Author: Geoff Ebbs

It was standing room only as 350 people crammed into the Souths Leagues Club in West End on Wednesday night to hear about the Kurilpa Riverfront Renewal Plan.

They got what they came for, rousing calls for an international exhibition, reminders about the resident’s victory over the Bjelke Petersen government that resulted in Southbank Parklands and presentations offering stark choices between the crowded skyscrapers of Hong Kong or Manhattan and the open, creative spaces of Vancouver and Amsterdam.

The LNP proposal to put an extra 11,500 residents into the north west corner of the Kurilpa peninsula (between the Go Between Bridge and the Souths Rugby Club at Davies Park) by building a wall of 30 and 40 story skyscrapers was launched to developers and business leaders at a $150 a seat dinner last month. See original story

Local Councillor for the Gabba Ward, Helen Abrahams; State MP for South Brisbane, Jackie Trad and President of West End Community Association (WECA) Dr Erin Evans all described the nervous titters of disbelief as the plan was revealed to developers at the Business Development Association and Brisbane Marketing lunch.

“This is not a plan. This is simply an invitation to developers to build as high and as close as they like. It is just a bunch of coloured boxes on a page. My four year old granddaughter could have done that.” Helen Abrahams’ granddaughter received roars of acclamation.

The new plan has an extra ten stories added to the revised Riverfront neighbourhood plan, described in the article West End’s Green Heart published in Westender’s print edition of May 2014. That plan itself was inconsistent in a number of areas with earlier council planning documents including the 2006 Woollongabba and South Brisbane Plan developed under the auspices of ex Lord Mayor and local legend Tim Quinn.

Long term West End activist Professor Phil Heywood quoted population density figures (leaping from imperial to metric as he went). Brisbane metro currently has around 20 persons per hectare, West End has around 100. The new development will concentrate people to about 1200 persons per hectare, putting it right up there with the most crowded cities in the world. Hong Kong has around 1400.

Jackie Trad reminded residents that the 11,500 new residents that come with the Kurilpa Riverfront plan are only a fraction of the 30,000 new residents proposed for the 4101 postcode. “Can you imagine the grid lock getting on and off the peninsula when the population goes from 20,000 to 50,000 people?” quipped one town planner in the audience.

“And it’s on a flood plain,” thundered Helen Abrahams as the first microphone failed under the excitement.

Jackie Trad and Professor Heywood reminded residents of the people-power that overthrew a deal between the BJP government and developer Theiss on the Expo site on the south bank of the Brisbane River.

“Do you remember River City 2000? The islands in the river bursting with sky scrapers?” Professor Hayworth’s rhetoric conjured up past visions of a gloriously crowded future. “It was the people of Brisbane who put a stop to that.”

Questions from the floor teased out the methods whereby the Kurilpa Riverfront Renewal Plan might be consigned to the same scrapheap.

Greens candidate for South Brisbane, Jonathon Sri, called for engagement with the broader Brisbane Community; an apartment dweller with a verandah opening onto the 94 decibel soundwall of the trainline described the downside of high density dwelling, a proposal for community owned real-estate was laid out. City wide engagement, alternative visions, alternative surveys, ambit claims, integrated community development, false consultation boycotts and Parkour parks were all put into the mix.

WECA and the Kurilpa Futures Campaign Group (operating out of the Trades Hall in Peel Street) will coordinate the community response.

Marcia’s on Montague has spread its wings beyond the wide and wonderful range of homewares, kitchen appliances and decorations for which it is famous. Marcia’s Organics is well established in groceries, herbs, spices and organic fresh food but the cafe that joins the two stores has expanded its coffee and cake offering to serve salads, snacks and meals.

With the care and attention that is paid to the selection of the other goods you can bet the food will be great.

This little gem has been hidden behind the roadworks on the corner of Beesely St for some time and is just re-emerging into the sunlight.

The recall this week of thousands of kilometres of dodgy electrical cable across Australia underines the absolute madness of buying cheap products to save money. Local electrician, business owner and Westender columnist had just written a piece for us called Total Recall, which was rolling off the presses when the recall was announced.

The announcement from Fair Trade is available at the Westender website.

As tradesmen and electrical retailers argue with government about who will foot the bill for the testing of cables in the thousands of affected homes and retail premises, everyone tut tuts knowingly about the shonky Chinese importer who foisted the heat affected cable on us.

We all know that quality is cost effective but we are all guilty of buying on price. As Big Mal wrote in last month’s Westender, “We get angry when we purchase a ridiculously cheap product from a ‘Mega Store’, only to find when home, a part is missing, its already broken or it lasts for only two weeks.

“Did we actually want quality but didn’t want to pay for it? In our hearts I think we know it’s rubbish, but we buy it because it’s cheap. Unfortunately it wasn’t really all that cheap in the end, hey?

“Perhaps we should ask doctors and surgeons to offer a discount and see where that leads.”

You can read the full text of Mal’s prescient pontification right here.

It is a timely reminder that there is no joy in knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. That a disposable culture cannot last and that the worship of money is indeed a root cause of evil consequences.

Cliches are cliches because they encapsulate the truth. A stitch in time saves nine and as the guillotined man said, I’m getting out of here while I’m still a head.

Download the September edition of Westender online here.

The full edition is here as a single pdf file, page by page for ease of reading on your tablet, phone or computer screen.

Read the domestic violence feature, make the lentil rissoles, a catch up with the action on Kurilpa Riverfront Renewal Masterplan.

Stay in touch with your community through Brisbane’s Urban Voice

Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s production of Tempest was launched on a rainy Friday night in the Roma Street Parklands: A fitting setting for a play set in an extreme weather event. A stunning cast, a creative production and a magic setting had the audience laughing and engaged in a way that Shaespeare often fails to deliver to modern audiences.

The combination of an outdoor venue, modern music and a big dosde of irreverence brought the text to life in a way that had me going back to my Compleat Works to check what I had been missing all these years.

Zac Kelty’s Caliban creeping out of the shadows and among our feet still chills days after seeing the production. Rebecca Murphy as Ariel is as bewitching and enticing as old Will could ‘ere imagined and Johancée Theron as Miranda brings us directly into the relationship with Prospero, the island and its challenges that is as remarkable as the words that make it possible.

The undoubted star of the show, though, is Rob Pensalfini in the lead role, Prospero. Without declaiming too much, or dominating with his enormous presence all the time, he leads us through the wiles and whims of a powerful man hanging on however desparately to his last shreds of glory. As does the character himself, Pensalfini draws on all the rich talents at his disposal to enchant us to support him in his quest to regain nobility from his fallen position.

The Napolitans provide much needed light and contrast to the intensity of all that and there is great character acting from the rest of the cast.

The music is a remarkable insertion. The use of modern and folk music creates a decidedly Elizabethan engagement. The desire to sing along and catcall is exacerbated by the audience in the round set up. If you make one of the final performances this weekend you will be sitting on the stage of the Roma Street Parklands ampitheatre with the action sprawled across the ampitheatre proper and the stage itself.

The cast members are the musicians as well and entertain during intermission while chatting to friends, family and guests. It is a startling, warm and friendly production.

Director Zoe Tuffin has pulled off the remarkable feat of putting the bawd back into the bard without belittling the text.

Strategic business advisor and CPA, Matthew Snelleksz, has revealed his analysis of why businesses fail.

Worells Insolvency and Forensic Accountants Conference on the Gold Coast identified that across their 41 years of experience in helping companies that have got into trouble, poor financial management is the major problem facing businesses. The quality of the product, the marketing, the sales force and other measures mean nothing if money is leaking out of the systems.

Snelleksz applies a much more blunt measure and has put it front and centre of his blog this week. His view is consistent with our own observations that a fish rots from the head and the personality and management style of the owner is a key indicator of how a company will perform. Snelleksz’ view is more tightly targeted than that but no less blunt.

For the full details, head over to his blog.