Political debate is heating up across the river city as ratepayers get set to head to the polls on March 16 for the local government election.
Out of Australia’s 77 local government authorities, Brisbane is the most powerful when it comes to the size and responsibility of its elected councillors, taking on matters that typically belong to state governments in other parts of the nation.
Brisbane City Council is also the only Queensland council where the candidates party affiliations are printed on the ballot paper.
There are 26 wards across the local government area and 27 councillor positions, including Lord Mayor. Voting is compulsory in local government elections, where residents will receive separate ballot papers for their preferred ward councillor and Lord Mayor.
Over the last four years, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and the LNP has been in administration at BCC, holding 19 seats.
Labor’s Lord Mayor Candidate, Tracey Price has come out swinging since kicking off her campaign, highlighting the LNP’s budget cuts and financial mismanagement. The lawyer, small business owner and mother of three has been meeting with community members and spruiking Labor’s commitments to improve Brisbane’s suburbs relentlessly.
She’s highlighted the Schrinner administration’s 17 per cent increase in council rates and criticized $400 million in cuts made in 2023 as part of a budget blowout, saying those funds have left communities without vital services like drainage and mozzie spraying.
Price and Labor have committed to investing in suburban projects, as well as building buses locally and halving bus fares, investing in roads to bust congestion and repair the streets, develop a housing strategy, and improving Brisbane’s climate resilience by reinstating flood and drainage projects cut by the LNP.
The Greens Mayoral Candidate is former Gabba Councillor, Jonathan Sriranganathan. He’s spruiked cleaning up the Brisbane River in time for swimming at the 2032 Olympics, housing affordability, improving local transport and holding building developers accountable.
Other candidates for Lord Mayor include Clive Brazier from Legalise Cannabis Queensland and Independents Gilbert Holmes and Bruce Tanti.
Key dates:
Postal vote applications close – Monday 7pm 4 March 2024
Early voting* – Monday 4 March to 15 March 2024
(*early voting in rural and remote locations are likely to be less than a full two-week period. Details of dates, times and locations are available on the ECQ website.)
Election day – Saturday 8am to 6pm 16 March 2024
Close of return of postal votes – Tuesday 26 March 2024
