Speech by Councillor Seal Chong Wah, to full Brisbane City Council Council Meeting, Tues 20th May 2025

I rise to speak on Clause B of Amendment 1B to the Brisbane City Plan. Specifically the changes to the Desired Standards of Service. An issue I spoke on in these chambers on our November 5th sitting.

I refer to section 4.4.3.1.3 – Provision Standard for Parks Trunk Classification Network – in the E&C Report: Clause B - Attachment C, page 7.

As I stated in November, I am deeply shocked that this LNP administration has attempted to conceal within 900 page documents, a major amendment to the City Plan that will result in the loss of hundreds of hectares of future sports fields and urban parks.

Currently, our combined ‘standards of service’ for parks and sports fields is 4.2 hectares per 1,000 people. Under this amendment, that figure is being reduced to 4.0 hectares per 1,000 people — a .2 hectare reduction per 1,000 people.

That may seem small, but it equates to a reduction of 290 hectares of greenspace citywide, based on Brisbane’s projected population growth over the next 11 years. 

In short, this is a 290-hectare step backwards in preparing our city for a sustainable future. If we do not plan for additional greespaces for our growing city then we are going backwards on sustainability. Something that international sustainability indexes have already identified.

But the bad news doesn’t stop there. Let’s break it down exactly what that reduced greenspace is:

• Local, district, and metropolitan parks are being reduced from 1.6 to 1.4 hectares per 1,000 people. This results in a 290-hectare loss of parkland over 11 years, based on population.
  
  
• ‘Specialised Outdoor Sport’ space is being slashed from 1.2 to 0.9 hectares per 1,000 people — meaning a 435-hectare loss of sports fields by 2036, based on council projections.
  
  

Yes — 435 hectares of future urban sports fields lost.

Well the council has actually off-set that loss by an equivalent increase in Natural Areas — from 1.4 to 1.7 hectares per 1,000 people — which would also add 435 hectares by 2036. 

But these so-called new areas are not new at all. They’re simply reclassified existing natural estate on the city’s outskirts. So is this LNP administration going to plant whole new forests? No new forests, no new investment — just a shuffle of existing land classification.

So while we’re losing 435 hectares of valuable urban sports fields, they’re being “replaced” by 435 hectares of already-existing outer-fringe natural area estate. 

In my own ward, I’ve already seen clubs like Bardon Latrobe Football Club struggling to find sports fields. As our population grows this LNP administration is ensuring there will be no additional sports fields for our growing population. With this new city plan, we’re telling children who want to play soccer at a local club that they should drive out to an outer city fringe forest and have a walk instead.

We need sports fields so every child can play the sport they love. We need parks close enough for families to walk to. We need greenspaces with trees and vegetation to support our physical and mental health. And we need a city that combats the environmental pressures of climate change.

This is a council administration and a Lord Mayor who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to give away 64 hectares of some of our last remaining inner-city parkland for a one-off Olympic stadium. A stadium that will be handed over to wealthy professional sports teams, that will do nothing for local sports.

This council has failed to adequately invest in greenspace for two decades, despite a population increase of over 100,000. Now, instead of catching up, they’re just reducing the targets.

While I will be voting for this amendment 1B, I do not support the changes to the Desired Standards of Service.