Brisbane

The Lord Mayor points out that 96% of housing is provided by the private market. He says that their amended motion refocusing on the private sector is reasonable because of this. You don't fix the housing crisis by focusing on the 4%, he says. I guess he thinks that 4% is the right figure and the government shouldn't be allowed to build more?

He hits back at Cr Cassidy's criticism by saying he doesn't think all social housing is slums. He just believes it should be dispersed throughout the community, and not all concentrated in one area. Which is indeed considered best practice.

Cr Cassidy requests to suspend standing orders so he can move an urgency motion asking the Lord Mayor to explain why the LNP is cutting $500 million from the budget. He justifies it as an urgency motion (rather than being put on the notice paper) because there was an amended notice paper at 4pm yesterday, and he was saying he thought the Lord Mayor might put it on the notice paper himself.

The thing he wants to debate is laudable, but the idea that it qualifies as an urgency motion is ridiculous.

It fails, and he immediately tries again, this time asking the Lord Mayor to provide an itemised list of what will be cut. That fails too.

Chair of Council, Cr Toomey is now flat-out refusing to make a ruling on Cr Johnston's points of order. Every time she gets up to make a point of order, he just extends a hand out at her (without even looking) and says "in a moment, Cr Johnston. Lord Mayor, you have the call."

This is some pretty fucking appalling unprofessional behaviour, and I'm pretty sure it violates the rules under which BCC is supposed to operate.

The Lord Mayor claims James Mackay would have "won easily" had he not chosen to step down as Councillor for Walter Taylor Ward.

Pretty hard to believe, considering his area overlaps with the Maiwar state electorate, and Ryan federal division, both of which are held by the Greens. The 2020 Walter Taylor result was fairly close between Greens and LNP, and the trend has seemingly been in the Greens' favour.

The new councillor being approved is a "true blue liberal", according to the Lord Mayor.

Earlier, Councillor Johnston made reference to the claim that she is not actually local to the Walter Taylor area.

Wow this debate is frustrating.

Months ago, Cr Cassidy brought a motion calling on BCC to express its support for the federal Housing Australia Future Fund. The LNP tabled it, as they usually do when they don't want to support something Labor brought, but it would be politically inexpedient to actually vote against it. Today, the LNP brought it back off the table, so they could amend it to make their support contingent on if they decide they like what it will do. The amended motion is incredibly wishy-washy, and basically means nothing.

what does anything the Deputy Mayor just said then mean? That was an exercise in just some...waffle, to fill some space and to move an amendment to not commit to something. To anything at all. So this amended motion now will say "Brisbane City Council supports the development of 30,000 new social and affordable homes...maybe." That's what this motion now reads.

Cr Cassidy says, in his response to the amendment to his motion.

He repeatedly accuses the Lord Mayor of having called social housing "slums". He says the Deputy Mayor is the person taking point on this, rather than the Lord Mayor, precisely because the Lord Mayor thinks affordable housing is slums.

The Deputy Mayor says "the only thing that isn't anti-sprawl is density coming to a suburb near you".

The LNP very clearly laying down their position. High density inner-city. Sprawling low-density outer suburbs. There can be no midpoint.