Why the lord mayor will run for re-election – and his plans for Brisbane beyond 2032

2 hours ago 1

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has confirmed he will seek re-election in 2028, while unveiling his long-term vision for major infrastructure projects designed to serve Brisbane well beyond the 2032 Games.

In an exclusive interview with this masthead, Schrinner also defended the LNP-led council’s signature housing policy; outlined the achievements he’s most proud of during his tenure; and hit out at what he saw as growing populism and political divisiveness – including from his side of politics.

“I definitely will be putting my hand up again,” he said from a plush leather couch just outside the wooden doors of the Brisbane mayoral office at City Hall.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner at Brisbane City Hall after the last council meeting of 2025.

“I’ve talked to [wife] Nina about it, she’s my most important stakeholder. I’ve talked to the kids, and I’ve talked to the team as well, and I’m up for it.

“There’s so much more to be done, and we’re in this exciting period in the lead-up to the Olympics. I want to be part of it.”

The next election will be held on March 25, 2028, and the successful mayoral candidate will serve until March 2032 – just months before the Games begin.

Schrinner, who took over from Graham Quirk when he resigned in 2019, would have to win that election and the following one to overtake Clem Jones as Brisbane’s longest-serving lord mayor.

Chatting during a break in the final council meeting of 2025, he said the city needed to begin preparing for major expansions to public transport links after the Olympics if they couldn’t be completed sooner.

“Everyone seems to be focused on the six-and-a-bit years until the Games … but one of the things that we’re really starting to have a look at is [the] next round of projects,” Schrinner said.

“We want to make sure there’s a pipeline of work that continues … we’ll have this opportunity where we’ve got a big construction workforce that’s geared up to build things.”

The lord mayor says Metro extensions across Brisbane after 2032 are being discussed with the state and federal governments.

He said possible rail extensions and Metro and bus expansions across the south-east beyond 2032 were already being discussed with the state and federal governments.

“I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Brisbane will stop growing. In fact, I think the Games will only ensure that we keep growing, so we’ll need better transport, we’ll need more housing, we’ll need better infrastructure.”

The lord mayor was speaking weeks after community backlash in Wynnum over plans to increase building heights to 15 storeys. Concerns about increased density have also been raised by residents in other “suburban renewal” areas, including Mount Gravatt and Stones Corner.

The council argues suburban sprawl, with the creation of new suburbs, is not sustainable, and building up in these hubs is one of several effective ways to increase housing supply.

“It’s natural for people to ask the question, ‘will this place that I live in … fundamentally change, and if it does, will it be better?’” Schrinner said.

“But time and time again, what we see is, when these suburban renewal projects happen, the outcome is really positive.

“It’s just about finding what is the right balance. We need more homes, and we need more customers for the businesses that exist there.”

Schrinner backs the model in its current form, saying a blanket planning change to allow higher-density development near all train stations, such as the policy rolled out in Sydney, would not be viable.

The plan to allow 15-storey apartment towers in the sleepy bayside suburb of Wynnum has been among the LNP’s most contentious policies, with a sizable community backlash in late 2025.

“It’s important to consult the community, to have the arguments about why change is required,” he said.

“But what’s happening in Sydney is they’ve effectively given up on those debates … I’d prefer to do it in a Brisbane way ... which is involving the councils, involving the community, and getting people on board.”

The lord mayor has made of point of spruiking his credentials as a moderate in the chamber through much of 2025, as other conservative leaders across the country failed with campaigns deemed out of step with middle Australia.

Team Schrinner advertising often eschews the LNP logo completely, but political opponents – most notably Labor Opposition Leader Jared Cassidy – frequently claim his voting record shows he is far more conservative than he portrays.

The lord mayor says his rhetoric about stamping out extremism and seeking compromise is underpinned by long-held convictions and genuine concern about the direction of politics at the local level and beyond.

“I think the middle ground is what we should strive for,” he said, “finding common ground that the vast majority of people can agree on.

“Seeing people drift to the fringes, where they have very strong views but can’t see eye to eye, is not something we ever want to see happen in Brisbane.

“When you see how the community has grown and changed over the years, it is a very broad community, a very diverse community, and Brisbane is better for it.”

The lord mayor says the council response to catastrophes including the 2022 floods are among his proudest achievements.

Schrinner doesn’t dispute that the LNP and its constituent parties have at times tried to exploit populist politics, but says it would never happen under his leadership.

“Our team is one of the few on our side of politics that represents a real diversity of areas,” he said.

“Fundamentally, that’s one of the things we’ve always really focused on – being representative of our community – and that sometimes means we hold different policy views than colleagues at the state and federal level.

“I think when it comes to extremism though, and some of the fracturing of the community fabric, I think that if we’re not careful, we’ll see increasing polarisation of views … and I don’t think that’s healthy.”

Schrinner lists the council response to disasters such as COVID, the 2022 floods, cost-of-living increases and Cyclone Alfred as the achievements he is most proud of.

“While it would be easy to point to a project like the Brisbane Metro or the Kangaroo Point Bridge, I think for me, it’s actually been how we deal with the unexpected,” he said.

“We’ve still been able to keep the lowest rates in south-east Queensland and keep the budget balanced. Those things are things that, for me, were really important parts of this job over the past few years.”

Brisbane City Council meetings will resume on February 3, 2026.

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