REDLAND City Mayor Jos Mitchell has defended an upcoming 10-day international mission to Singapore, Manchester, and Paris, asserting that the trip will incur “no cost to the council”.
The February mission, organised by the Council of Mayors South East Queensland (COMSEQ), aims to promote the Redlands’ interests, including efforts to secure an Olympic-standard whitewater centre for the region.
Despite Cr Mitchell’s assurances, some local councillors have raised concerns about her claim that ratepayers would not be picking up the tab.
Councillor Tracey Huges questioned the claim that the trip would be entirely free for ratepayers, pointing out that Redland City contributes approximately $106,000 annually to COMSEQ.
She argued that while COMSEQ may cover the mayor’s direct travel expenses, residents are still indirectly funding the trip through the council’s contribution to the organisation.
“You’re making a very strong statement that there is no cost to ratepayers,” Cr Huges said.
“I feel that is misleading because we do pay COMSEQ from the (council) COMSEQ allocation.”
Cr Huges also criticised the mayor’s change in stance on overseas travel, referencing her previous election campaign comments where she had criticised “pointless overseas trips” and her lack of support for the whitewater centre.
Cr Mitchell responded by reaffirming that no additional costs would be passed on to the council, also highlighting that the council’s annual contribution to COMSEQ had resulted in $13.3 million in city deals for the Redlands.
The latest spotlight on travel costs comes after controversy in 2023 when Mayor Karen Williams flew business class, with ratepayers footing the bill.
It is believed the council was billed $16,000 by COMSEQ to upgrade Cr Williams’ travel from economy to business class.
In response to growing concerns about travel expenses, several mayors from the South East Queensland region had opted for more economical travel arrangements for the upcoming delegation, requesting to fly economy class both ways to avoid extra costs for ratepayers.
However, following discussions within COMSEQ, a decision was made to cover the cost for all mayors in the delegation to fly business class for the outbound leg of the journey.
The reasoning is that mayors need to arrive well-rested to hit the ground running with a busy agenda.
Cr Mitchell has confirmed that while she will travel business class to the event, she will return in premium economy.
She said her choice to fly premium economy on the return trip was to avoid extra costs, noting other mayors had also opted for economy to keep expenses down.
Cr Mitchell confirmed that the expense of bringing an executive officer overseas to assist with the demanding schedule was considered an operational cost for the council, and did not form part of her travel arrangements.
The Redland City News understands that the total cost for the staff member to accompany her on this trip is $8636.45 for flights and accommodation, with likely additional costs for meals and incidentals.
Should the mayor be unable to attend the mission due to a current family illness, the deputy mayor will attend in her place, meaning new flights would need to be purchased at council’s expense.
Cr Mitchell said she would make a decision on her participation shortly.
She has also yet to decide whether she will extend her trip by taking personal leave at the end of the overseas mission.
KEY FOCUS AREAS:
Singapore
- Mass transit network
- Green development/buildings and innovations
Manchester
- Growth funding models and evolution of funding agreements
- Strategic spatial planning and locally controlled integrated travel network
Paris
Post-2024 Olympic observatory, including:
- Performance of “eco-friendly Games”
- Legacy and community engagement
