At a Special Meeting, councillors endorsed the Mayor's trip, which is fully funded by the SEQ Council of Mayors. Cr Stewart is paying any other espenses personally.
The delegation is poised to meet with key officials including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Metro Vancouver senior transport officials and newly appointed Wisk Aero CEO, Dr. Brian Yutko.
The group will explore emerging examples of Olympic and Paralympic legacy, as well as innovative responses to public transport, waste management, housing affordability and growth during the 11-day mission.
Council of Mayors (SEQ) Chair, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games were an incredible opportunity to address the challenges of growth, affordability and connectivity facing the south east corner.
“South East Queensland is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and that’s only going to increase as we get closer to the Brisbane 2032 Games,” Cr Schrinner said.
“Learning how other host cities are using their Games to deliver long-term advantages for their residents is an important step on the runway to Brisbane 2032.
“We want Brisbane 2032 to be the best Games ever but we also want to ensure the legacy continues for many years after the event. “To make sure that happens, we need to better understand the things that have and are working well for other regions, and more importantly, the things they would do differently. We’re also keen to understand their
legacy focus, and how they’re dealing with challenges at a local level.
"I am honoured to have the opportunity to represent our Shire and undertake duties as part of my resolved additional representative position on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Organising Committee at this delegation.
This delegation is being funded by the SEQ COM but any ancillary and out-of-pocket expenses, including travel, will be paid by me personally, because this delegation is too important not to be a part of., " Cr Stewart said.
Cr Schrinner said the Mayors would also be looking to strengthen and formalise partnerships, and discuss new opportunities for trade and investment.
He said he was excited to visit manufacturing and test flight facilities of Boeing-backed Advanced Air Mobility company Wisk Aero.
“In July last year we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Wisk Aero which will see us working together to support the introduction of autonomous air taxi service to south east Queensland,” he said.
“Not only does this emerging future industry have enormous potential for commuters, there is also enormous economic opportunities.”
During the mission, Cr Stewart and the delegation will examine regional and coordinated approaches to growth management, housing affordability, sustainability, waste management and resource recovery (including clean technologies and the circular economy).
Metro Vancouver is well advanced on their journey towards a circular economy with their green bins, which save food scraps, 420,000 tonnes just last year, from ending up in landfill. By using these green bins, residents have prevented 1.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses, equivalent to removing 250,000 cars off the road, since 2015.
"Waste management is a big priority for Noosa Council and the learnings from this delegation can provide a blueprint for what we can expect as we work to implement our South East Queensland Waste Management Plan, including the rollout of local food waste recycling services," she said.
