Tight race ahead: LNP at risk of losing key wards to the Greens in Brisbane

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has pleaded for voters to back his fellow LNP councillor candidates in the wake of shock polling figures.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has pleaded for voters to back his fellow LNP councillor candidates following new polling figures which indicated the election could result in a Labor-Greens council majority.

Polling by DemosAU has revealed several LNP wards are at risk of loss to the Greens including Paddington, Walter Taylor and Coorparoo.

The Central ward is also considered in doubt, as is Holland Park and Enoggera, which the LNP could lose to Labor by marginal vote.

Appealing to voters on the eve of the council election, Schrinner said the polling showed a “strong chance” that Labor and the Greens could win the majority with the race now close in “many wards across the city”.

“There is a strong chance that after this weekend, a Labor-Green coalition could be controlling the council chamber in Brisbane City Council,” he said.

“This is something that we’ve been warning of now for many, many weeks and I think this new report proves that there is a real opportunity for that to happen.

“The one thing I want to ask the people of Brisbane is that if you do want to see me continue as Lord Mayor and continue to keep Brisbane moving, don’t just vote for me, also vote for my team.”

Schrinner embarked on a last-minute campaign blitz on Friday, declaring he would visit 26 wards in the final 26 hours ahead of election day, spruiking his promise to “keep Brisbane moving” by tackling congestion through the Moggill Rd and Beams Rd upgrades and by expanding the Brisbane Metro to add 160,000 extra bus services to the city by the end of 2024.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner. Picture: David Clark

Schrinner’s LNP said they would “balance the council budget to take pressure off household rates and rents” and invest in more home builds in an attempt to take pressure off the housing market.

Labor’s Tracey Price said the LNP’s last-ditch effort to secure votes was “too little too late”.“I have spent the last two weeks visiting every single early voting booth so that I could spend more than five minutes in each location,” Ms Price said.

“I have also traversed all across our beautiful city in the last year – attending community events and forums, listening to residents all across Brisbane.

“We were the only team with a full set of candidates ready to go on day one of the campaign and every one of those candidates has run a positive, grassroots campaign.”

Meanwhile, the Greens party announced plan to slash rent prices by 20 per cent within two years if elected to power.

The announcement, made by Greens mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan on Friday morning, was a final message to voters with the hopeful mayor declaring the council election was “a referendum on housing”.

“We acknowledge that if rents and house prices fell too quickly, that would have negative flow-on economic repercussions,” he said.

“But given how much rents have risen in the last couple of years, a 20 per cent decrease over two years is necessary and essential to improve housing security.”

Central to the Greens’ housing reform agenda is a pledge to crack down on empty properties and prioritise the development of medium-density public housing near public transport hubs, as well the introduction of a new ratings category for landlords who raise rent above January 2023 prices.

Asked whether this was fair on landlords battling national interest rate rises, Mr Sriranganathan said “if some landlords claim that they can’t afford to service their property costs without putting up the rent, then they should sell”.

The Greens’ housing platform has resonated with voters, with Sriranganathan noting a surge in support at both the local level and in the mayoral race.

“The electoral system is stacked in favour of the LNP,” Mr Sriranganathan said, adding the party received less than 50 per cent of the primary vote last election while winning 20 of the 27 council wards.

“So there’s a clear problem with the electoral system itself and we realise that could hurt us but we’re still putting our best foot forward,” he said.