Redland City Mayor Jocelyn Mitchell has publicly questioned the value of the Redlands Investment Corporation (RIC), telling residents she wants a “whole-of-organisation” shake-up to determine whether the council-owned company is delivering genuine benefits for the community.
In a video message, Cr Mitchell said she had spent the past 20 months scrutinising the Redlands Investment Corporation — known colloquially as “RIC” — amid growing concern about its cost, effectiveness and purpose more than a decade after it was created.
“RIC was formed back in 2014 by Redland City Council, and its mandate at the time was to create revenue for council,” she said.
“Over the years, that has changed a little.”
Originally designed as a commercial arm tasked with generating income, RIC’s role was dramatically wound back several years ago, leaving it responsible for just three major projects: the Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area, the Weinam Creek PDA, and the Capalaba Town Centre redevelopment.
A later vote of council added the Cleveland redevelopment precinct back onto its books.
Cr Mitchell said those shifts in purpose — and the millions in ratepayer funds that have flowed into the organisation over the years — warranted a clear-eyed reassessment.
“Since I’ve been in for the last 20 months, I’ve been very interested in looking at RIC, and to get an understanding of the cost–benefit to our community and to our ratepayers,” she said.
The Mayor confirmed she had pushed for a comprehensive “whole-of-organisation review” of council and its entities, which is now underway and includes RIC.
“I think it is very important to ensure that council and all entities that are part of council work wholly and solely — and efficiently and cost effectively — for our community and our ratepayers,” she said.
The comments mark one of the strongest public signals yet that the future of RIC may be up for debate, as councillors prepare to consider the findings of the review next year.
