Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Saturday 16 March is the date of local council elections across my home state of Queensland. Ordinary people are struggling with the cost of living, rising rents and interest rates and a shortage of affordable housing, and yet they feel like politicians are designing laws that suit their own interests and the interests of corporate donors. But together we can change that. Almost half of Brisbane's 900,000 voters are currently represented by a Greens MP at the federal level. Since 2004 the Greens vote across Brisbane City Council wards has increased from 10.2 per cent to 17.8 per cent. This election, the Greens are on track to win anywhere between two and 10 wards. In many wards, we're only a few hundred votes away from getting Greens representation. Now, more than ever, every vote counts.

The LNP have dominated Brisbane City Council for 20 years, and change is sorely needed. The Brisbane council have spent far too long putting profit before people. Last year the LNP, with the support of the handful of Labor councillors, voted to pass huge tax cuts for big developers. Only Greens councillor for the Gabba Ward Trina Massey voted against them. In the biggest coincidence of all time, less than one month after giving developers a big tax cut, the LNP announced that they'd also be cutting services and crucial infrastructure for the people of Brisbane. Anyone who has walked across Victoria Bridge, which connects South Bank to Brisbane CBD, in summertime can attest to the need for shade. Unfortunately, that vitally needed infrastructure was also cut to make savings for a tax cut for developers.

Greens candidates are fighting to give residents a voice in what happens to their city. Unlike Labor and the LNP, we're not afraid to stand up to big developers. Paving over flood plains to build luxury penthouses is not sustainable development, and nor is being stuck in the past when it comes to public transport. The LNP have spent their entire time in power on council wasting billions on never-ending road-widening projects that make traffic jams worse, while neglecting public transport and cutting funding for safer pedestrian walkways, accessible footpaths and bike lanes. The only long-term solution to traffic congestion is making public transport a real and affordable choice for people and getting cars off the road. But, according to the current deputy mayor, traffic calming, pedestrian crossings and bike lanes are a radical agenda. We clearly have different definitions of the word 'radical', because I fail to see how making streets safer for people to walk or ride a bike on falls into that category.

Change is sorely needed in Brisbane. Rents, mortgages and the cost of living are out of control, with more and more people seeking refuge from the housing crisis in tents in parks and along the river in our city. Governments at all levels have failed to tackle the housing crisis, and there are plenty of levers for local councils to pull to make things better for people who are struggling to find or to keep a roof over their heads. We've said it before and we'll say it again: unlimited rent rises should be illegal. We can free up rental properties by cracking down on Airbnbs. We can use rates to ensure that investors are disincentivised from using properties that should be homes as short-term accommodation. We can stop empty homes from sitting empty while people sleep in cars and tents. We can stop big developers 'land banking' to chase big profits and keep prices high instead of building homes. We can stop handing tax cuts to big developers and build homes that residents can rent and buy affordably. That's what Greens city council candidates are fighting for—for councils to actually help to fix the housing crisis and to take action on the climate crisis.

We Greens have incredible candidates running right across the state. Starting in Brisbane City Council, former Greens councillor for the Gabba, Jonathan Sriranganathan, is our Greens candidate for Mayor of Brisbane. Jono's replacement as councillor for The Gabba ward, Trina Massey, is a proud queer woman. She's an immigrant of Filipino and African-American ethnicity. She's also an arts and creative industries administrator, a DJ and a renter.

We desperately need more women in politics—women of colour, First Nations women, women with disability, older women, single mums, grandmas, young women and trans women. We need to ensure that all levels of government reflect the diversity and experiences of our community. I am so proud that our council candidates, both in Brisbane and throughout the state, are made up of a really diverse group of people, with so many women and people of colour amongst them.

Seal Chong Wah is the Greens candidate for Paddington. She became active in politics after becoming frustrated with the government's lack of action on the climate crisis. I know that feeling. She wants to ensure that Brisbane City Council is doing everything possible to prepare for and protect our communities from the heat waves and floods that those of us who live in Queensland know all too well. She is an incredible woman of colour, a mum and a proud local advocate, and I know she would be brilliant as the councillor for Paddington ward.

Michaela Sargent is another outstanding candidate who's running again in Walter Taylor after she came so close to winning it in 2020. She has worked for decades in international development, helping women and families, and she is running to win, and to continue the fight for better outcomes on development, local infrastructure and public space.

The delightful Wendy Aghdam needs just 1,000 votes to win Central ward for the Greens. She is a youth mental health nurse who has worked with thousands of young Queenslanders and their families, helping them navigate complex systems during challenging times in their lives.

The very gracious Bundjalung and Yuggera man David Ford has lived in the Holland Park area for over 40 years, and he is now seeking to represent that ward as a councillor. As a BCC employee, David knows firsthand the public services in our city and he understands just how important it is to maintain and expand them for people.

In the ward of Coorparoo, midwife the incredible Kath Angus needs 300 votes to win that ward for the Greens. After the community's long and hard fight against the Gabba redevelopment, particularly the part of it that would have seen 130-year-old East Brisbane State School demolished, I reckon there's a real appetite in that area for someone on council who is on their side.

In Enoggera, the impressive Quintessa Denniz is running as the Greens candidate. She's a woman of colour and a young lawyer who is a strong advocate for systemic change.

Tiana Peneha is the Greens candidate for Northgate. She's a woman of colour as well and she has spent 15 years volunteering in her local community.

In Morningside, Linda Barry is campaigning for better town planning. Her community is facing overcrowded schools, diminished green space, traffic congestion and a lack of public and safe active transport. She wants to be part of the solutions through community consultation.

Bel Ellis is the Greens candidate for Wynnum Manly. She is a local bookstore owner, and she is running to make the bayside a better place to live and work. She has run a strong campaign already, and this area deserves that passionate representation.

In Pullenvale, Charles Druckmann is the Greens candidate. He's an urban and environmental planner who could use that expert knowledge to great effect to help the local area and to shape a better Brisbane.

River Kearns is the Greens candidate for Tennyson. As a proud nonbinary person with disabilities, they hope to use their experience of vision impairment and neurodiversity to shape a more inclusive and appropriate service delivery for our community. Representation for our diverse community really matters.

Ann Aitken is our delightful Greens candidate for The Gap. She's a warm and intelligent woman who decided to stand for the Greens after seeing record temperatures and devastating bushfires in Australia and across the world.

Andrea Wildin is the excellent Greens candidate for Calamvale. She has worked on interventions to prevent domestic and family violence and coercive control. Power to you, Andrea, on this much needed work.

While many eyes are on the outcome of Brisbane City Council elections, the Greens are running candidates in Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Scenic Rim, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Townsville councils too. On the Sunshine Coast, the wonderful Tracy Burton is the Greens candidate for Sunshine Coast Division 5. Tracy has dedicated her life to caring for people as a nurse, as a local high school teacher for 20 years, and now professionally working in the disability sector. While the council in the sunny coast has allowed dodgy developers to have a free ride across the Hinterland, Tracy has spent years fighting for the environment to be protected and for communities to be heard. I have known Tracey for more than 10 years and I know that she will be an incredibly hardworking and effective councillor. Frankly, the people of the Sunshine Coast deserve to have more than one woman on council when there is 10 councillors. Our candidate for Ipswich Division 3, Danielle Mutton, has been a tireless advocate for her community, particularly in relation to the ongoing health and wellbeing issues posed by the local and toxic waste industry. Dani is a fighter and a hard worker. She'd be an outstanding councillor. At just 19 years of age, Benjamin Tiley, officially our youngest candidate, is seeking election in Townsville Division 9.

On 16 March, Brisbane can kick out a LNP Brisbane City Council that's hell-bent on giving tax cuts and special deals to developers at the expense of local services, and replace them with people that will fight for better public transport, more affordable housing and better public services and infrastructure. Throughout Queensland, we can see even more Greens on councils giving residents more direct control to participate on the issues that matter to them.