Ipswich – space to grow

Regular readers of this column will be well aware of council’s focus on developing Ipswich’s manufacturing and industry sector. To that end, we have recently launched our new investment prospectus, The City of Ipswich: Space to Grow.

We are in the perfect position to become the manufacturing and defence capital of Queensland, with an 8,000 hectare future supply of industrial land. That’s more land available for industrial growth than all other south-east councils combined.

Along with our close ties to Defence thanks to the RAAF Amberley Air Base, we are uniquely positioned to attract advanced manufacturing, defence, production, innovation and logistics.

We want to ensure Ipswich is the manufacturing and defence capital of Queensland, so that investment flows through our economy and leads to job opportunities for our residents – and develops our nation’s capacity and independence.

The City of Ipswich: Space to Grow highlights our city’s unique strengths as a location for investment, including workforce opportunities and geographical advantages.

Council will now take this investment prospectus to the market to continue our efforts to attract serious investment in our city.

Ipswich front and centre for 2032 Games

I recently attended the first meeting of the Brisbane 2032 Host Mayors Advisory Group. The group is chaired by Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and includes myself and fellow mayors for 2032 co-host cities such as Fraser Coast, Logan City, Mackay, Moreton Bay City, Redland City, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Whitsunday councils.

This group is shaping how the Games benefit communities, including Ipswich, across our state. I’m pleased to report at the first meeting we spoke about Brighton Homes Arena at Springfield Central being secured as an Olympic venue, and the potential for North Ipswich Reserve to also support the 2032 Games.

The opportunities for Ipswich from the Brisbane 2032 Games are many – one prime example of the benefits is the recent announcement that Australia’s first new steel mill in decades will open in Ipswich. I attended a sod turning for Future Forgeworks in Swanbank last month. Once up and running it expects to supply 350,000 tonnes of reinforcing bar and coil per year, targeting the major constructions needed for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games while bringing jobs and green industry to Ipswich.

I will continue to represent our community’s interests and promote the importance of securing 2032 Games legacy infrastructure and outcomes for our region through this group.

Community battery land allocated

In another major focus for sustainability, council has now also made four portions of land available to Energy Queensland for ground-mounted battery units, to support a community battery trial.

The sites are in Redbank Plains, Flinders View, and Bellbird Park. The trial will be conducted by Energex and focuses on community engagement strategies and benefit models. The batteries store excess electricity generated from rooftop solar during daylight hours and redistribute it back into the network during evening peak demand.

Installing batteries at the distribution level helps reduce reverse power flow, relieve transformer load, and enables cheaper wholesale power generated during the day to be supplied to customers in the evening.

The closer the batteries are to rooftop solar, the greater the benefit, which is why Energex is trialling smaller-scale batteries to maximise customer advantage.

This gives security to Energy Queensland’s community batteries scheme, supports renewable energy integration and a stronger power network, and helps council deliver on its corporate objectives to support sustainability initiatives in the community.

I’m pleased that we can continue to work with other organisations to deliver projects that benefit our community.