The Schrinner Council’s latest financial review confirms Brisbane’s budget remains balanced, while delivering even better services to the suburbs.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and his team have maintained a balanced budget, so Brisbane residents continue to pay hundreds of dollars less than other Councils.
The Budget Review and Quarterly Financial Report confirm Brisbane residents are paying less compared to other Councils, with residents living in other south east Queensland councils pay anywhere between $317 and $702 more that Brisbane residents per year in rates.
The latest budget figures show the Schrinner Council is keeping costs down by:
• Maintaining an operating surplus as a buffer against unexpected cost increases.
• Keeping spending under control with an almost $51 million decrease in expenditure since the June 18 Budget
• Net debt on track to reduce by a further $125 million to $3.48 billion (below the $4 billion budget).
The report highlights emphasise that the Schrinner Council continues to deliver more services for Brisbane residents, including:
• 9 million more trips taken by passengers on Brisbane Metro and Brisbane’s New Bus Network compared to the previous year.
• 61,700 more KittyCat services, doubling the amount of services delivered across the previous period
• An 18 per cent increase in patronage across the wider Ferry network
• More than 75,000 extra tonnes of asphalt used to resurface roads across the suburbs, including record months in February and March 2026
• 12,600 more free native plants distributed to schools, clubs, community groups and residents
• Almost 6,000 additional stems harvested from our koala fodder plantations, ensuring wildlife carers can continue to feed out growing Koala population
• A further 340 free and affordable active and healthy sessions delivered, hosting an additional 11,500 residents
• 56 more hectares of land rehabilitated through the Environmental Offsets Program, reinvigorating natural habitat as our city grows
• Onboarding 100 more bus drivers
• Treating 1,100 additional red fire ant nests
• 100,000 more visits to Brisbane Libraries
• Increasing the number of First 5 Forever sessions by 16 per cent
• Increasing immunisation clinic hours by 26 per cent at 13 locations across the city
• 52,000 additional visitors to the Your City Your Say online platform, encouraging residents to have their say and help make Brisbane even better
• 1,800 additional bookings at our community halls, catering to 27,800 more event attendees
• 5,600 more people participating in programs like Bush Kindy and guided walks across our environment centres
The Schrinner Council’s balanced budget and better services come despite there being no new funding from the Federal Government in their Budget, redirecting crucial tax dollars away from Brisbane despite it having the highest net internal migration rate of any other major capital.
Key economic and financial challenges since the June 18 Budget include:
• Inflation re-accelerating, increasing 1.1 per cent month-on-month and national inflation almost doubling from 2.4 per cent at Budget time to 4.6 per cent today – the highest level since September 2023
• Continued interest rate hikes taking the cash rate from 3.6 per cent to 4.35 per cent
• A 15 per cent increase in delivery and transport costs for road infrastructure contracts.
• Construction costs up between 10 and 20 per cent
• Councils continuing to deliver 33 per cent of services despite receiving just three cents in every tax dollar
More than 80 per cent of Brisbane’s $4 billion budget continues to be invested in the suburbs to make them even better places to live, work and relax.
The Schrinner Council’s balanced budget is in stark contrast to the Green/Labor Coalition of Chaos which made $3.5 billion in big spending promises during the 2024 election and continue to argue for massive spending increases, which would drive up the rates of every single Brisbane resident.
Labor’s so-called leader failed to produce properly costed policies at the election and has been caught out more than once not knowing the difference between debt and liabilities, demonstrating Labor’s clear inability to manage Australia’s largest council.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:
“Every dollar we spend comes directly from local residents and we have a responsibility to spend it carefully.
“At a time when households are dealing with higher inflation and rising living costs, it’s more important than ever we spend carefully and avoid putting unnecessary pressure on residents.
“Our responsible financial management means Brisbane residents continue to pay less than those in other south east Queensland councils, while getting more.
“By maintaining a balanced budget, we can continue delivering better services across our suburbs while also reducing debt so we have capacity to respond to future challenges.
“That means better public transport, better roads, better library services, better environmental practices and better access to community spaces.
“It’s easy for those in opposition to make costly promises, but those promises would mean significant rate hikes for families across Brisbane.
“Brisbane remains in a strong financial position because we continue to strike the right balance between easing cost-of-living pressures and continuing to invest in our growing city.”
