It was late in the day, in a cold, inhospitable place, King George Square in Brisbane, where once flourished fountains, grass and flowers, only now to become a hot concrete box, with a big brother screen above and a bar that turns up its music as soon as you start a rally for Palestinian human rights. I spoke with Jonathan Jonathan Sriranganathan the first mayoral candidate in Australia to raise Israel’s genocide in Gaza as an electoral issue. The Greens candidate questioned the complicity of Brisbane City Council for giving weapons manufacturers licence to set up shop within the perimeters of the city.
A strong candidate for mayor, Sriranganathan also had a message for activists challenging their antipathy for change via the ballot box.
We spoke about what Brisbane City Council could do to prevent weapons manufacturers from using land for their nefarious purposes, profit making from war. Let’s have a listen to what Jonathan has to say.
Speakers: Jonathan Sriranganathan, 4PR – Voice of the People
4PR – Voice of the People
Can you please introduce yourself?
Jonathan Sriranganathan
My name is Jonathan Sriranganathan. I’m the Greens candidate for mayor of Brisbane.
4PR – Voice of the People
You made a speech today at the Justice for Palestine rally, and you made Palestine an issue in the (Bribane City Council) elections.
Jonathan Sriranganathan
That’s right. I highlighted to people that they can send a message to Labor and the Liberals in terms of how they vote at the local government election. I guess I would point out that in a way, Adrian Schrinner already made this a local council election (issue) back on the 8th of October, when he lit up the city’s major landmarks blue and white and posted that he stood with Israel.
The current mayor has very clearly signaled his allegiances on on this issue. And so I think in that context, it’s particularly important for other council candidates to declare where they stand. But what I was highlighting, in particular was that the council does have significant economic power and significant cultural power and social power in terms of the messages it sends to both the business sector and the broader public.
And to have the largest city council if if we had the largest city council in Australia, come out, and clearly say that it stands with Palestine, and it stands against genocide, that would send huge ramifications through the Australian political establishment because to date, none of the capital city mayors have been vocal at all in on this issue, even though it is clearly of concern to 1000s and 1000s of residents. And that’s, you know, one of the points of local government is not just to collect the wheelie bins and fix the potholes it is to speak up to higher levels of government about whatever issues local residents are concerned about.
And we see local governments all the time advocating on state and federal issues that are outside of their remit like it is it’s very common for mayors to talk about youth crime, for example, and demand more state and federal funding for police even though that’s obviously not a local council issue. So there’s plenty of precedents of local governments showing leadership and and engaging in advocacy on issues that might be considered outside their immediate field of responsibilities. And certainly, this is a space where BCC should be taking a much stronger stand.
The council annual budget is worth $4.3 billion. And the council gives hundreds of millions of dollars a year to private sector companies in tenders and contracts. And it would send a very strong signal if the Council started to investigate all the companies that it does business with, and identify those companies that are in in any way endorsing or profiting from the genocide of the Palestinians and refusing to do business with those companies.
We don’t know right now, whether there are many, if any companies that are directly complicit in the genocide, but we do you know that Brisbane City Council is actively supporting the expansion of the weapons manufacturing industry in Brisbane. And that BCC is responsible for the development approvals and the land use controls that allow weapons manufacturing to occur in this city.
So the Council at the very least could take a stronger position in standing up to the weapons industry rather than actively supporting it.
4PR – Voice of the People
Is the Brisbane City Council in contempt of the International Court of Justice ruling not to be complicit in the genocide?
Jonathan Sriranganathan
I think the legal scholars would probably say no, because the council has not directly and actively supported genocide. The furthest they’ve gone is to post content saying, I stand with Israel, but morally I definitely think they’re complicit and, and are in fact, through their silence on the matter.
And their refusal to say anything subsequent to that “I stand with Israel” posts from the Lord Mayor, they are essentially endorsing the status quo that the political establishment is insisting on. I should also add that a few months ago, it seems an internal decision was made within Brisbane City Council that the phrase “Free Palestine” and the public display of graffiti that endorsed the Palestinian liberation struggle was offensive graffiti.
So the council has a general rule of removing all graffiti but it prioritizes the removal of graffiti and posters that are deemed offensive. And by deciding that the Palestinian flag and Palestinian slogans constitute offensive graffiti, the council was very clearly signaling where it stood on this in this space. And it’s the fact that 1000s of dollars of ratepayer funds have been spent on for example: cleaning up the Palestinian flag every time it’s painted at the intersection of Boundary Street and vulture Street, very, very clearly highlights that the council’s priorities are way out of step with the majority of residents.
4PR – Voice of the People
Does the Brisbane City Council license the use of land … talking now about
weapons manufacturers at Tingalpa, Ferra Engineering, making bomb parts (and )
Boeing at the University of Queensland. Does it provide a licence for them to
use that land in that way?
Jonathan Sriranganathan
I believe the City Council provides a social licence, they also have to give development approval for any change of use to a site. So when a new weapons factory is established, they’re required to apply to the city council for development approval, and the council does have the ability to withhold that approval for fairly broad grounds.
So yes, in that way, the council is approving these weapons manufacturing industries from setting up and operating in the city, it would be seen by some as unusual for the council to use the development assessment framework to limit socially unjust activities.
And if the council starts doing that on weapons manufacturing, there are a lot of other industries that the council should also be cracking down on. But yeah, the council does tacitly and directly approve these industries to operate in Brisbane, including Ferra at Tingalpa.
4PR – Voice of the People
If elected as Lord Mayor, would you attempt to stop Ferra Engineering for manufacturing bomb parts?
Jonathan Sriranganathan
I certainly would. And even if the council didn’t have the legal mechanisms available to do so now that the company already has its approvals, I would still support direct action and protest to target that business be the challenge we have is that once an industry or a business gets approval to operate on on their side, it’s difficult for the council to then withdraw that approval unless they can find some technical non compliance with it. But I would certainly look for every opportunity to withdraw those approvals.
4PR – Voice of the People
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Jonathan Sriranganathan
Just that I think it’s important that we … I’ve seen some rhetoric in activist spaces about how we, we shouldn’t put too much faith in electoralism, and we need to focus on other institutions. But I would point out that all institutions are in some way, complicit or corruptible, whether it’s unions or academic institutions, or NGOs, all of these entities, complicit in colonial capitalism in one way or another. And so we shouldn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good and we need to recognize that the city council election campaign is a very real and material opportunity to amplify the Palestinian struggle and send a very strong message to the two major political parties because this is the first big election campaign since the 2022 federal election, at least here in Brisbane. And the results of this city council campaign will have ramifications far beyond the boundaries of the city itself.
4PR – Voice of the People
This is the 16th mass rally (over a period of 18 weeks) that we’ve had in support of Palestine. Do you think that your plea today will have an effect electorally?
Jonathan Sriranganathan
I hope so I think most people who are coming to the rallies at this point probably aren’t voting for labor or the liberals. But if they start talking to their friends and family members about this, that does have the potential to shift a lot of votes. And if you know if everyone at this rally, went and talked to 10 friends and convince them to change who they vote for that that could be enough to swing the city in our favor. Cool. Thanks. ..
4PR – Voice of the People
I hope you win …
Jonathan Sriranganathan
Yeah, me too. Cheers.
Ian Curr
18 Feb 2024
Big Ride for Palestine