October 2021 Newsletter

It’s all about the legacies

There’s no doubt that the business community has its sights firmly set on the legacies for the city and region that could be achieved through the hosting of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At a recent sell-out event, former Chairman of the Council of Mayors (South East Queensland) and former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, in his keynote address, reminded our audience that the six-year journey to Brisbane’s announcement as the 2032 Games host started with a focus on improved transport and connectivity across SEQ, including investment.

The first conversations about whether or not south east Queensland should put its hand up to host the Olympics and Paralympics originated with COM(SEQ).

The Mayors, and the State and Federal Governments, saw the opportunity for south east Queensland – for all of Queensland – to benefit from the focus and energy that would come from the Games.

As part of its Brisbane 2033 Legacies Project, the Committee for Brisbane has strongly supported the original work commissioned by COM(SEQ) on transport and connectivity.

The Committee has proposed that the overall “Connected” outcome from hosting the Games should be: “People and ideas can move easily around our region: anywhere, anytime, anyhow.”

The Committee has proposed that, by 2033, “…our governments have delivered the program of interconnected, multimodal transport infrastructure and efficient, cost-effective public transport, including fast rail infrastructure, required to achieve a vibrant city and a 45-minute connected region (north and south, east and west).”

Better transport connectivity is one of 20 SMART Goals and more than 70 “big ideas” presented by the Committee in its Phase Two documentation released in early October: Brisbane 2033: Legacy Project – The Committee for Brisbane

A few more big ideas for South east Queensland

More than 340 guests at the Brisbane 2033 Legacy Project event listened to ambitious ideas for Brisbane and south east Queensland under the themes of connectivity, creativity, enterprise and equity.

Committee CEO and event MC Barton Green asked the audience:

By 2032, can we have eradicated homelessness in SEQ and be a global exemplar of how communities can look after some of the most vulnerable in society?
Can the 2032 Paralympics be staffed by every member of our community with a disability?
Can we have an opening ceremony in 2032 with no protests by First Nations people – because we have actually got the relationships right?

Some of the other big ideas expressed at the event and/or presented in the Brisbane 2033 Legacies Project reports include:

Define and publish an “Access All Areas” universal-access mobility Vision for SEQ to ensure governments, industry and community are in-sync to deliver accessibility for citizens and visitors with vision, hearing, mental, intellectual and mobility challenges.
Initiate “SmartMove SEQ” to identify and utilise data via a single, publicly accessible data hub to maximise transport and mobility efficiency across the region, including a single App that combines public transport multi-modal route identification, trip planning, payment, and incentives for self-mobility/wellness.
Establish a dedicated freight link between Inland Rail and the Port of Brisbane.
Establish an Office of the Queensland Data Commissioner to help local governments, businesses and the community build their data leadership capabilities to more fully participate in the digital economy.
Release a Queensland Smart Infrastructure Policy discussion paper for industry and community consultation.
Launch a “Get to know your Brisbane” media campaign for locals (to “reveal” hidden gems in the city and region).
Establish a SEQ Industry and Arts Alliance, where commerce and arts can interact formally and regularly.
Initiate a permanent program of First Nations “Elders in Classrooms” throughout SEQ (and all of Queensland).
Install “standard” welcome to country signs at the road entries to and exits from First Nations lands across SEQ.
Develop a “Knowledge Precinct” Vision, linked to Queensland and federal science goals and manufacturing priorities.
Establish a SEQ Knowledge Council.
Make 2023 the “Queensland Year of Innovation”, with events and activities to promote home-grown success stories and encourage entrepreneurship and investment.
Launch Regional Action Plans for Zero Net Emissions, Climate Change Resilience and Circular Economy.
Develop the “2032 Olympics and Paralympics Housing Vision” and strategy to identify opportunities for improved housing outcomes.
Initiate a “Road to the Olympics and Paralympics Active Life” health challenge for school students.

2021 Annual General Meeting

The 64^th Annual General Meeting of the Committee for Brisbane will be held on Tuesday 16 November from 5.30pm at the offices of PwC Australia, level 23, 480 Queen Street, Brisbane.

Nominations for Committee positions opened on 11 October 2021 and will close at 5.00pm (AEST) on Wednesday 27 October 2021.

The Nomination Form is available at AGM 2021 – The Committee for Brisbane

The AGM will be required to elect:

1 x President
2 x Vice-Presidents
1 x Secretary
1 x Treasurer
Up to 9 others (Ordinary Members), and
The Immediate Past-President (automatic election)

For the nine Ordinary Member positions, the places are required to be filled by:

up to four Members or nominated representatives from the Corporate Leader member category
up to three Members or nominated representatives from the Corporate Member category, and
up to two Members or nominated representatives from the Enterprise Member category

A Creative Brisbane Vision

Brisbane: the place to be.
A global city where creativity is valued and imagination empowered. Where innovation and collaboration drive a thriving economy and vibrant communities. Dream boldly.

A few weeks ago, the Committee completed a project that was more than a year in the making, in part due to the interruption from COVID in 2020, to develop a Creative Brisbane Vision.

The project’s intent was to find a way to capture and describe an ambitious agenda for the city’s broad creative sector that could be used to collectively engage with politicians, business and the community. The project objectives were to:

Link the Vision to economic outcomes so that the creative sector/creativity clearly claims its part in the economic ecosystem
Articulate, in a few words or short sentence, the essence of the overarching objective
Develop a Vision that speaks to the city’s creativity – a well-articulated, cogent, big idea that should excite the community, motivate business and industry, attract investors, and provide governments and the creative sector with a compelling narrative to drive big conversations

More than 20 representatives from the city’s creative economy unanimously adopted the Vision at a recent workshop. Now, the Committee will look to socialise the Vision with other creative sector representatives, including from universities, the fashion industry, gaming technology sector, architects, planners, landscape architects and more.

Our thanks to these representatives from across the Brisbane and Queensland cultural scene for their input to the project:

Adam Tucker, Executive Producer, Opera Queensland
Amanda Jolly, Executive Director, Queensland Theatre
Angela Samut, (former) CEO, and then Kris Stewart (new) CEO, QMusic
Charlie Cush, CEO, Brisbane Festival
Claire Sourgnes, CEO, Artisan
Craig O’Kane, (then) Director, Office of the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur
Craig Whitehead, (then) Chief Executive, Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Dave Sleswick, Creative Director, Tivoli
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, artist and Quandamooka woman
Gavan Ranger, Director, Artisan
Harvey Lister, Chairman and Chief Executive, ASM Global (APAC)
Janine Watson, Executive Officer, Business South Bank
Jo Thomas, CEO + Creative Director, Metro Arts
John Kotzas, Director, Live Performance Australia (and CEO, QPAC)
Kate Gould, CEO and Artistic Director, Brisbane Powerhouse
Katherine Hoepper, Programming Director, Brisbane Powerhouse
Leanne de Souza, Non-Executive Director, Nightlife Music
Li Cunxin, Artistic Director, Queensland Ballet
Lincoln Savage, Festival Director, Brisbane Street Art Festival
Patrick Nolan, CEO, Opera Queensland
Renai Grace, Director/CEO, Museum of Brisbane
Sarah Runcie, CEO, Brisbane Writers Festival
Simon Hewett, Director of Music, Queensland Youth Orchestras
Simon Wright, Assistant Director, Learning & Public Engagement, QAGOMA

Attracting Sports economy ecosystems to SEQ

One of the 20 SMART Goals published in the Committee’s Brisbane 2033: Our Olympics and Paralympics Legacies paper Brisbane 2033: Legacy Project – The Committee for Brisbane speaks about attracting national sporting codes to SEQ.

The Goal states:

Having attracted athletes, coaches, teams and officials to our region for Olympics and Paralympics training and competition, our reputation as a regional hub for high performance, sports technology and recreational development has secured commitments from leading national sporting organisations to permanently locate their primary operations to south east Queensland.

The Committee believes this initiative can be led by the sports sector, with government support, and launched an exploratory process to determine levels of interest. We reached out to Members and other colleagues involved with sports and athlete support and pulled together a highly-qualified group who, after meeting, endorsed taking the idea forward:

Amanda Mather, CEO, Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association
Briston Toft, CEO, Equestrian Queensland
Jake Anson, General Manager – Infrastructure, Strategy and Government Relations, Brisbane Lions
John Lamont, Secretary-General, Queensland Olympic Council; Strategic Adviser, Government Relations, Australian Olympic Committee
John Persico, Director, Australian Sports Technologies Network
Kate Jones, ARL Commissioner
Laurie Malone, CEO, VALD
Michael Dobbie, Paralympian; Senior Manager, Integrated Infrastructure; Accessibility Lead, PwC Australia
Paul Coory, Managing Director, COHA Group
Peter Kelly, Vice-President, Committee for Brisbane; Media Liaison Officer, Australian Paralympic Team 1996 and 2000
Tracy Stockwell OAM, Olympian; Director, Swimming Australia
Will Tuffley, Associate Director, Business Service at BDO

The Sports Hubs and Centres of Excellence Taskforce has now established a smaller Steering Committee to drive the project, which we ultimately hope will inform and support the sports business attraction objectives and activities of the Queensland Academy of Sport and the State Government.

Can we reimagine Brisbane's inner city?

The Committee for Brisbane, Planning Institute of Australia, Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and The University of Queensland are collaborating on a long-term project to “reimagine the inner city”.

Defined as the CBD, Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill, South Brisbane/West End and Woolloongabba, the project will explore the future, or futures, for our inner city (to 2050) and consider what strategies and actions could be put in place to ensure the city centre recovers its vibrancy and continues to play its role as the city’s economic heart.

Created in response to the Committee’s annual Inner City Vitality Report (see below) – that has painted a pretty bleak picture of our inner city economy for the past couple of years – the project objectives are to:

Provide a collaborative platform to reimagine Brisbane’s inner city over the next 30 years
Produce new work that considers current megatrends and issues; sets out future directions for Brisbane; and identifies a group of transformational projects in the public interest
Influence city-making in the review of the City Centre Master Plan and leading into the Olympics and Paralympics in 2032
Respond to the opportunities and challenges of COVID-19 for city centres
Respond to issues identified in the Committee for Brisbane’s 2021 Inner City Vitality Report (to be released in November)

The project will access and analyse data to provide a sound platform to inform decision-making – data that can be used to facilitate a no-agendas review of the inner city, which will be done by inviting specialists and big thinkers over the next few months to share their views, challenge other views and suggest options.

Invitation to the fourth annual Inner City Vitality Report event

On Friday 12 November, the Committee will release its fourth annual Inner City Vitality Report, that looks at Brisbane’s inner-city health across five key indicators: commercial and residential real estate, hotel stays/tourism, retail, education, and transport mobility.

This Report is unique in its coverage of the sectors that drive the future of inner Brisbane’s economic engine room.

We have assembled a great panel who will discuss the 2021 Report and future trends for Brisbane’s recovery, post-COVID 19:

Leah Lang, State Government Architect
Simon White, Design, ARIA
Harvey Lister AM, Chairman and Chief Executive, ASM Global (ASIA Pacific)
Scott Sheppard, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President, International, QUT

When: Friday, 12 November 2021, 12pm – 2pm

Where: Boulevard Room, Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre

Tickets on sale soon.

New Members

The Committee recently welcomed 10 new Members and two Affiliates.

Corporate Leader

Westpac

Corporate Member

Wiley

Enterprise

CJC Rail and Programs
Capstone Recruitment

Associate

Andrea Slingsby
Rosanne Barrett
Lee Hamilton
Jessie Newell
Paul Hey
Nick Curran

Affiliate

Australian Dance Council/Ausdance (Qld)
Independent Schools Queensland

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