Labor launches green platform in Brisbane City Council 2024 election

Free food and garden waste collection, more 10c container recycling bins, and transforming King George Square are among Labor’s promises ahead of the Brisbane City Council election.

Labor’s council opposition leader Jared Cassidy flanked by lord mayoral candidate Tracey Price (left) Morningside ward councillor Lucy Collier

Free food and garden waste collection, more 10c container recycling bins, and transforming King George Square into an attractive public space – these are the key selling points Labor has pitched in its green plan for Brisbane ahead of next year’s council election.

Labor leaders believe they only need to turn 5500 voters in their favour to snatch majority power in Brisbane City Council in the local government elections in March.

Labor’s Lord Mayoral candidate is Tracey Price – a lawyer and small business owner who lives on Brisbane’s northside with her husband and three children.

She outlined her environmental plans on Sunday to a room of supporters at Wellers Hill Bowls Club in Tarragindi in Brisbane’s south.

Ms Price has vowed to introduce a free food and garden collection service, which is estimated to remove 100,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill and save residents more than $600m over the next 10 years in waste levy charges.

If elected, Labor also promises to boost suburban drainage spending by $2.8m per year, increase funding for new stormwater drainage by $6.3m annually, bolster stormwater system maintenance by $3.5m a year, double money for desilting drains to $1.6m per year, and double the vegetation management budget to $1.5m annually.

Ms Price also committed to installing 1500 new park recycling bins across Brisbane, and introducing Containers for Change bins around the city and suburbs, with the 10c refunds from collected containers to be donated to local charities.

The age-old idea of revitalising King George Square also featured in Labor’s pitch on Sunday, something that both sides of politics have discussed and promised for years.

Labor Lord Mayoral candidate Tracey Price (centre) with council opposition leader Jared Cassidy and Morningside ward councillor Lucy Collier

Ms Price said the latest plan would focus on reinventing King George Square as a subtropical public space with trees, shade and water features.

There used to be fountains in King George Square, but they were turned off in the 2000s due to drought.

The idea to bring them back has been discussed, and even had money set aside for it in various council budgets since at least 2015. But it has always been pushed back.

Labor Lord Mayoral candidate Rod Harding made a similar pledge to revitalise King George Square in his failed run in 2016.

Council Opposition Leader Jared Cassidy said “it is more critical now than ever that we do this project”.

“We have been talking about this for a long time. Every election rolls around and either Graham Quirk or Adrian Schrinner have said they will fix it at the eleventh hour,” he said.

Cr Cassidy said his party’s calculations suggested Labor only needed to gain 5500 votes at the March polls to overthrow the LNP council.

“The LNP have something like 75 per cent of the wards, but they hold many of them with only 52 per cent of the vote. In some of those suburban wards, those margins are as low as a couple of hundred votes – Northgate, Marchant, Enoggera and Bracken Ridge,” he said.

Ms Price believes “Brisbane can be better”.

“We need modern leadership and people who have energy and commitment to make the change we need. We are not the sleepy town in the north, we are one of the fastest-growing cities in Australia,” she said.

“Brisbane City Council has stopped listening to Brisbane residents, they have no new ideas and are only interested in self-promotion, rather than taking on the issues Brisbane faces.”