Opinion: Builder Quirk faces inner-city backlash

BRISBANE Lord Mayor Graham Quirk faces his biggest electoral challenge if he does proceed with a final tilt at the top job in 2020, writes Peter Gleeson.

BRISBANE Lord Mayor Graham Quirk faces his biggest electoral challenge if he does proceed with a final tilt at the top job in 2020.

Cr Quirk has said he will run for lord mayor again, then step down before the 2024 election. But my Liberal Party sources say they are concerned that Cr Quirk is overstaying his welcome.

Quirk to quit

Sexism claims

The long-serving Brisbane City Council representative is facing a public backlash to a planning policy which many believe has made parts of inner Brisbane unliveable.

Many residents living within 10km of the CBD are concerned about so-called over-development, particularly units popping up willy nilly in their neighbourhoods, creating parking issues.

It’s well established that suburbs such as Newstead, Teneriffe, Camp Hill, Coorparoo, Fortitude Valley, New Farm and others have acute growing pains, off the back of a massive oversupply of units. Liberal sources say it’s now the No.1 issue facing City Hall.

And the people blame Cr Quirk. There’s also a belief that there may be an “it’s time’’ factor with Cr Quirk and let’s not forget that in the recent state election Brisbane was bathed in red, not blue, with the Palaszczuk Government sweeping the state’s capital to land the prize.

Then there’s this latest controversy of Cr Quirk taking the luxury of incumbency to another level.

His recent advertising blitzkrieg touting the latest big council projects has raised eyebrows, although it must be said he’s not breaking the law.

In fact, it could be argued that if Labor were running City Hall they’d be doing exactly the same thing.

Labor estimates that seven million pieces of paper featuring a photo of Graham Quirk hits Brisbane letterboxes each year.

Liberal Party sources believe Graham Quirk may have overstayed his welcome as lord mayor.

On top of that there is saturation television, print, billboards and online ads, most adorned with Cr Quirk’s smiling face.

The LNP has spent $2.1 million on the Plan Your Brisbane advertising campaign while the Getting You Home Quicker and Safer campaign cost $650,000 over three months to July.

Plan Your Brisbane came up with the stunning revelation that Brisbane residents don’t want their city ruined by overdevelopment.

Who knows what the Eight Principles campaign is costing.

Cr Quirk justifies it by saying former lord mayor Clem Jones used to go on TV half a century ago to spruik his major projects.

The fact that Cr Quirk’s most recent letterbox drops coincided with his announcement that he will contest the 2020 mayoralty is probably coincidental.

While Cr Quirk it not doing anything illegal, there is an argument that he is pushing the envelope from a moral and ethical viewpoint.

What it demonstrates is that the luxury of incumbency and having the numbers has never been more important.

Let me elaborate. When I covered the Gold Coast City Council in the 1990s, aldermen as they were then known had this little rort which they called “divisional funds’’, a pot of money they could use at their discretion on whatever their heart desired. They still have it.

It was usually between $400,000 and $600,000 annually and it was jealously guarded by aldermen because it was their own little slice of pork-barrelling heaven. Ten grand here for the local bowls club to paint their fence, four grand there for the local soccer club to buy new goals.

And when the project was completed, there was the obligatory photo in the local press with the president of the club and the alderman.

It was all good, positive stuff and the aldermen would argue that they were best placed to disburse the funds, which does make sense.

But it was a wonderful way to solidify and entrench themselves within the community and it underlined why, on the Gold Coast at least, very few sitting councillors were beaten come election time.

Then there’s having the numbers. In the early 1980s I wasn’t old enough to vote but I was covering Grafton City Council for the local paper.

After my first meeting, the then Mayor Gordon Jabour, a wily 10-year veteran in the top job, invited several aldermen and myself into his office for a cup of tea.

We were talking about a particular motion getting through on Alderman Jabour’s casting vote, and he said: “Son, politics is all about the numbers. If we get the numbers, we can burn down City Hall.’’

The message was clear. Graham Quirk has the numbers. He’s the incumbent. As long as it is legal, he can send out pretty, glossy pamphlets every day if he so desires.

Whether the voters mark him down for his grandiosity is another thing.

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OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND

THE latest report from Eagle Farm is that the new turf surface has grown 2cm since being laid earlier in the year.

Based on that stunning progress, I’m not sure when we’ll be back there.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Jockey Club goes from strength to strength with the opening of the Conghua Racecourse, in Guangdong, mainland China.

The club celebrated this momentous occasion at an opening ceremony attended by more than 500 guests, including government officials from the mainland.

Situated in the Conghua district of Guangzhou, Conghua Racecourse is the first world-class racecourse and thoroughbred training centre in mainland China.

Operating as part of a dual-site model, Conghua Racecourse complements the existing training centre at Sha Tin.

This is big news. The Chinese love a punt and opening a racecourse in mainland China opens up enormous opportunities for the Hong Kong club.

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FUNDING CUTBACK A BOLD MOVE

FRASER Anning is a boofhead. A bona fide political dinosaur with no moral compass and little conception of what constitutes offensive behaviour.

To use the words “final solution’’ in any public comment is not naivety but rare stupidity from a man who clearly has no place in Canberra.

The fact that Katter’s Australian Party keeps him on its books says as much about the Katters as it does about Anning.

But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has erred by taking KAP’s funding for his racist comments.

When governments start taking away entitlements from other parties based on moral grounds, it sets a precedent that can only end in tears.

Not everybody supports the termination of babies at 22 weeks, yet the Government’s proposed legislation is heading down that path. Not everybody supports euthanasia.

The Premier made it clear recently during Parliament that stripping KAP of its staffing entitlements was on the cards.

“Yes, I can say that I will be reviewing that arrangement (staff entitlements) as well,” she told Parliament.

KAP is not my cup of tea, nor is Anning. But they have three state MPs who have been democratically elected by Queenslanders to represent their interests and they deserve proper staffing to deliver on their policy platforms.

If the Premier wanted to take away their funding because they don’t have official party status, that’s her call. But linking it to ill-informed comments made by a party member is not good politics.

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SOUTHERN EVENT SECURITY BILL OUTSTANDING

THE Brisbane-based convener of the Lauren Southern event in Melbourne says he won’t be paying a $64,000 security bill imposed by Victorian police. And why would he? Dave Pellowe says it wasn’t Southern’s fault that there was a fracas. Southern is a right-wing spruiker. Victorian police have bigger fish to fry than fining Pellowe. They could start by arresting gang members who have turned Melbourne into a dangerous place after dark.

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QBCC SENIOR MANAGER STOOD ASIDE

PROBLEMS at the Queensland Building and Construction Commission. A senior manager was stood aside – then redeployed in another role – after an harassment complaint. The complaint arose from a function organised outside the workplace. Alcohol consumption was a recurring theme within the complaint. The accused has been the target of several complaints of a similar nature. It’s understood the complainant has sought the advice of the Together union and a law firm.

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HANSON LEADS PACK AT BIRDSVILLE RACES

PAULINE Hanson was spotted at the Birdsville races with three beefy security guards in tow. She’s clever. No sign of any National Party types there. It doesn’t get more Australian than the Birdsville races and it’s those punters who are defecting from the Nats and going to parties like Hanson and KAP.

Also spotted at Birdsville was none other than Sky News anchor Paul Murray, who has the highest rating show on Foxtel.