Dear neighbour,

This is my last email newsletter before the Council election, and I want to thank you all for the privilege of serving as your Councillor these past 10 months. The past year has been incredibly challenging for many, with median rents rising by 20%, grocery bills skyrocketing, and genocides unfurling in real time in Palestine, Sudan, West Papua, and the Congo.

Throughout these hardships have I seen incredible displays of care, compassion, solidarity, and action from our community, and a strong commitment to a positive vision for the Gabba Ward. While I would be honoured to continue serving you in this capacity to bring the vision to life, no matter the outcome on Saturday, I will never stop fighting for a more equitable, just, and democratic society that puts communities first.

I have been sharing my local priorities via Facebook and Instagram. In case you missed them, you can read about them on my website:

• Lowering rents and building new housing
• Free and frequent public transport
• New parks and greenspace
• Safer streets for cycling and walking
• Investing in culture and community

Housing and cost of living

Should we break up the supermarket duopoly?

Coles and Woolies have been making billions in profits while our grocery bills go up and up. They’re increasing their profit margins and making you pay more than you need to.

I have lost count of the number of residents who tell me they have had to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table. In a wealthy country like Australia, it is unacceptable that anyone in our community goes hungry.

Our State MP Amy MacMahon’s office is running a survey to find out what urgent action you think the government should take against price-gouging supermarket giants. Please share your thoughts!

Lowering the rent with new public housing

I want to flood the housing market with so many new homes that rents have to fall. I want to provide people with options to secure high-quality, long-term housing through a public developer as an alternative to the private market. Can you imagine if other essentials like education or healthcare could only be sourced privately? That’s why I am proud to support these two new initiatives from last week to tackle the housing crisis and bring the rent down:

• 4,000 new Council-owned public homes at the Eagle Farm racecourse site, half provided to the State’s social housing waiting list at 25% of household income, and half as publicly-owned affordable housing capped at 30% below-market rent
• A Federal public property developer to build 360,000 homes by 2029, 30% available to purchase at just over cost of construction, and 70% build-to-rent with rents capped at 25% of household income

These ideas are nothing radical, and our governments have made ambitious commitments to public housing in the past - but we are decades behind. Private developers are raking in record profits from the worst housing crisis since the great depression. Developers helped create this crisis and have no interest in fixing it. That’s why all levels of government need to stand up to the development industry and commit to housing people directly.

Hampstead Road Community Workshop

Last year I secured funding to produce a concept design for a reimagined Hampstead Road. The project aims to increase greenspace and provide protected bike lanes while retaining parking and traffic flow. 

Council's standard process is to produce concept designs without any community engagement. This often results in designs which do not align with community expectations. To avoid this happening for Hampstead Road, my office organised a workshop on Sunday 25 March to develop community priorities for this project.

About 50 residents attended the workshop. Attendees were provided with more information about the project, and had group discussions about what they hope to see for Hampstead Road. It was a wonderful morning with great conversations all around. You can read a summary of the results here.

I’m running a follow up survey to better understand how residents use existing pedestrian crossings on Hampstead Road, and what improvements they need. If you cross Hampstead Road, tell me what you think!

Dockside boardwalk update

The Dockside boardwalk in Kangaroo Point has been closed to the public for almost a whole year for repairs by the private operator. In that time, required repairs have not been carried out, nor have I seen any evidence of it even starting. This debacle demonstrates yet again why privatising public assets leads to negative outcomes for ordinary people and the community.

The boardwalk is owned by the Queensland State Government and leased to a private operator who is responsible for maintenance. After advising Amy MacMahon MP they were taking the lessee to court in December 2023, the Labor State Government has now withdrawn the case and given the lessee until September 2024 to repair the boardwalk. After a year of broken promises from the lessee, and no retributive action from the government, why Labor believes the work will be completed in good faith in the next 6 months is beyond me.

The lessee has ignored many previous deadlines, so there is zero guarantee the boardwalk will re-open in September. Private operators and the State Labor government have both proven themselves incapable of effectively managing local public assets like the Dockside boardwalk.

In my view, the lessee should be taken to court to strip them of their lease, and Brisbane City Council should take over as leaseholder - one who is accountable to the public. Council successfully manages the New Farm riverwalk and there is no reason they should not manage Dockside as well.

Concerned residents in Kangaroo Point have already started putting pressure on State Labor, and they have produced some helpful materials you can access in this folder. Make sure you customise the pro forma letter so your email has the most impact.

Amy and I will be supporting these actions, and we would love it if anyone who is similarly frustrated about the Dockside boardwalk closure could help out by sending an email to the responsible Minister, Scott Stewart MP ([email protected]). Please copy in my office ([email protected]) and Amy’s office ([email protected]) so we can keep track of how many emails have been sent.

People’s Park kiosk and toilets upgrade

Last year I secured funding to upgrade the kiosk and toilets in People’s Park on Boundary Street, West End. The kiosk could be an important community hub and outreach centre, but has struggled to live up to its potential because its old design is no longer fit for purpose.

My preference was for the park to remain partially open during upgrades, but unfortunately this was not feasible. The park and toilets are now set to close from Monday 18 March until Thursday 28 March (weather permitting). While the park is closed, the nearest public toilets are in Bunyapa Park.

Council Elections - where can I vote?

The Brisbane City Council elections are this Saturday, 16 March. Voting opens at 8am and the polls close at 6pm. Below is a list of all the voting centres in the Gabba Ward. You can access a full list of polling booths at this link.

• West End State School: 24 Vulture Street (entry via Hardgrave Road / Jane Street), WEST END
• St Francis of Assisi Church Hall: 47 Dornoch Terrace, WEST END
• Brisbane State High School: Cnr Vulture & Ernest Streets (entry via Vulture Street gates), SOUTH BRISBANE
• Dutton Park State School Hall: 112 Annerley Road, DUTTON PARK
• Nazareth Lutheran Church Hall: 12 Hawthorne Street, WOOLLOONGABBA
• Kangaroo Point Uniting Church Hall: 46 Linton Street, KANGAROO POINT

Early voting will also continue on Friday, 15 March at 42 Manning Street, SOUTH BRISBANE from 9am to 6pm.

If you need assistance voting remotely, you can register for a telephone vote by calling 1300 912 782. You must register before midday on Saturday, 16 March.

See you around the neighbourhood!

Best,

Trina