Raby Bay Ratepayers Association - 2 April 2012 Presentation by Bob Pollock – Candidate for Division 2 Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to attend your Committee Meeting tonight and for the opportunity to discuss my Vision for the Future of Cleveland and North Stradbroke Island. BRIEF HISTORY Firstly let me tell you a bit about myself. I was born in Brisbane in 1951, matriculated from Brisbane State High and studied at QIT, RMIT and QUT. I have worked as a Mechanical Engineer, Structural Engineer, Architect, Facilities Manager, Construction Manager, Director in the Queensland Government, a Company Director since 1981 and have successfully managed a number of businesses in the Construction Industry. I was involved in the transformation of Ipswich City Council in the 1990’s and assisted Mayor Dave Underwood and the CEO Jamie Quinn in the restructuring of that organisation to improve the return for Ratepayers. I have had a lot of experience in the master planning of public infrastructure, retail centres and residential areas, having managed projects for Ipswich City Council, Brisbane City Council, Maroochy Shire Council, Westfield, AMP, Central Queensland University, University of Western Sydney and University of Melbourne. I currently manage a business which advises large organisations in how to successfully manage and deliver complex Capital Works Programs with values up to $3Bn and projects worth up to $350M. I have been happily married to my wife Tricia for 38 years. I have 3 sons who are all employed in good jobs. I am also a grandfather and looking forward to more additions to our family. Raby Bay Ratepayers Association - 2 April 2012 - Presentation by Bob Pollock – Candidate for Division 2 1 of 11
WHY AM I CONTESTING THIS ELECTION? Simple – the Current Redland City Council is not delivering for the people of the Redlands. My family currently has 4 generations living in the Redlands and I want to protect their lifestyle and prosperity in the future. SO WHAT HAVE I DISCOVERED? After meeting and speaking with hundreds of residents in Cleveland and North Stradbroke Island I have discovered that Redland City Council is not only not delivering but are engaged in some very questionable activities. These include: REVENUE GOUGING AND OBSTRUCTIONISM Obstructing residents from adding even the smallest improvements such as carports, garages and decks has been the experience of many people I have met. Horrendous application and re-application fees, extra costs for redesign and unreasonable delays of 12 to 18 months are commonplace. But that is not the whole story. Council Officers in jack boots turning up at residents’ homes to do snap inspections and then demanding the removal of plants, gardens and pots as well as issuing on the spot fines for some non-compliance or other. At the other end of the spectrum, businesses have been encouraged to submit applications, pay high application fees and then wait for years for any response from Council only to be told that their application has been rejected. So off to the Planning and Environment Court they go, wasting millions of dollars of ratepayers money only to have Council’s decision overturned. LACK OF PROPER MAINTENANCE I have been shown countless examples of where Council has simply failed to do even the most basic maintenance. What about lights in the parks that remain broken for months as is the case around here. Parks left unmown for weeks with debris such as needles, rubbish, long grass and diseased trees with limbs ready to fall on passersby. Street trees with limbs left Raby Bay Ratepayers Association - 2 April 2012 - Presentation by Bob Pollock – Candidate for Division 2 2 of 11
hanging low over roadways to be smashed against trucks as they drive by and residents fined for removing the debris. SO WHAT ABOUT RATES? Rates across the Redlands have skyrocketed under this Council with some ratepayers paying up to 47% more now than they were in 2008. Some of you know what that is like. In fact, those increases have put so much pressure on many residents that they can no longer afford to pay their Council Rates and have told me they will have to leave their houses because of those costs alone at a time when house prices have dropped. Many of you purchased your property at a time when the cost of land was low in Raby Bay by today’s standards and the cost of building a house was more affordable than it is now. For many of you this represented the last investment in residential property that you made before retiring from paid work to enjoy the simple pleasures for which you have worked so hard. Why then has the current Council chosen to target you and others who have made wise investments in the past? You have every right to question the motives of the current Mayor and Councillors in perpetrating this scurrilous attack on your standard of living. Is this a Council that wants to push hard working people out of their homes? Clearly, Council has decided that people living in Raby Bay, parts of Cleveland and parts of North Stradbroke Island are all very wealthy and should be subject to a Wealth Tax. So what more does this Council have in store? Recently at a public meeting in Birkdale Mayor Hobson confirmed that she was committed to another increase of up to 5% in Council Rates in the Redlands. SO WHAT IS MY POSITION ON RATES? Firstly, I believe we must restore equity in the Rating System based primarily on the extent and quality of services being provided to Ratepayers. Raby Bay Ratepayers Association - 2 April 2012 - Presentation by Bob Pollock – Candidate for Division 2 3 of 11
Secondly, the Rate in the Dollar to be used to calculate the Council Rates for all properties should be within a band so that the highest Rate in the Dollar is no higher than 3 times the lowest for properties with similar services. Thirdly, I cannot support a Rating System that has 45 different categories. It appears to be just another excuse for more bureaucracy. WHAT ABOUT CANAL LEVIES? When the former Redland City Council released the developer of Raby Bay from its obligations in return for the princely sum of $1.5M, that Council assumed all of the liabilities associated with the maintenance of the canals. Yet many of us know and knew at the time that the canals had not been constructed in accordance with the approved designs and engineering documentation. So why was the developer let off the hook? My question is why should the residents who played no part in the release of the develop er’s obligations by the Council, now be expected to pay for the poor decision-making of Council? It is my view, supported by recent decisions in the Supreme Court of Queensland, that if Council were to be challenged by the residents, the Supreme Court might well order the reimbursement of all Canal Levies. I see this as a risk that Council should include on its Risk Register and that Council should seek to achieve some clarity about this matter. It is my view that Canals are a Public Asset just like Roads, Footpaths, Parks, Sewers etc and should be maintained in the same way. Raby Bay Ratepayers Association - 2 April 2012 - Presentation by Bob Pollock – Candidate for Division 2 4 of 11
MY VISION FOR CLEVELAND AND NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND World Class Community Infrastructure: The Redlands is now a City. But the World’s Most Liveable Cities all have World Class Community Infrastructure. It is time we had a Council that is striving to make the Redlands the best it can be. By managing its activities wisely and its finances carefully, Redland City Council can reduce the Cost of Living for all residents. Housing types that cater to all income levels and tastes: Sensible policies and practices within Council can reduce the cost of land and housing which is one of the largest costs for struggling families. The current Council does not seem to understand that basic fact. Council must consider the impact of their decisions on all of the Community not just minority interest groups. All residential areas, both new and existing, must be enjoyable to live in with parks, walking tracks and play grounds that are well designed and well maintained. Vibrant Cleveland CBD: Redland City Council has ignored this issue for far too long. There are sensible solutions but first of all Council must make a firm commitment to fix the problems. With my background and experience in the master planning and design of commercial and retail centres, I can act as a catalyst for better development. The current state of Cleveland CBD is deplorable. But this Council seems to think that a new logo or an occasional “Win a Car” competition will do the t rick. Cleveland CBD must be reconfigured and aggressively promoted as the Gateway to Moreton Bay and the Cultural Heart of the Redlands . From the comments made by Councillor Ogilvie, he like so many others, simply has no idea what has caused the decline or how to reverse it. If the GFC is to blame why are places like Victoria Point, Capalaba, Oxford Street, Carindale, Garden City and Loganholme trading their heads off while Cleveland is still languishing? Raby Bay Ratepayers Association - 2 April 2012 - Presentation by Bob Pollock – Candidate for Division 2 5 of 11
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