Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has announced his LNP-controlled Council intends to hand over parts of Mt Coot-Tha to private developers - and we’ll need your help to stop them.
The LNP wants the Mt Coot-Tha Quarry to become an Olympics focused tourist development, with major private investment, that would rule out this 26 hectares becoming free public space.
This month our new Greens Councillor, Seal Chong Wah, asked Mayor Schrinner to commit to keeping a rehabilitated Quarry as open access public space, for all residents of Brisbane.
His response was to declare, openly and aggressively, that the Quarry site should be privatised. He used Howard Smith Wharves as an example of giving up council land for private development.
The Mayor actually criticised the Greens for wanting a rehabilitated Quarry to be kept as public space, despite strong community support for that outcome. You can read Cr Seal Chong Wah’s response here.
Shockingly, just a week before Seal’s question, the Lord Mayor spoke to the media about proposals to privatise Mt Coot-Tha, even indicating support for a luxury hotel and zipline at the rehabilitated quarry. The Mayor’s comments in the media were revealing - their priority is tourists turning profits for private corporations, not Brisbane residents or the ecological value of Mt Coot-Tha.
Handing over 26 hectares of Mt Coot-Tha to private developers will fundamentally change its status as a protected natural reserve and create a dangerous precedent that could see more of Mt Coot-Tha privatised.
Together we can protect Mt Coot-Tha.
Our community wants this Brisbane asset to be public, open-access greenspace that enhances the Mt Coot-Tha natural landscape, supports the rich local ecosystem and compliments the Botanic Gardens.
We ask that you email the Lord Mayor directly, to remind him of the value of Mt Coot-Tha reserve and why a rehabilitated Quarry should be a beautiful public space for all the residents of Brisbane to enjoy.