A better city is within reach. If we want to reclaim our communities from vested interests and big property developers we'll need a resurgence of local democracy. We've heard loud and clear that this community wants a cleaner future that's also a fairer one. That means local residents should have a meaningful say over how our suburbs change and grow. Everyone deserves a secure, affordable home with world-class public transport and public green space. Every school should be a great school and we can power it all with 100% clean energy. This is what we're fighting for.

Despite an impressive community campaign to stop it going ahead, the State government Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation has approved the Pig N Whistle's application for 45 new pokies in Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. This is a pretty major shock, especially after 80% of residents surveyed by local volunteers said they opposed the application (and only 4% supported it). RTI documents obtained by my office also revealed that the Pig N Whistle made a practically identical application in 1998, but the proposed location is so grossly inappropriate they were rejected twice. Despite the now Commissioner for Liquor and Gaming David Ford saying at the time that " it is difficult to see how any new application for the same premises would be successful", he seems to have backflipped completely. This community does not want 45 new pokies in our family-friendly shopping centre, next to our church, GP clinic, childcare centres, schools or bus interchange. Pokies rip billions of dollars from the pockets of everyday Queenslanders each year, but they’re a goldmine for super rich pub owners and gambling companies. This decision shows the rules are rigged against local communities. For example, there is no requirement for the regulator to notify anyone about their decision except for the applicant. We found out about this decision completely by accident, since the head of the regulator happened to be on ABC radio about another issue. There is no ability for the community to appeal to QCAT - only to the courts. This decision feels like an all too familiar example of the cashed up pokies lobby getting their way. The owner of the pub, Godfrey Mantle, and his associated companies have donated more than $56,000 to Labor and the LNP since 2007. We’re not giving up just yet, though. The community is rallying against these pokies, asking the Pig N Whistle not to go ahead with the installation and, failing that, for Indooroopilly Shopping Centre management to put an end to the plan. Sign the petition here to stop the pokies, and receive updates and information about other ways to get involved.  You can view my original submission to OLGR against this application here.    The petition on this page is now a little out of date since the approval. We can't change the exact wording please keep spreading the message by gathering signatures. 

UPDATE: Brisbane City Council has now officially commenced the public notification period, which means the public can make submissions on the mega-zipline Development Application until 15 December 2018. During this notification period we need to make as much noise about this shoddy project as possible, and my office is coordinating a Week of Action from 8-15 December   Save Mt Coot-tha Mega Week of Action December 8-15 Events coming up: Sat 8 DecemberDoorknock and BBQ to Save Mt Coot-tha from Privatisation Sun 9 DecemberStall at the Milton Markets  Tue 11 DecemberPop-up office at No Where Espresso in Toowong   Make a submission to Council Putting in a valid, formal submission is one important way for the community to have a say. Make a submission The other key steps you can take to help stop the zipline are: Write to Council about the inadequate consultation period: It's clear that Council is attempting to ram the project through with a tokenistic consultation period of the minimum allowable length, right before Christmas. I've written to the Lord Mayor calling for a longer period for public comment (40 business days instead of 15) and asking that he make sure local residents get a chance to attend in-person public meetings (as promised by his LNP colleague Cr McLachlan back in September at my community forum), and now I'm asking the community to do the same as a matter of urgency.Please write or call these people and ask that Council extend the notification period until after Christmas: Lord Mayor: lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au  // 07 3403 4400Cr David McLachlan: hamilton.ward@bcc.qld.gov.au  // 07 3403 1095City Projects: cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au  Organise your own public event: Please get in touch if you're interested in doing so as my office is more than happy to support you wherever we can.  Get a yard sign: Our "Save Mount Coot-tha/ no mega-ziplines" yard signs will be ready from 27 November 2018. if you’d like one please email us at maiwar@parliament.qld.gov.au with your name, contact details, how many signs you'd like and how you'd like to collect them. You can view the design here.  Volunteer: Our office and the Mt Coot-tha Protection Alliance are always on the lookout for volunteers. We are especially in need of folks from 26-3 November 2018 to help with corflute distribution and letterbox flyering.  Make a submission to Council: Start thinking about what you want to say in your submission. You can view the DA and prepare a submission to Council here. I'm currently reviewing the DA and will post updates on my own submission soon. Use our submission builder to make your own.  Encourage everyone you know to sign this petition: Even if they have already signed the Parliamentary or BCC petitions, this will allow me to keep you in the loop with updates as we learn of them.   Background Brisbane City Council is planning a three part mega-zipline attraction at Mount Coot-tha, which would be a for-profit venture operated by private company Zipline Australia. The project is located entirely within the Mt Coot-tha Trust Lands, held in trust for the people of Brisbane ‘as a site for public park and for no other purpose whatsoever’. BCC is the Trustee. As the MP for Maiwar, my role is to facilitate community discussion and ask whether the proposed zipline is something the people of Brisbane actually want. After meeting with hundreds of locals, it has become clear that the community response to the project as planned is overwhelmingly negative. As a result, I have been raising the community’s concerns in and outside of parliament over the past few months. Despite Council’s purported commitment to create a “minimal impact on the environment and to respect and celebrate the ecological and cultural values of Mount Coot-tha”, the megazipline tourism attraction flies in the face of those promises. Although the Greens support to genuine eco-tourism, and despite the paucity of information made available by Council, this project has serious flaws which cannot be greenwashed or overlooked. I have prepared a brief summary of some of the most commonly expressed concerns here.   Qld State Government's Role Despite Council acting like the mega-zipline is a done deal, it's not. Because the proposal is on trust land, State government requires the preparation of a draft Land Management Plan by BCC, which has to demonstrate community benefit from the proposed use, clear community support, and evidence of extensive consultation. Head to BCC's website to view the draft land management plan, provide feedback (until 31 December 2018) and see whether you can attend one of the four consultation events from 28 November to 12 December.  The State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA)'s assessment of the mega-zipline proposal was nothing short of scathing. It points out that the Council’s documents are riddled with errors, including major concerns about the extent of the tree clearing required. Council's claims about this were completely incorrect, and actually up to 28 hectares (!!) may be cleared for the project to go ahead in its current form. SARA also pointed out that the proposed height of the top platform will unacceptably impact visual amenity at the existing lookout, yet if it's lowered, many more trees would need to be cleared. Based on this, we're also asking the community to contact the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Anthony Lynham (07 3719 7360 or nrm@ministerial.qld.gov.au). Ask him to reject the plan and use the State government's powers to block the zipline.    More info about the Proposal The project would include The Treetop canopy tour (stage one), a single zipline 1.5km in length, moving between tree platforms located north of the Mt Coot-tha Summit and finishing immediately west of JC Slaughter Falls.  The megazip (stage two) comprises six parallel cables leaving from a platform on the city side of the road in front of the Summit and terminating at the Melaluca lake, Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and there are platforms and launching areas proposed to facilitate this too. The third stage of the proposal is an Indigenous ‘Cultural Heritage Tour’ with a suspension bridge 335m in length and will link the tree top canopy tour to the arrival centre on Sir Samuel Griffith Drive. This arrival area is to accommodate the administration and operations centre, bus parking and turnaround area plus hundreds of car parking spaces within the footprint of the existing car park.  A zipline shuttle bus service will also run every 15 to 30 minutes on a continuous circuit between the arrival centre, the Summit, Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and the start of the Tree canopy tour. The general public will be excluded from the physical space for safety reasons; both alongside structures and under them, removing access to the heritage Summitt Track that is under suspension bridge.