Lord Mayor: Condren’s ‘a professional complainer’

After Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner wasted no time in telling us what he really thought of his new political foe, Labor’s Patrick Condren has returned fire with a sledge of his own.

ADRIAN Schrinner has wasted no time hitting out at his new rival Patrick Condren, as the freshly minted Labor lord mayoral candidate held his first press conference as a politician.

Mr Condren on Sunday admitted he had a steep learning curve ahead of him as he launched his campaign for Brisbane Lord Mayor — even conceding he didn’t know the names of some of his fellow Labor candidates.

The veteran journalist only joined the ALP on Friday after he was tapped on the shoulder to lead their City Hall campaign, replacing Rod Harding who was officially given the boot on Saturday.

Labor lord mayoral candidate Patrick Condren said he joined the ALP because it reflected the values important to him. Picture: AAP image, John Gass

Mr Condren said he decided to join Labor because it reflected the values that were important to him — such as fairness and looking after workers — but insisted he would be his “own man”.

“I think it’s important in the two-party political system that you have some support behind you,” he said.

“The Labor party has offered me an opportunity to make Brisbane a better city.”

It came as Lord Mayor Schrinner labelled Mr Condren a “professional complainer”, saying his experience as a local news reporter didn’t qualify him to hold the city’s top job.

Cr Schrinner accused Labor of being too focused on themselves and spending time “squabbling, fighting and knifing each other”.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner labelled Mr Condren a “professional complainer”. Picture: AAP Image/Claudia Baxter

“(He’s) someone who is very negative about Brisbane and its future, and someone with no plans for the future,” he said.

“In contrast … we have an experienced team that is always focused on the future.”

Mr Condren later took to social media to criticise Cr Schrinner – who was first elected to Brisbane City Council in 2005 – for being a career politician.

I don't know that 'career politician' is something you'd want to boast about. I've been in close contact with them for a few decades now and I can say this for certain: I couldn't do any worse!' https://t.co/ULbWfeiWJI

— Patrick Condren (@PatrickCondren) September 29, 2019

“I don’t know that ‘career politician’ is something you’d want to boast about,” he wrote.

“I’ve been in close contact with them for a few decades now and I can say this for certain: I couldn’t do any worse!”

Doing talkback radio you get good at listening. I did 3.5 hours of listening, five days a week. That's a lot of listening. I don't know if the current LM in all his years as a career politician can say the same. And what people want most of all is to be listened to. P

— Patrick Condren (@PatrickCondren) September 29, 2019

Cr Schrinner would not say if he would match a commitment from Mr Condren to freeze the lord mayoral salary and direct any recommended pay increases to repairing footpaths — slamming it as a cheap stunt.

Mr Condren said his team would develop a comprehensive policy platform in the coming weeks, while taking aim at the rate increases delivered under the LNP.

“Under a Condren administration, we will stop the rot, we will stop the waste and we will certainly look at the way that the rates have gone up over the past few years,” he said.