Brisbane council hikes rates, begs for $3.6b to save Story Bridge from falling apart

Brisbane City Council has hiked rates while begging for $3.6 billion to stop the Story Bridge from literally falling apart. The average owner-occupier will pay about $1.22 more a week – or $60 a year – under the 3.97 per cent rate increase passed on Wednesday. But Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says the hike is below inflation and still leaves Brisbane rates lower than other south-east Queensland councils.

The real drama is the bridge. Schrinner used the budget hand-down to pitch an 80-10-10 funding split with the state and federal governments for a 20-year renewal program costing $3.6 billion – the same price tag as the proposed Olympic Stadium at Victoria Park. “I’m really confident we will get state and federal support for this,” he told the council chamber, adding he’d spoken to Premier David Crisafulli in recent days.

Without the cash, heavy vehicles and public transport would be banned from the bridge within 10 years, and the whole thing would be closed and deconstructed by 2046. The footpaths were already shut in March 2025 after a report warned concrete chunks could fall on pedestrians. A 21-page Story Bridge Renewal Progress Update released Tuesday says a business case for the full project is 80 per cent done. It recommends replacing ageing concrete and fittings, strengthening the southern approach, steel repairs, removing lead paint, and recoating the main span.

For the next six years, the council wants $1.35 billion – $1.08 billion from Canberra, $135 million from the state, and $135 million of its own. Access upgrades include new gantries, an anti-climb system, and better fire, electrical, security and lighting services, plus bearing upgrades before the 2032 Olympics.

Schrinner described the $3.9 billion budget as centred on cost-of-living, with about $76.5 million in programs – mostly existing ones now expanded. These include the Move Well scheme, pensioner rebates, free off-peak transport for seniors, and $2 summer dips. “It acknowledges that people are doing it tough,” he said. “It’s about keeping the right balance, about bringing the cost down wherever possible, finding the savings we can, but also directing the investment, to the places where it really counts.”

No big new projects were announced. The council will spend about $200 million less than last year, which Schrinner attributed to finishing the Kangaroo Point Bridge and Metro rollout. There’s $213 million for Brisbane Metro, buses, CityCats and ferries, and $250,000 a year for three years for the Emmanuel City Missions Night Sanctuary for homeless people. Road resurfacing worth $110 million is also on the cards, including at the Story Bridge’s southern approach. More than 90 per cent of spending will happen in the suburbs.

The budget projects an operating surplus of $196 million and a reduction in net debt. The council won’t borrow any extra money in the next year. “These are not ordinary times,” Schrinner told councillors.