Our political system has been hijacked by big business. Council decisions routinely prioritise the interests of big corporations ahead of fairness, sustainability and the long-term public interest.
The next city council election is coming up in early March 2024. Over the coming six months, we'll be announcing initiatives covering a range of important issues for our city, from housing to transport to sustainable development and urban greening.
But our number 1 priority - the core value that underpins our entire vision for Brisbane - is that residents should have more direct and meaningful control over the future of our local communities and the wider metropolis.
Whether it’s big city-shaping decisions like "should we host the Olympics?" or urgent policy questions like "should investors be able to convert rental homes into Airbnbs?" right now the average Brisbanite barely gets consulted, and even when we do go to the trouble of making submissions or filling out surveys, we don't know whether our views will be taken seriously, or whether our perspectives will be ignored in favour of demands from the big end of town.
The Greens approach to local governance is grounded in grassroots participatory democracy - the principle that everyone who is affected by a decision or cares about an issue should get a meaningful say on the matter, with transparent access to relevant information, and without giving disproportionate weight to the views of property developers, wealthy elites or multinational corporations.
We want to use processes like direct community votes, participatory budgeting and collaborative design forums so that all of us have the opportunity to help shape the future of our city.
There's a lot more to local council than just fixing potholes and issuing parking fines.