Latest news with #BrisbaneCity
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- News.com.au
Shocking footage shows moment e-bike rider attempted to flee police in Brisbane
Stunning footage filmed on a busy Brisbane street shows the moment an e-bike rider was tackled by police as he allegedly attempted to flee. The 19-year-old rider from Boondall was intercepted by the Brisbane City Bike Squad when he was spotted riding the allegedly illegal e-bike along Elizabeth St. One of the officers was filmed approaching the rider and asked, 'Hey mate, how's it going? You're aware that this is a trail bike that you're not able to register, therefore not able to ride it on the road,' he told the rider. After a long pause, the rider made a sudden attempt to allegedly flee before he was run down by the two arresting officers. Upon his arrest police searched the rider's bag, which allegedly contained dangerous drugs and what appeared to be a used bong. The teenager was charged with seven offences, including dangerous operation of a vehicle, driving of motor vehicle without a driver's licence disqualified by court order, possessing dangerous drugs and possess pipe that had been used. He is expected to front Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 6. North Brisbane District Inspector Peta Comadira said riders should ensure their vehicles were compliant before travelling. 'Some e-bikes exceed speed limits and are classified as motorbikes, meaning they require registration, insurance and a licence,' she said. 'We encourage owners of these devices to take these rules seriously and be informed about the road classification of their vehicle. 'Officers will continue to run targeted operations to continue to improve safety and compliance.'
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Federal government throws support behind LNP's controversial new Olympic Games venue at Brisbane's Victoria Park
The federal government has thrown its support behind a controversial new Olympic Games venue at Victoria Park in Brisbane planned by the Queensland government. The 63,000-seat venue – to be the city's largest stadium – will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2032 Olympics and cost $3.8bn. The federal infrastructure minister, Catherine King, appeared at a Queensland Media Club event with the deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, on Thursday to announce the commonwealth would commit $3.4bn in funding for Games infrastructure. The commonwealth will reallocate funding away from the planned Brisbane Live Arena to the new stadium. 'For us, this is about ensuring that when we hand the keys back after the closing ceremony, Queensland has the infrastructure it needs to build on its incredible legacy for decades to come,' King said. The Queensland government and Brisbane city council will develop a new precinct plan for the area with a focus on access to green space, she said. It will serve as the home of AFL and cricket once the Games are over. King said appropriate consultation would also be undertaken with stakeholders, including affected communities and First Nations groups. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Victoria Park holds historical significance, particularly for Brisbane's Indigenous community. The area was used as a town camp for decades and is a massacre site. Bleijie said he was confident of reaching an agreement with local Indigenous groups over use of the site. Parliament passed legislation last month to permit the government to override the cultural heritage act if a deal cannot be reached. 'Part of the deal that we've struck with the federal government is … that that consultation does take place,' Bleijie said. 'I'm confident we'll secure support, and we'll just go through the motions.' Neither state nor federal governments announced their position on the Victoria Park stadium before going to the polls in recent months. The premier, David Crisafulli, ruled out building a new stadium and ruled out building one at Victoria Park before last October's state election. He apologised in March. Asked on Thursday, Bleijie said there was no alternative to the change, because no other site was suitable. The new deal meant the planned 17,000-seat Brisbane Live Arena, near the city's Roma Street Parkland, had now lost all public financial support. It was initially planned to host swimming, which would now be held in a new facility at Centenary Pool in Spring Hill, within walking distance of Victoria Park. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion King said the federal government had decided to shift funding away from the venue after the state government had excluded it. But Bleijie said the arena would still be delivered in time for the Olympics, on a new site next to the old Gabba stadium in Brisbane's south. He said the department would go to formal procurement by the end of the year, with construction under way by the end of 2026 'and into 2027'. 'We absolutely will partner with the private sector. We will go to procurement on the Brisbane arena by the end of this year,' he said. It would be funded by a deal for development of the site of the Gabba cricket ground, which would be torn down. Bleijie said works on Victoria Park were also imminent, with geotechnical and other preparatory work on the site already under way, as of Thursday. The estimated cost of $3.785bn for Victoria Park did not include 'associated precinct and transport infrastructure costs'. The Games venues would cost $7.1bn overall, split evenly between the two levels of government. They would construct 17 new or upgraded venues, including the new National Aquatic Centre at Spring Hill.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Brisbane City Council to review low-to-medium density residential zoning to address housing shortage
Brisbane City Council has announced a review into the city's low-to-medium residential zoned areas, as part of a response to increasingly unaffordable housing. Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner revealed the review at a Queensland Property Council lunch yesterday, and said the skyrocketing cost of housing in Brisbane was something he was "deeply concerned" about. "We have amazing opportunities as a city, but if people can't afford to live here, what's the point?" he said. Currently, 14 per cent of land in the Brisbane City Council area is designated as low-to-medium residential (LMR) density, and Mr Schrinner said only 445 homes were built in LMR zones in Brisbane in 2023. "In the past, the 10-year average for construction of homes in this zone was well over 1,110 homes," he said. "This is all about getting more homes faster. It's all about improving development feasibility. It's about expanding the housing choice for people, including first home buyers hopefully in more parts of Brisbane." He said solutions like taxing developers and landlords more, banning short-stay accommodation services like Airbnb, and taxing vacant homes were "simplistic solutions" that "rarely work". "There's only one simplistic solution, there's only one simplistic approach that is guaranteed to work better than any of those other things that were mentioned, you keep housing more affordable by building more housing," Mr Schrinner said. Car parking requirements, building heights, lot sizes and "red tape reduction" will be on the agenda for the review, Mr Schrinner said, and it will focus on areas with existing infrastructure close to public transport, shops and schools. He said the council would be working to identify new areas where LMR properties could be built in the city. "If we get this right, we can enable the development industry to deliver up to 6,000 new homes in this zone by 2032," he said. "Obviously we've got to get this right, but we've got to get it done quickly." The announcement has been praised by the Property Council, with executive director Jess Caire describing it as a "welcome move" during an ongoing housing crisis. "It has never been harder to build the homes we need, and we welcome council's ongoing efforts to partner with industry to address development barriers and deliver more homes," Ms Caire said. "The Property Council looks forward to providing input to council as part of their review and continuing to work with them to remedy the barriers stymieing the delivery of new housing." Paul Bidwell from Master Builders Queensland agreed it was a good "first step" to increase development approvals but said there was still not enough capacity in the construction industry to reach housing targets. He said the council's goal of increasing LMR density would increase potential supply, but the ability to build it was another question. "We know that the biggest issue facing the industry — and we're hearing that from builders and tradies big and small across the state — is that we can't get enough people to do the work ahead of us," he said. "It's something that's being looked at at all levels of government, federal, state, and local government and there is no silver bullet." Mr Bidwell said construction capacity was still lagging behind building approvals but it was essential for governments to address both to help housing affordability.
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Aussie capital named top two city in the world
An Aussie capital has emerged as one of the top two cities in the world for a surprising reason. Brisbane blitzed the worldwide line-up in the Compare The Market's latest Cost of Living Index, named second best in the world behind Seoul thanks to its 'ultra-cheap' public transportation charges at 50 cents a trip. 'The 'River City' claimed the spot for the second year in a row thanks to ultra-cheap 50-cent public transport fares, alongside Australia's relatively cheaper cost for petrol at $1.64 per litre on average, 19 per cent rent price increase since 2015, and $105,810 average annual wage,' the index found. First homebuyer grant 'trap' for Gen Z 'Despite the Reserve Bank starting to cut the cash rate to 4.1 per cent in February – the first time it has been cut for more than four years – the rate is still sub-par compared to other countries with a higher reported cost of milk, bread, and electricity prices on average.' If the Reserve Bank moves on interest rates dramatically - as it is expected to do before August with a 100bp drop - Brisbane could come close to unseating Seoul to top the world. Melbourne was named fifth best cost-of-living friendly city with Sydney a surprise entry to the top 10 in ninth place – improving their positions from seventh and 13th place in 2024. 'This improvement was thanks to the lower cash rate, higher average annual wage, and lowering average fuel and electricity prices,' the index found. All Australian cities used the same national figures for fuel costs, rent and home price rises in the calculations. Artist builds Aus first aircrete dome home Compare the Market general manager of money, Stephen Zeller, said when it came to cost of living no city was perfect. 'While Seoul, Brisbane and Madrid ranked at the top of our updated index, no city received a score higher than seven out of 10 – demonstrating that no place is entirely perfect for those seeking cost-of-living relief.' 'However, there are ways to reduce cost-of-living pressures to ensure you're not paying a cent more than you need to on everyday bills. Whether it's your home loan, energy plan or insurance, shop around and compare what's on offer.' He said it was worth shopping around to compare what's on offer, especially when it came to home loan rates - a major cost-of-living pressure. The Index compared the cost of living across 42 capital cities, looking at 11 different factors from cash rates to annual wages, the unemployment rates, fuel and electricity prices, public transport, milk/bread/coffee prices, and increases in both rent and house prices.
