Lord Mayor Newman’s Developer Windfall

Campbell Newman’s plan for highrise infill of the city over the next 20 years which the Queensland Property Council has welcomed with enthusiasm will destroy the character of the city of Brisbane. 

The Queensland Greens today warned that without appropriate setbacks, common areas and open green space, the highrise plan would destroy both the sense of community and the Brisbane sense of place. 

‘The tin and timber and child-friendly suburbs that have been one of the drivers of interstate migration will be lost forever,’ spokesperson for the Queensland Greens, Dr Libby Connors said today. 

‘It is outrageous to see the Property Council citing the success of urban renewal in South Brisbane when right next door the residents of West End are still fighting 20 storey building heights imposed against their wishes.’

The Queensland Greens say that developers will move in on riverside sites which will dwarf the river and hinder public access to it. 

They also fear that the imposition of 20 storeys in the inner city will block views to Mt Coot-tha which has been an identifying mark of the city and a symbol of its more relaxed lifestyle. 

‘The Greens have always supported higher densities in the city and along public transport nodes in order to save southeast Queensland’s bushlands and bio-diversity. 

‘The problem is that the Lord Mayor is giving the go-ahead to the Property Council without putting sufficient protections in place for residents or guarantees that the open spaces will be preserved,’ Dr Connors said. 

‘The lesson from West End and the Kurilpa Plan is that he cannot be trusted.’

Contact: Libby Connors 0429 487 110