Mayor’s column | Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter – June 2024
Lions roar in Springfield
A new partnership between Brisbane Lions and Ipswich City Council will leverage greater opportunities for our city and residents.
The new $300,000 per annum three-year partnership has been in negotiation since the Brisbane Lions set up their headquarters at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield Central in partnership with Ipswich City Council in 2022 and was ratified at the May council meeting.
This strategic partnership ensures we can leverage the maximum benefit and exposure from having a tier-one national sporting organisation headquartered right here in our city.
Brighton Homes Arena has celebrated its inaugural year of operation and has attracted more than 316,000 visitations in its first year.
This investment will open more doors and create more opportunities for our city, its businesses and its residents.
Economy is booming
In further good news, the greater Ipswich economy has broken through the $13 billion mark for the first time in the city’s history, according to the latest economic data.
The National Institute of Economic and industry Research released its latest State of the Regions (SOR) report which showed that in the 12 months to 30 June 2023, Ipswich’s GRP tipped $13 billion.
The Gross Regional Product is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in a region.
Much of this new activity is in our growth suburbs like Springfield, with businesses large and small the engine room of our local economy. They produce those vital goods and services and provide jobs and incomes for many of our residents.
Pushing for more infrastructure
I recently joined a group of SEQ Mayors at Queensland Parliament to advocate for greater State investment to support our rapidly growing population, particularly investment in our roads, rail and buses.
With more people moving into our region, the Council of Mayors (SEQ) is lobbying for a fairer share of funding. Ipswich’s rapid and unprecedented population growth requires an equal acceleration of investment in population-supporting infrastructure.
With more than 70 percent of our growth occurring in the corridor between the Ipswich CBD and Springfield Central, a public transport solution in this corridor remains council’s highest transport priority.
As we all know, the connectivity between Ipswich and Springfield is inadequate and falls well short of meeting the demand in this corridor. This leaves our booming suburbs such as Redbank Plains and Ripley with limited access to public transport.
It’s fantastic to have the support of the SEQ Mayors in lobbying for greater transport investment. Council will continue to lobby on behalf of residents and businesses to get a fairer deal for Ipswich.