‘Greensland’ in spotlight as envy of major parties
Fraser Barton |
It is a seat that turned heads – and colour – at the last federal election.
Three years later, many are wondering if the division of Brisbane will again stake a claim as “Greensland”.
In 2022, the Greens stunned the nation when the party claimed the seat of Brisbane along with Griffith and Ryan in southeast Queensland.
The inner-city Brisbane seats suddenly became a Greens heartland, a remarkable result in a state once considered the nation’s most conservative.
The seats earned the “Greensland” moniker after a Labor and two Liberal National Party MPs were ousted.
In came Stephen Bates for Brisbane, Max Chandler-Mather for Griffith and Elizabeth Watson-Brown for Ryan.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has described the three southeast Queensland seats as coalition leader Peter Dutton’s only potential path to power.
“If we keep Brisbane green, we keep Dutton out,” he said.
The Greens will be hoping to bounce back from an underwhelming Queensland election in October 2024.
The party’s first-preference vote slightly increased at the state poll to almost 10 per cent.
But it lost South Brisbane – despite being tipped to pick up numerous seats – leaving just one voice in state parliament.
Mr Bates will be hoping to reclaim lost ground as he defends the key federal seat of Brisbane.
In 2022, he was elected with a 3.7 per cent margin over the LNP, with only a difference of 11 first-preference votes between him and Labor’s Madonna Jarrett.
The LNP’s Trevor Evans lost the seat after serving as a member of parliament from 2016 to 2022.
The trio will again bid for Brisbane at this year’s federal poll, campaigning on the big-ticket issues of housing and the cost of living.
The Greens are proposing limits on rent increases, building more public and affordable homes and phasing out tax handouts to property investors.
Part of the Albanese government’s re-election pitch on housing is a five-per cent deposit for all first-home buyers with no caps on places or income.
The coalition is proposing a deduction for first homebuyers on interest paid on the first $650,000 of their mortgage, with no cap on the mortgage price or home price.
The Brisbane seat spans many suburbs and demographics, taking in the city’s inner-north, from the CBD up to Stafford and west to Enoggera.
Bernie Hoesman, who joked he had “just moved” to Ashgrove in 1970, believes his area will swing against the Greens based on the incumbent’s housing proposals.
“He (Mr Bates) makes a lot of sense, but a lot of it’s too extreme for people,” he told AAP.
“Negative gearing … he wants to address that and tax the rich.
“This electorate is pretty wealthy. It’ll have too many ramifications for the people living here … this is a conservative electorate.”
Mr Hoesman expected Labor to be returned to government with “just” a majority.
Mr Bates said housing and the cost of living continued to be hot topics among voters.
There was an expectation for a bold Labor government when it was elected in 2022 but that had not come to fruition, he said.
“What I’ve heard from people on the ground is the key issue this election for people is the cost of living,” Mr Bates said.
“But they’re also thoroughly, thoroughly disappointed in the Albanese government.
“They have lost their way. I don’t think they know what they stand for anymore, other than trying to keep on winning elections.”
However, Ms Jarrett claimed Labor’s “biggest housing investment since World War II” was desperately needed in the community.
“The problem we have with young people today is getting that deposit together,” she said.
“Labor’s policy is to help you with a deposit, to provide more supply of housing and that’s very different to what the LNP and Peter Dutton are offering.”
Down in the tranquil, leafy suburb of New Farm, where locals sip coffee and dogs snooze at their heels, the sentiment is different.
New Farm is Brisbane’s third most-expensive suburb to buy a house, with an average price of $2.7 million.
A local who only wanted to be known as Vicky told AAP she would be voting for the LNP because she was a big fan of Peter Dutton.
“I don’t think there’s anything good about a Labor government,” she says.
“I hope Peter Dutton is the next prime minister. I think he’s a good man and he’ll work very hard.”
Margaret Tiernan from Enoggera said she couldn’t wait for the campaign to end as she enjoyed a morning hot coffee on her verandah with her dog by her side.
“It’s the most beautiful place in the world,” she said.
“But the only time you see them (politicians) is when they want something. I hate to be brutal.”
AAP
