The City of Moreton Bay, known until July 2023 as the Moreton Bay Region, is a local government area in the north of Greater Brisbane in South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it replaced three established local government areas, the City of Redcliffe and the Shires of Pine Rivers and Caboolture.
With an estimated operating budget of A$391 million and a 2018 population of 459,585, Moreton Bay is the third most populous local government area in Australia behind the City of Brisbane and City of Gold Coast, both of which are also amalgamated entities.
In the , the City of Moreton Bay had a population of 476,340 people.
History The original inhabitants, or Traditional Owners, of Moreton Bay are the Kabi Kabi, Jinibara and Turrbal Aboriginal people.
Duungidjawu (also known as Kabi Kabi, Cabbee, Carbi, Gabi Gabi) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Duungidjawu country. The Duungidjawu language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of Somerset Region and the City of Moreton Bay, particularly the towns of Caboolture, Kilcoy, Woodford and Moore.
At the time the Divisional Boards Act 1879 came into force on 11 November 1879, the present City of Morton Bay was entirely contained within the Caboolture Division, which also included the Sunshine Coast. By 1890, Caboolture Division had shrunk considerably with the separate incorporation of the Pine Division (21 January 1888), Redcliffe Division (5 April 1888) and Maroochy Division (5 July 1890).
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Caboolture, Pine and Redcliffe (as well as Maroochy) became Shires on 31 March 1903. Redcliffe was proclaimed a Town on 28 May 1921 and a City on 13 June 1959. A few weeks earlier, on 23 May 1959, Pine was renamed the Shire of Pine Rivers.
Formation In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended the amalgamation of the three local government areas:
City of Redcliffe Shire of Pine Rivers Shire of Caboolture
It argued that the area was part of the South East Queensland Regional Plan's Urban Footprint, and would attract 11% of the region's population and housing growth to 2006. A very strong community of interest was identified through the region's links and dependencies to Brisbane. The councils disagreed with the commission's plans although, with the exception of Redcliffe, did not oppose alternative amalgamation options.
On 10 August 2007, the Local Government Reform Implementation Bill 2007 was introduced. The Local Transition Committee for the amalgamation of the councils was established, composing of ten members, which included representatives from each of the three Councils and an Interim CEO. The first meeting of the committee was held on 3 September 2007. On 10 September 2007, Ray Burton was appointed as the interim CEO for the committee.
On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist and were amalgamated into a new local government area called the Moreton Bay Region. Elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the regional council. In 2012, following the election of the LNP state government, Redcliffe sought to enter a de-amalgamation process; however, a deadline to gather signatures on a petition by 29 August 2012 was missed. The Hills District sought in 2011 to transfer to Brisbane City Council, but the local government Change Commissioner declined the proposal on cost grounds.
On 8 December 2021, the council unanimously voted to rename the council area to Moreton Bay City and to seek approval from the Local Government Change Commission for the renaming.
In April 2023, the Queensland Government decided to reflect the growing population of the region by creating five new localities named Corymbia, Greenstone, Lilywood, Wagtail Grove, and Waraba by excising parts of the existing localities of Bellmere, Rocksberg, Upper Caboolture, and Wamuran.
In July 2023, the Moreton Bay Region was renamed the City of Moreton Bay.
The City of Moreton Bay is divided into 12 divisions, each of which elects one councillor. Additionally, the entire city elects a mayor. Allan Sutherland was elected as the first mayor at the 2008 elections, and Peter Flannery as the second mayor in 2020.
Council
Current composition The current council as it currently sits, after the 2024 election and subsequent by-election is:
WardCouncillorParty Mayor Peter Flannery Independent Division 1 Brooke Savige Independent Division 2 Mark Booth Independent Division 3 Adam Hain Independent LNP Division 4 Jodie Shipway Independent Division 5 Sandra Ruck Independent Division 6 Karl Winchester Independent Labor Division 7 Yvonne Barlow Independent Division 8 Jim Moloney Independent Labor Division 9 Cath Tonks Independent Division 10 Matthew Constance Independent Division 11 Ellie Smith Independent Division 12 Tony Latter Independent
Mayors
2008−present No.PortraitMayorPartyTerm startTerm end 1 Allan Sutherland Independent 15 March 2008 28 March 2020 2 Peter Flannery Independent 28 March 2020 incumbent
Deputy mayors
No.PortraitMayorPartyTerm startTerm end Mayor 1 Greg Chippendale Independent 2008 2013Sutherland 2 Mike Charlton Independent 2013 2020 3 Denise Sims Independent 2020 October 2021Flannery 4 Jodie Shipway Independent 2021 October 2021
Past councillors
2008−present
YearDiv 1Div 2Div 3Div 4Div 5Div 6Div 7Div 8Div 9Div 10Div 11Div 12CouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillor 2008 Gary Parsons (Ind.) Chris Whiting (Ind. Labor) Greg Chippendale (Ind.) Julie Greer (Ind.) James Houghton (Ind.) Rae Frawley (Ind.) David Dwyer (Ind.) Mick Gillam (Ind. Labor) Mike Charlton (Ind.) Brian Battersby (Ind.) Bob Millar (Ind.) Adrian Raedel (Ind.) 2012 Peter Flannery (Ind.) Koliana Winchester (Ind. Labor) 2016 Brooke Savige (Ind.) Adam Hain (Ind./Ind. LNP) Denise Sims (Ind.) Matt Constance (Ind.) Darren Grimwade (Ind.) 2020 Mark Booth (Ind.) Jodie Shipway (Ind.) Sandra Ruck (Ind.) Karl Winchester (Ind. Labor) Cath Tonks (Ind.) Tony Latter (Ind.) 2021 Yvonne Barlow (Ind. LNP/Ind.) 2022 2024 Jim Moloney (Ind. Labor) 2024 2025
Election results 2024
Unitywater On 1 July 2010, Moreton Bay's water services (along with Sunshine Coast Council's), moved over to the recently created water body, Unitywater. Unitywater was created by the Queensland Government as part of the state's takeover of South East Queensland's water facilities, dams and water supply networks. City of Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Shire Council are joint owners of Unitywater.
Suburbs The City of Moreton Bay includes the following places:
Redcliffe area
Redcliffe Clontarf Deception Bay Kippa-Ring Margate Newport Rothwell Scarborough Woody Point
Pine Rivers area
Urban suburbs
Albany Creek Arana Hills Bray Park Brendale Eatons Hill Everton Hills Ferny Hills Griffin Kallangur Lawnton Mango Hill Murrumba Downs North Lakes Petrie Strathpine Warner
Rural localities
Armstrong Creek Bunya Camp Mountain Cashmere Cedar Creek Clear Mountain Closeburn Dakabin Dayboro Draper Highvale Jollys Lookout Joyner King Scrub Kobble Creek Kurwongbah Laceys Creek Mount Glorious Mount Nebo Mount Pleasant Mount Samson Ocean View Rush Creek Samford Valley Samford Village Samsonvale Whiteside Wights Mountain Yugar
Caboolture area
Coastal Caboolture region: Beachmere Bellmere Burpengary Burpengary East Caboolture Caboolture South Deception Bay Donnybrook Elimbah Godwin Beach Meldale Moodlu Morayfield Narangba Ningi Sandstone Point Toorbul Upper Caboolture
Inland Caboolture region: Bellthorpe Booroobin Bracalba Campbells Pocket Cedarton Commissioners Flat Corymbia D'Aguilar Delaneys Creek Greenstone Lilywood Moorina Mount Delaney Mount Mee Neurum Rocksberg Stanmore Stony Creek Wagtail Grove Waraba Wamuran Wamuran Basin Woodford
Bribie Island: Banksia Beach Bellara Bongaree Bribie Island NP: Welsby White Patch Woorim
Demographics The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The 2011 census was the first for the amalgamated council.
Year Population(total) Caboolture Pine Rivers Redcliffe 1933 11,928 5,316 4,604 2,008 1947 19,402 5,716 4,815 8,871 1954 27,267 7,101 6,309 13,857 1961 39,312 8,877 8,761 21,674 1966 50,785 10,149 13,309 27,327 1971 72,955 12,207 26,187 34,561 1976 103,669 19,404 45,192 39,073 1981 133,056 32,644 58,189 42,223 1986 166,210 47,494 73,783 44,933 1991 205,743 70,052 87,892 47,799 1996 250,077 98,859 103,192 48,026 2001 286,532 114,338 122,303 49,891 2005 325,067 131,667 141,380 52,020 2007 344,878 140,288 150,871 53,719 2009 371,155 151,290 163,510 56,355 2011 389,684 158,988 172,593 58,103 2016 425,302 - - - 2021 476,340 - - -
Selected historical census data for Moreton Bay local government areaCensus year 201120162021Population Estimated residents on census night 476,340LGA rank in terms of size within Queensland 3 3 3rd% of Queensland population 8.73% 9.04% 9.24%% of Australian population 1.76% 1.82% 1.87%Dwelling structure Dwelling type Separate house85.9% 83.0% 81.1%Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse7.4% 11.0% 13.3%Flat or apartment5.7% 5.0% 4.7%
Facilities The City of Moreton Bay operates libraries at Albany Creek, Arana Hills, Bongaree (Bribie Island), Burpengary, Caboolture, Deception Bay, North Lakes, Redcliffe, Strathpine, and Woodford. It also operates a mobile library service on a fortnightly basis serving the suburbs of Beachmere, Bray Park, Dayboro, Donnybrook, Lawnton, Mount Glorious, Mount Mee, Mount Nebo, Mount Samson Petrie, Samford, Toorbul and Warner.
Traffic Signals
In 2026, the City of Moreton Bay drew national attention for a trial of "AI" powered traffic signals. The trial installation was to be installed at the intersection of Moreton Parade and Paper Avenue in Petrieusing CCTV and LiDAR sensors supplied by Swarco. The technology will cost around $170,000. It is expected the upgrade will begin from September, with the trial concluding in 2029. It will use movement-based rather than phase-based control. Four cameras cameras and two LiDAR sensors will be installed at the trial site. A City of Moreton Bay spokesperson told iTnews that the technology is being used in parts of Europe and had "surfaced" in Singapore, New Zealand and Qatar. Swarco supplies multiple traffic signal control systems including ImFlow, "SMART AI" (which uses a reinforcement learning model) and QuicTrac.. In August 2026 the council was in the final stages of procurement, with the detail on how AI would be used and the roads involved yet to be determined.
ImFlow is a distributed, adaptive optimiser that optimises individual junctions and coordinates junctions without locking cycle times (like SCOOT). Each junction communicates with neighbouring intersections, without central coordination (like SCATS). Policies in ImFlow include detailed prioritisation between modes. Previous ImFlow installations have initially focused on getting traffic moving, reducing delays and increasing road capacity to "get the drivers happy", with support for "sliders" to adjust per-mode prioritisation to implement policy goals.
Local heritage register The City of Moreton Bay maintains its local heritage register in two parts:
List of sites, objects and buildings of significant historical and cultural value List of significant trees
References
External links City of Moreton Bay Moreton City News