Other Issues / Announcements

If there are any Labor supporters out there who are still genuinely concerned about climate justice, please understand that Queensland Labor is part of the problem, and will not shift unless it loses votes...

At first glance, Aria’s recently-proposed highrise development for 23 to 25 Glenelg St, South Brisbane looks like the kind of development that Greens councillors like me should be cheerleading for: rooftop solar panels, green...

Expressions of interest for various mural locations in the Gabba Ward close on Monday, 12 October, 2020 Instead of spending it all on concrete and bitumen, we’re allocating a chunk of my local public...

Brisbane City Council’s annual budget looks a little different for the 2020/21 financial year, but in many respects, it embodies the same trends and values as previous council budgets. The budget includes a disproportionate...

A couple of months ago, the Queensland Greens announced a campaign initiative to increase mining royalties, which would direct a much larger share of mining profits back into paying for public infrastructure and services....

Right now, many of us are forced to lead lives that are economically precarious and environmentally and socially unsustainable. We work long hours to pay the bills, while not having enough time to volunteer...

We’ve produced a compilation album of songs recorded during the shutdown by bands and solo artists with strong connections to the Gabba Ward on Brisbane's inner-south side (i.e. the suburbs of West End, South Brisbane,...

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a few people have taken issue with my suggestion that Labor Senator Kristina Keneally’s opinion piece about immigration was advancing racist arguments. I shouldn’t need to start with this disclaimer, but: No,...

Let’s compare these two buildings shall we?   The tower on Scott St, Kangaroo Point in the first picture is over 15 storeys tall, and yet contains only 14 dwellings. They are large, high-end...

Greens members are currently deciding how we should select the leader of the Australian Greens. Should all members have a direct vote in choosing the leader, like in many other progressive parties around the...

In the past few weeks, I’ve had quite a few Greens supporters – particularly from interstate – ask me how we pulled off such big swings in the Brisbane City Council election on 28 March,...

Here’s another innovative yet common-sense solution to create more public green space in the inner-city… Let’s cover over the stretch of train line near Gloucester St and Frith St in Highgate Hill to create...

We've had some important wins with the Brisbane Metro project, including convincing council to make sure the new vehicles run on electricity rather than diesel. As I've explained previously, Brisbane Metro isn't perfect, but...

Last Friday, I spoke at a massive climate justice rally in the city. Somewhere between 6000 and 7000 people took to the streets. There was a crackling energy in the crowd. It felt powerful...

This week, I'm calling for the introduction of two new CityGlider routes to fill gaps in Brisbane’s public transport network. Getting from one suburb to another by bus or train is often a lot...

For several years now, we've been concerned about the growing proportion of residential homes - both apartments and free-standing houses - being converted into short-term accommodation. Increasingly in Queensland, we’re seeing more and more...

I kicked off 2020 by giving a morning talk at Woodford Folk Festival called ‘A Rough Work-in-Progress Blueprint for Revolution.’ Despite half the festival still being asleep or hungover from NYE celebrations, it was...

Cities shape every aspect of our lives, but ordinary citizens have very little power to influence the design and governance of our cities. Any movement to fundamentally change society has to be able to...

I gave this speech at our Cracks in the Concrete Ideas Fiesta on 27 August, 2016. It's interesting to look back on it now and think about how relevant these ideas still are three years...