The main idea behind savemoorooka.org is to provide facts and opinions to help inform locals about the current Brisbane City Council (BCC) ‘Nathan, Salisbury, Moorooka Neighbourhood Plan’. The other important message we are trying to put across is that knowledge can empower us all to make better decisions.
To help understand why all this development is planned for Moorooka, we need to look at "The Bigger Picture". This will ultimately include related topics such as population growth, housing sustainability & affordability, tax issues and even the effect of foreign investment on the housing market.
There are a number of good online resources on these topics but the most comprehensive one I wish to focus on is a 2018 report titled “Housing affordability: re-imagining the Australian dream”, by the Gratton Institute, an independent and respected Australian think-tank. The main PDF of the report can be directly accessed via this link.
The report is 177 pages long but I’ll point out a few key pages and search phrases. A good start is the short overview on page 3.
It’s seems like a new high-rise apartment block is popping up in Brisbane every second day but these developments aren’t necessarily the answer to affordable housing. See pages 48 & 59. Simply “Brisbane” as a search phrase also brings up more focused information.
Some of the issues around foreign investment affecting the property market are on pages 38, 97, 102.
The development plan for Moorooka is what is commonly known as a transit oriented development (TOD). Page 116 mentions the BCC City Plan 2014 plan to "align the development assessment process with the expectations created by the plan and to increase infill development near the CBD and along transport corridors". For more information search the PDF for “transport corridors”.
At the moment the BCC sees a well positioned train station that could be a major designated transit orientated development (TOD) oppottunity. Development along these major transport corridors make sense but it should not be at the expense of destroying local character and other factors which attracted us to live in the area.
From the Brisbane City Plan 2014.. “The plan guides how land in Brisbane can be used and developed to support economic growth, while protecting our city’s enviable way of life”. To make better decisions, the BCC needs to know what’s important to locals. On this micro level, we have an opinion and should voice them! Include in your submission issues like character houses, street parking, protected flora and fauna etc. Current home owners and renters are worried about street parking. Many people are worried about the blocking of their solar panels.
Hopefully knowing the bigger picture helps you better understand the ‘Nathan, Salisbury, Moorooka Neighbourhood Plan’. Also call a BCC Planning Information Officer if you have any specific questions about the issues that matter to you.