Under the mask of the Olympics the Brisbane City Council and state government are privatising public areas. For example we were told that the Roma Street forum (Emma Miller place) near City Hall was to be left alone by the new cross river rail development. This was a lie.
We are also told that Kurilpa point at South Brisbane was to be a parkland area to accommodate the increase in population density in the South Brisbane and West End areas. This too was a lie. In both places former parks and gardens are to be replaced by stadiums and 90 story buildings reaching 270 metres into the air. Only to be surrounded by commercial and residential spaces for rich people. Who else can afford to live in luxury apartments in the centre of the city? Professional people and their sons and daughters who have gone to elite GPS schools. That’s who.
Here is a map showing proposed development of Emma Miller place.
Councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan had this to say about the new development in the Kurilpa point area:
“Today Adrian Schrinner (BCC Mayor) announced that he wanted to rezone some of the inner-city’s most floodprone land (along the South Brisbane riverfront) to allow 90-storey residential development (it was previously identified as future parkland.”
The relevant state government representative, Amy McMahon, had this to say:
“This community is jaded from the last decade of luxury developments that have swept through our neighbourhood. These developments have often come with the promise of new infrastructure and better housing affordability – but this has not happened. These have been blatant lies from property developers and governments.”
Local and state authorities are going against the wishes of the people that live in those areas. Otherwise why did the people vote and elect for representatives that oppose these plans.
This is an undemocratic money grab by rich developers.
Meanwhile, down the road, the state government has closed historic East Brisbane school which services a catchment around that area. You can see the parents walking their children to East Brisbane school. These are parents from diverse backgrounds and you can be sure that they are not wealthy. There is already a lot of mortgage stress in that area. All this is to be taken away and replaced by another giant stadium by demolishing the existing, perfectly adequate Gabba Stadium.
This is what democracy looks like.
Ian Curr
5 March 2023