A second Olympic venue, better public transport and infrastructure support for Logan City were tabled by Logan mayor Jon Raven as necessities at an intergovernmental meeting last week.
South-east Queensland mayors met state officials and parliamentary representatives over two days to tackle “crippling growth” and tax revenue versus infrastructure gaps.
Cr Raven said he took the opportunity to push for key priorities – including securing a sport for the city to host at the 2032 Brisbane Olympic games.
“The more people I can get that idea into the head of, the better,” Cr Raven said.
“Logan would also be a great location for an additional stadium.
“There are so many events at Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, it just makes sense to have a couple of venues in Logan and close to the M1 – it could be in Meadowbrook or Beenleigh.
“I’ve made sure [the state government] knows we’re serious about that, and that it would be great for the region.”
Cr Raven said he also pushed for more funding to upgrade local roads and for better public transport for the western suburbs.
“… including the second entry into Yarrabilba, the upgrade to the Waterford Bridge over the Logan River, and the Mount Lindesay Highway upgrades,” he said.
“And what’s happening with public transport?
“Some of the fastest growing suburbs in the country have no buses, and it’s great that the Faster Rail is coming for the eastern side, but we need more than that.”
He also pressed the need for increased support from the government to deliver housing and infrastructure, which would “incentivise growth”.
“There’s an 80 per cent target for detached dwellings [set by the government], I think that is problematic for our lifestyle,” Cr Raven said.
“We’re the fastest growing city in the state, and when we build more houses the state government gets land taxes, stamp duty and other things that benefit the state.
“We would love to see a way to quarantine some of that extra funding they collect through our growth and bring it back to our city.”
While changes to infrastructure charges are also on his agenda, Cr Raven said they were unlikely to occur before the October election.
“No one is committing to increasing infrastructure charges, because in a housing crisis it’s just not palatable,” he said.
“Universally, that’s not the solution, so we need to find more creative ways to engage with industry and government to get the infrastructure we need.”
Infrastructure charges were dubbed “the biggest financial issue Logan has faced” by the previous mayor, Darren Power.
Ratepayers are currently subsidising developers 50 per cent of the cost to build development-related infrastructure (including water, roads and sewage) because of a state-government cap on the amount council can charge.
It’s a fight carried on by Cr Raven, who said he wouldn’t let ratepayers bear the cost.
“When you hit a wall, you don’t stop or just keep ramming the wall, you find another way around the challenge,” he said.
“And both sides of government are open to new ideas because they’re coming into an election and are looking for opportunities to have election commitments.”
He said councils were “stronger when we work together”.
“But when we’re in the room I am fighting for Logan,” Cr Raven said.
“Regardless of who’s in power after October, Logan should be front and centre because we’re building the state out of the housing crisis.
“We’ve got the youngest and most diverse population in the state, we’ve got a huge skill base and a huge talent base for the Olympics.”
Cr Raven said he was pushing for fresh ideas and solutions – from fire ants to homelessness – that had come directly from the Logan community.
