Greens aim to steal four wards from LNP at next Brisbane City Council election

AFTER Jonathan Sri claimed The Gabba in 2016, the Greens are eyeing off the balance of power in the Brisbane City Council as they prepare to pile the pressure on several LNP councillors in the lead up the next election.

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THE Greens are eyeing the balance of power in the Brisbane City Council as they prepare to target several LNP-held wards in the lead-up the next election.

The minor party has its sights set on the inner-city wards of Paddington and Central, and will also be venturing into the suburban wards of Coorparoo and Walter Taylor.

The Greens won their first seat on the council in 2016, when Jonathan Sri claimed victory in The Gabba ward.

The lone Greens councillor concedes the party will not win an outright majority in the 26 seat council, but says clinching the balance of power at the 2020 election is certainly a possibility.

Greens councillor Jonathon Sri leads a rally to address Housing and Sustainable Development in West End. He says planning and infrastructure investment decisions are a concern to residents. Picture: Tim Marsden

“We think we have a chance to pick up a couple of seats and increasingly we are starting to look further outside the immediate inner city,” Cr Sri said.

“Logically Brisbane Central would be probably one of our highest targets just based on raw numbers.

“If we pick up a couple of seats off the LNP and Labor win back seats like Northgate, we could end up in a situation where Greens hold the balance of power in council.”

Winning Paddington or Central wards would mean toppling Councillors Peter Matic and Vicki Howard, who both serve in Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s civic cabinet.

Paddington was the ward where the Greens had their second best performance at the last election, eclipsing Labor in the primary vote.

Cr Peter Matic with unhappy Runic Street residents concerned about a development application in their street. His Paddington seat would be targeted. Picture: AAP/Richard Walker

Cr Sri tipped hotly contested preselection bouts in the “winnable” seats, which are expected to be finalised within months.

“I think in particular the Greens will be looking for more young people to run and for more women, just to kind of balance the current disproportionate over-representation in council,” he said.

“Residents are concerned that they’ve lost control of their city. They feel like they no longer have a meaningful say, particularly over planning and infrastructure investment decisions.”

The next Brisbane City Council election is in March 2020.

Both the LNP and the ALP have commenced the preselection process for lord mayoral candidates.