Brisbane lord mayor tears up speech to deliver impassioned plea

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Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has made a last-minute change to a major speech, originally billed as his “Vision for Brisbane”, to call for calm as political tensions rise both at home and abroad.

Speaking at a Committee for Brisbane lunch at Queen’s Wharf on Wednesday, Schrinner gave notice to the assembled business leaders that he would eschew a list of projects and initiatives normally associated with such speeches.

Instead, the somewhat wistful lord mayor lamented the changing times, but also insisted Brisbane was in the midst of a “golden age of opportunity”.

In a last-minute change to a policy speech, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner urged an end to political extremism.

Referring to 2020 as a global reset – “year zero” he called it – Schrinner said the accelerating change fuelled by the pandemic and rise of artificial intelligence had already fundamentally altered society.

“Firstly, and most importantly, we need to be different to the rest of the world,” he said.

“We need to reject what’s happening in the rest of the world, and we need to reject political extremism in this country – and in this city, in particular.

“We need to find common ground. We need to firmly plant our flag in that common ground, and we need to stand that common ground, because all of you know enough of your global history to know what happens when the extremes take hold.

“But let’s remember this: Brisbane is a place – and Australia is a place – that’s a truly successful multicultural nation.

“Thirty per cent of Brisbane residents and 30 per cent of Australians were born overseas ... now how does that compare to other places? How many people in the United States were born overseas? Just 15 per cent – half as many as what we have here in Australia and in Brisbane.

“In the UK, only 17 per cent of people were born overseas. In France, 17 per cent. In Germany, it’s 19 per cent, and in Canada, a nation that has run a similar immigration program over many years to Australia, it’s only 23 per cent of people who were born overseas.

“So we can rightly claim to be the world’s most successful multicultural nation, and it’s something we should protect.”

Police estimated about 6000 protesters participated in the so-called “March for Australia”.

Schrinner said the rate of change was so great, it was difficult to give an accurate vision for what Brisbane would be in the future.

“Whatever we might predict for the next seven years until the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the next 10 years beyond that, I can tell you the future will look different to what we think it will look like,” he said.

“So I could pitch you today a five-year program of building a particular type of infrastructure, or I could pitch you today that we’re going to build a million extra houses, or I could pitch you today something that, ultimately, I don’t have control over because I don’t know what’s going to happen next year.

“Instead, what I want to pitch you today is tapping into a vein within Brisbane’s identity, within Brisbane’s personality, that is real, that is undersold.”

That vein, Schrinner said, was boldness.

“In addition to protecting the harmony, the togetherness of our community on the common ground, we need to double down on being the place that takes some risks and that is bold,” he said.

“We need to double down on that humble ambition that Brisbane has, where we’re prepared to try things, to give it a go.”

In a Q&A session, Schrinner later said his speech was meant to be about the council’s new housing plan, but “it changed at the last minute”.

Schrinner, the son of a German migrant, gave no reason for that change.

Last month, Premier David Crisafulli – like Schrinner, a member of the LNP – warned the party faithful at their state conference to “not be distracted by ideological issues”.

“We must push back against those who come to this place and don’t wish to contribute, or worse, undermine our values, but we can’t allow a failure to plan as an excuse to push an anti-immigration agenda,” he said.