Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner today revealed $1.2 billion more had been spent in Brisbane suburbs over the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019.

Cr Schrinner said the figures indicate that the work-from-home phenomena has helped lead to a massive surge in spending on food, retail and household goods in Brisbane’s suburbs.

“Clearly, the pandemic has caused major problems for many of our businesses, particularly traders in the city centre, who continue to receive our support,” Cr Schrinner said.

“However, if there’s a silver lining in all of this, it’s that many of our suburban shops are not just surviving but thriving because of the higher numbers of people working from home and spending locally.

“With international holidays not an option, Brisbane residents are eating out and sprucing up their homes and this is a good thing for our economy because it helps create local jobs.

“Local businesses are vital to the economy, but they also make Brisbane’s suburbs better places to live, work and relax.”

The top 10 suburbs where local spending has increased the most include Moggill (783%), Stafford Heights (137%), Willawong (132%) and Pinkenba (123%).

The figures compiled by Quantium for Council’s economic development arm show spending in local supermarkets, retail outlets and cafes and restaurants as well as household goods stores like hardware outlets all increased significantly.

The majority of the additional spending in Brisbane’s suburbs occurred during the day while many people continued to work from home during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Schrinner Council has helped accelerate the success of Brisbane’s suburbs through a number of key initiatives and programs, including the Village Precincts Program.

“In2021-22, $3.1 billion of our budget is targeted at making life in the suburbs better, including festivals and events as well as sports and community facility upgrades,” Cr Schrinner said.

“Our suburban events, Brisbetter local campaign and precinct facelifts have helped to create more attractive social hubs in our neighbourhoods.

“We’ve also dedicated $58.3 million to support small businesses and economy recovery initiatives while we’ve continued to offer local cafes and restaurants a 50 per cent discount on footpath dining fees.

“While we want to attract more people back to the city when it’s safe to do so, our focus on the suburbs is helping to deliver real results.”

BACKGROUND

Table 1: Top 10 suburbs ranked in terms of % increase in total spend

Largest % Increase 2019 to 2021 (Jan to June)
Rank Suburb 2019 2021 $ Increase % Increase
1 Moggill $448,800 $3,964,300 $            3,515,500 783%
2 Upper Kedron $41,800 $268,200 $               226,400 542%
3 Doolandella $729,100 $3,490,000 $            2,760,900 379%
4 Upper Brookfield $35,200 $96,600 $                 61,400 174%
5 South Brisbane $111,585,600 $288,372,900 $        176,787,300 158%
6 Stafford Heights $357,900 $846,700 $               488,800 137%
7 Willawong $1,740,700 $4,030,000 $            2,289,300 132%
8 Yeerongpilly $1,553,000 $3,592,700 $            2,039,700 131%
9 Nudgee Beach $67,000 $153,700 $                 86,700 129%
10 Pinkenba $23,729,100 $52,948,800 $          29,219,700 123%

 

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