Lord Mayor of Brisbane
The 1991 election was a close election with Soorley just edging out then-Lord Mayor of Brisbane,Sallyanne Atkinson [3] through the preferences of Drew Hutton,the Greens candidate. Soorley was not expected to wrest the Lord Mayoralty from the very popular first female (and first Liberal Party) mayor of Brisbane. The transition period between Atkinson's administration and the incoming Soorley administration was difficult,with the outgoing Atkinson refusing to believe she had lost the election for many weeks afterward.
Soorley also instituted a number of institutional changes including a 24/7 Call Centre;"business style" accounting for budgets and annual reporting,enterprise bargaining,significant changes to leave and other entitlements, [4] increased employment opportunities through increased apprenticeships,traineeships and community jobs programs,including a nationally awarded program for "at risk youth" who were recovering from drug addiction,as well as a shift from Brisbane Council being only concerned with "rates,roads,rubbish" to taking on issues such as drug use,homelessness,domestic violence and social justice.
In 1995,Soorley ended Brisbane's sister city relationship with the French Riviera town of Nice due to France's resumption of nuclear testing,a move which he described as a "symbolic protest." [5] [6]
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