidy | |
Doboy | LNP | Lisa Atwood | |
Enoggera | LNP | Andrew Wines | |
Forest Lake | Labor | Charles Strunk | |
Hamilton | LNP | Julia Dixon | |
Holland Park | LNP | Krista Adams | |
Jamboree | LNP | Sarah Hutton | |
MacGregor | LNP | Steven Huang | |
Marchant | LNP | Danita Parry | |
McDowall | LNP | Tracy Davis | |
Moorooka | Labor | Steve Griffiths | |
Morningside | Labor | Lucy Collier | |
Northgate | LNP | Adam Allan | |
Paddington | Greens | Seal Chong Wah | |
Pullenvale | LNP | Greg Adermann | |
Runcorn | LNP | Kim Marx | |
Tennyson | Independent | Nicole Johnston | |
The Gabba | Greens | Trina Massey | |
The Gap | LNP | Steve Toomey | |
Walter Taylor | LNP | Penny Wolff | |
Wynnum Manly | LNP | Alex Givney |