Newstead is a thriving suburb just a couple of kilometres from the CBD. Right by the river, residents can walk to live music venues and breweries, picnic in New Farm Park and get to work in a matter of minutes.
In 2011, there were 7790 residents living in the Newstead area. In 2023, there were 20,236 - a massive increase of 259%. In fact, Newstead is the fastest growing suburb in all of Queensland.
Most Newstead residents live in an apartment, a reality in the inner suburbs of Brisbane. I live in one with my partner and baby too. When you live in an apartment, it’s crucial that you have public space close by to live, work and play in.
As the Greens candidate for McConnel, I have two major priorities for the Newstead area - ensuring the riverwalk is extended to Newstead, connecting Hamilton and the Teneriffe riverwalks - and increasing the amount of public greenspace the suburb can enjoy.
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The Greens campaign at 76 Skyring Terrace
Over the last two years, your federal Greens MP Stephen Bates has been fighting for much needed greenspace in Newstead, calling on the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council (BCC) to use the undeveloped land at 17 Skyring Terrace, to complete the riverwalk and provide public parkland for this rapidly densifying area.
Apartment living is a reality in the inner city. But, community infrastructure like parks and public transport must come hand in hand with density.
The site at Skyring Terrace was sold to a private developer just after our petition launched, who lodged a development application ignoring calls from the community for more greenspace.
Over 700 submissions were made to BCC from local residents demanding better. This mounting pressure led to Council requesting significant changes from the developer in their application. Following this, the developer requested a ‘stop’ to their application, meaning they had until September of this year to respond to Council's further advice request.
In June, the property developer provided a combined change to development and response to further issues in their application. Their revised application has now been approved by Council.
Together, our community ensured significant changes to the Skyring Terrace proposal, demonstrating the power of collective action. Some of these changes include a significant reduction in tower height, a substantial increase to communal open space, a small increase to both deep planting and public space.
This level of change is rare and was only possible due to the enormous work and pressure from local residents. But communities shouldn’t have to work this hard to ensure neighbourhood plans are followed.
Overhauling our Planning Act
For too long, private developers have been allowed to blatantly ignore neighbourhood planning requirements, the needs of the community, and the environment. This has been facilitated by a poorly drafted piece of state legislation known as the Planning Act. Under the Act, planning requirements are not binding, thus community members have no certainty about the future of their neighbourhoods.
This legislation was introduced by Labor in the same year they took more than $270,000 in donations from profit-hungry property developers, so it’s no surprise the system is stacked in their favour.
The Greens have been advocating for a complete overhaul of the State Planning Act for years.
With the election approaching this October, we have a chance to build political pressure to change this system, giving power back to everyday people.