Brisbane council election: Independent candidates Bruce Tanti, Gilbert Holmes

Brisbane’s independent mayoral candidates for the 2024 Local Government election Gilbert Holmes and Bruce Tanti reveal where they stand on roads, rubbish and housing and their plans if elected on March 16.

As Brisbane gears up for the 2024 Local Government elections, attention is drawn to the diverse range of mayoral candidates vying for the city’s leadership.

Five candidates are vying to become Brisbane’s next Lord Mayor, including two independent candidates Bruce Tanti and Gilbert Holmes.

Brisbane Council Election 2024 guide: Candidates, party promises, preference voting

They join Adrian Schrinner (LNP), Tracey Price (Labor) and Jonathan Sriranganathan (Greens).

The Courier-Mail has reached out to the fifth mayoral candidate, Clive Brazier of the Legalise Cannabis Party, but is yet to receive a response.

Who are Bruce Tanti and Gilbert Holmes and what do they envision for Brisbane City Council?

Meet Brisbane’s independent mayoral candidates for the 2024 Local Government Election.

GILBERT HOLMES

Why you’re running for mayor and your plans for Brisbane:

I have lived in Brisbane all my life (50 years). I have previously worked as a carpenter. As a teenager, I had a vision of yin yang polarity that informs my politics. I have a dual degree from UQ, with economics and political science (2016).

The starting point for my campaign is to look at how we think and understand ideals.

The last 500 years has been dominated by the ideology of liberal individualism. With his famous dictum, “I think therefore I am.” Descartes set the separate individual as the starting point for philosophy. From that basis, an ideal democracy was defined in terms of individual freedom, our rights were defined as belonging equally to every individual, and an ideal economics in terms of a free competition.

But we are both individual and community, cooperative and competitive.

With this polarity, ideals are found in balance. This has been described many times.

It is the “middle way” of Buddha, the ‘golden mean’ of Aristotle, Tao and the “straight path” of Islam. This balanced way provides a spiritual basis to my campaign.

It also supports my political analysis.

Balance supports both strong central governance and high levels of local political autonomy. Participatory governance in neighbourhoods and suburbs can be tiered up with a more directly democratic political system.

Independent candidate for the Brisbane City Council election Gilbert Holmes

In economics, both co-operation and co-operation are positive with balance. Either in excess is negative. Balance supports economically diverse local communities to the neighbourhood scale. This includes buying and selling, and with local people working together to manage their common interests.

This polar analysis provides the foundation for my policies. It should provide context to the specific answers to your questions. I’m starting with …

My main focus for Brisbane is to build strong communities. Toward this, my goal is to help build governance and economic capacity through neighbourhoods, suburbs and town centres. This includes supporting these local communities to:

- run welfare-supporting services such as aged, young and disability care, and to maintain housing in support of local needs.

- to manage locally what are currently council services, including maintaining streetscapes, parks and local roads.

- to own and manage common assets including recreational facilities such as pools and tennis courts, as well as productive businesses including farms, factories and shops selling local goods.

I also wish to see BCC invest in and directly manage diverse businesses on the larger scale. This could include a construction company, mines, large manufacturing facilities and electricity generation.

Overall, these goals support local patterns to daily life. It allows us to move toward being able to offer policies such as a local job guarantee. This approach, via balance, supports major reform in governance and economics.

Thoughts on and potential alliances with other parties:

I am not aligned with any political party or candidate.

I am a ‘centrist’, supporting both a progressive reform agenda, and maintaining a handle on conservative ethics. While criticising poor policy, I seek collegial engagement with any well-intentioned individuals and groups from across the political spectrum.

I am an environmentalist and support a reform agenda.

But I have campaigned vociferously against the Greens in particular. Most specifically I have challenged Jonathan Sriranganathan on his continuing support for the onshore processing of refugees.

Between 2008 and 2013, onshore processing provided a ‘pull factor’ that led 55,000 asylum seekers onto boats, with more than 1 in 50, around 1200 in total, dying at sea.

Greens’ hypocrisy also extends through identity politics especially, where their cliquey groupthink is supported by the shaming of people outside the clique as racist, misogynist, homophobic etc.

That attitude has tended to shut down moderate dialogue. Especially in relation to race politics, this has contributed to the rise in more extreme right wing ideologies. It is essential that we are enabled to engage in respectful, inclusive dialogue in relation to these issues.

The LNP are supposedly guardians of a look-after-our-own, conservative ethic.

But with their embrace of free, competitive markets, they have sold us out to the highest bidder.

Their strategy has undermined the socio-economic capital of our smaller, human-scaled communities, creating a society of increasingly isolated individuals and a deeply compromised ecology. Schrinner represents business as usual for that broken system.

Labor lacks a cohesive reform agenda. The best they hope for is a slightly more friendly face to the broken business-as-usual system.

Roads policy:

My key theme is to build governance and economic capacity through neighbourhoods, suburbs and town centres throughout Brisbane. This supports local patterns to daily life, moving us toward where we can offer policies such as a local job guarantee. Interactive communities open up social opportunities closer to home, while small and micro, locally focused businesses allow us to get what we need without driving across town.

I wish to build a Brisbane where people are better off if they don’t own a car. Toward this goal, local capacity building is necessarily supported by an effective public transport system. Subject to budgeting requirements, I also support policies that enable efficient, simple ‘active transport’ options such as walking, cycling and scooting.

I support local communities to increasingly look after their own requirements in terms of maintaining local roads, parks, streetscapes etc. BCC can support this through reserving a portion of the rates for those communities that wish to undertake that work.

Rubbish policy:

I support strategies to reduce waste. Vibrant and diverse local economies play a major role in that. Local factories and artisans can build products that are meant to last, and that can be maintained by local, either private or collective businesses. Local capacity to produce food can reduce packaging.

Much of the waste that is generated can also be dealt with locally. This is certainly the case with compostable materials.

Housing policy:

Housing is in crisis in Brisbane and beyond. Especially in recent decades, the price of housing has increased well ahead much faster than inflation. Younger and lower-income people are priced out of the market to either rent or buy, and homelessness is increasingly visible on the streets.

I support local communities to own and manage some housing stock in order to support the social needs of local people.

For BCC to run a large development and construction company to supply housing at cost. This can help to both increase supply and put downward pressure on all housing.

BRUCE TANTI

Why you’re running for mayor and your plans for Brisbane:

At the end of the day after four years in office, the people of Brisbane will be better off under my being Lord Mayor for that time.

That many of the aims are completed or on the road to completion.

That Brisbane will shine even more and that tourism will grow even more and people in other states will see Brisbane as a strong competitor.

That the elderly, the pensioners, those with disability won’t have to walk half a kilometre to get to a bus but instead walk only less than four hundred metres. That bus services and other public services are more frequent.

That the council along with myself are working as a team not for ourselves but for the electors of Brisbane.

Independent candidate for the Brisbane City Council mayor Bruce Tanti

AeroMovel or similar atmospheric rail systems are now servicing the people of Brisbane in the city and in the suburbs (joining the arms of the train line and servicing major and minor shopping centres that are along the way) and that the people and tourists are enjoying it and seeing it worthy of keeping and extending.

That employment is increased in council and in Brisbane itself.

That a new city observation tower and monument to the creator is now shining over Brisbane horizon for Brisbanites and tourists to enjoy the views.

That investors are pouring their currencies into Brisbane infrastructures.

That the homeless now have a shelter and living in a secure area whether in a secluded park (that wasn’t used or fully used by the public) living in either tents or in renovated old buses made into temporary homes for families.

That business are not closing down, that temporary lowering the rates to help them get back on their feet will mean that they can still keep on trading and providing the goods and services for Brisbanites. Once there on their feet to restore the rates back to present amounts.

For families that are facing bank eviction for they cannot pay their mortgages by lowering temporarily the city council rates that they will be able to afford paying off their mortgages and then restoring the rates back to its level when their families are back on their feet.

That any vacant council land is found. If feasible and viable and affordable to be rezone and developed this land into housing for new homeowners and that land is now being developed or is developed (with houses on it) for housing.

That the council Incentives given is enough for landholders of large land lots in mid to outer suburbs of Brisbane to consider subdividing their land and this subdivided land that is now free is rezoned for small housing lots and set up small housing communities built by small house (2-4 occupants max) firms. And that the houses are one to two stories high.

That I fulfil what I was sent to do.

Thoughts on and potential alliances with other parties:

At the moment and as it looks to the election date, I am not aligned with any candidates or political parties. No offers have been given to date. This has become even more evident that ALP has put me in fifth place. While the greens have put in 4th place and I’m not that better off under the LNP How to vote cards. So I am a maverick on their How to vote cards and their relations to me.

If elected as mayor, would you be willing to do any deals with other parties or candidates?

I would be willing to consider it if it means that Brisbane and its people will be the ones that benefit the most from it and the creator as well and not me or the political parties I negotiate with.

Roads:

Toll roads are reduced in number in Brisbane that we are able to do a deal with Linkt and the State Government and if it’s affordable to pay off the Go Between Bridge as it is under used not many want to pay the toll or can afford too, so that we can remove the bottleneck that occurs between Suncorp stadium to Victoria bridge and captain cook bridge during peak hour.

And look at other toll ways to reduce the toll or remove it (so the bridge will be free for commuters). altogether if it’s affordable and feasible again after negotiation with Linkt and the State Government.

CityCat ferries extended to as far as Jindalee (or maybe look even further to Riverhills and Bellbowrie if feasible and viable or use aero AreoMovel line from Jindalee to these places) and as far down river to Port of Brisbane. So as to relieve strain on the western freeway the Oxley road between Oxley and Indooroopilly and on the Warrego / Oxley motorway especially in peak hour.

Seal up potholes; look at material that will make the roads last longer and that is affordable and feasible if so then implement it.

Look at Logan expressway. If it goes through Brisbane City Council land then look at ways to make a free zone there negotiating with Linkt and the state government, so that the section/sections of road is now free paid off by BCC (but only in the case that it is feasible and viable and affordable).

Public transport:

Make it more accessible, affordable and reduce traffic jams.

Extend City Cat service upstream as far as Jindalee (or possibly beyond to Westlake) and downstream to the Port of Brisbane.

Negotiating with TransLink and state government to bring the fares from present amount to a gold coin deduction on Brisbane users TransLink Cards, so commuters only pay $2 for adults, $1 dollar for children, pensioners and those with disability.

Roads that are broken by green zones look at implementing a bridge that will be open at peak hour to reduce traffic congestion, once peak hour the bridge is closed to motorists access so as to relieve strain on main roads.

Create and AeroMovel Atmospheric Rail to link up trains to major shopping centres and non rail areas, discuss the cost and feasibility of implementing their systems here and how the AeroMovel systems have impacted other cities.

Go into discussion with those cities to see how they have been impacted by the AeroMovel system, if the overall result was a net positive start negotiations with AeroMovel or other companies that provide atmospheric rail.

If using this atmospheric rail besides connecting the arms of the railways line via shopping centres look at using in the CBD itself for example, QUT to Bardon (on the old tram route) or maybe if feasible and viable and affordable to go beyond to Ashgrove or The Gap).

Reducing black spots destinations, increasing bus servicing in Brisbane.

Look into if feasible at placing multi-story free car parks near Westfield’s Carindale, Chermside, and Indooroopilly. Garden city for people to park their cars and commute to the city on public transport. And then charge Westfield’s for it especially on public holidays Christmas, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter, Australia Day, Anzac Day (due to the reason that people park there to go into the city but on these days the shops are shut and the parking metres are free in the city).

Reduce bus black spots in areas where buses don’t cover reducing the walking distance to less 400 metres

Increase buses servicing more areas of Brisbane.

Suburban Upkeep:

If there are roads where there are no concrete/cement footpaths then this road is to have one side cemented in order to make more access for expectant mothers and or with children those with disabilities and those who are elderly. So they don’t have to negotiate the grass on the footpath.

Banks are moving out of the suburbs and the city. I would look at doing a deal with them to set up in council buildings a multi-branch desk and a multi-money safes and ATM by offering incentives like cheap rent. I don’t believe that someone who doesn’t want internet banking has to be forced to do it. So if they like a bank counter and/or ATM then the council will provide it in suburbs where banks have taken out their ATMs and branches. The banking will only be for normal banking transactions (i.e. bank inquiries, deposits and withdrawals etc) and not complex ones (for example, buying and selling of shares). I don’t like the other alternative that has to use a private provider ATM to do bank transactions that will charge them a fee. To me that’s not on.

Walkway covering (awnings) over the footpaths of Brisbane city CBD (And maybe if feasible and viable at Fortitude Valley and Toowong, South Bank to West End as well) to protect people from rain and hail and strong wind and the baking sun in summer time.

Extend the automatic Electronic Bus Boards (that advertised the buses are coming and how long to wait for each bus line) further into the suburbs.

Look at ways to stop rubbish bins from falling over when being picked up by and drop off by garbage truck onto the footpath so to stop bins lying on the ground on the footpath or road if successful to implement it in Brisbane and suburbs.

Making BMX tracks or other activity venues safer for kids so they spend time there and get tired and not go around loitering on the streets and causing mischief or mayhem at night.

Rubbish:

Look at new sites in Brisbane and if none available outside Brisbane in negotiations with other councils.

See if there are ways to put the garbage bin down in some sort of brace, without it falling across the footpath or on the road.

Harvest more methane gas or other energy producing gases from the dumps for production of energy for Brisbane consumers.

Look into converting garbage trucks (maybe run on the methane from garbage tip) to renewable energies, to reduce diesel consumption or alternatively on a bio fuel mix.

Housing:

Look at large blocks of land and make a deal with landowners to subdivide land and to rezone that land so that more houses can be built, especially those on the mid to outer suburbs.

Look at ways to cut unnecessary red tapes in building houses, that will help to reduce costs and make it more affordable in such cases, say for first home buyers.

Work with the State government, see if we can put high voltage transmission lines underground in some areas and use the above surrounding ground for homes for a short term.

Look at converting industrial and warehousing areas that are no longer used and converting them into housing complexes of small homes or units or apartments.

For residential tenants who are struggling financially, look at doing a deal with Landlords to reduce rates by the council in order for landlords to reduce rent on the struggling tenants until those tenants are back on their feet.

When this happens when they are back on their feet restore rates back to normal. But if the landlord is doing price gouging then not to offer this program.

Temporary reprieve, by decreasing rates for struggling households (flats, units, apartment, homes) who are paying off mortgages, until they are able to get back on their feet financially, then the rates will be resumed back to normal level.

Look at existing policies on housing, whether they are still current or not.

If current, see if it can be blended in (confluence approach two streams into one) with the policies I have, so that we have an even transfer, from old to new.

If the existing policies are no longer current, then, bring in the (rezoning) policies outlined.

Bring in Temporary Accommodation in form of using under-utilised or non used council buildings and or parks (that have some seclusion) and convert them to temporary accommodation with facilities (for example, mobile community bathroom, kitchen, laundry areas).

Moving old council and non council buses and converting them to family accommodation.

These accommodations are temporarily until they get up on their feet financially to afford a bond and two week rent in advance.

Look at subdivision of large private properties in the mid to outer section of the Brisbane suburbs.

Offer incentive or some form of a deal to landowners, to subdivide an area, so that it is now free from ownership so it can be subdivided into a housing estate community of small plots of land for houses to be put on.

The new homes, on these new housing estates, to be made affordable and reachable to most Brisbanites both those that are new owners and those that have lost their homes (flooding, fires, mortgage repossession etc), but, not to owners who already live in a home and are well off i.e. non struggling.