A verge, a park, nobody much uses it, so why shouldn't we? What does under-utilised mean anyway? What is sufficiently utilised? (utilized for my American readers).
I feel like this is a common pattern. When state or local government have tried being nice and it hasn’t worked, they bring in the muscle brains and any potential chance of something positive coming out disappears, and it becomes a matter of my power is bigger than your power. I’m afraid the only suggestion I have is to only pick the fights you can win.
It happens a lot here because community groups go to their state or federal members and get a grant but nobody bothers talking to the council about the logistics.
Councils are the ones who are more in touch with the practical implications and most state/federal members and staff are more theoretical.
In this case, all they needed to do was to find an appropriate site for their battery instead of complaining about not getting their first choice.
Vic Park is an ongoing saga - money will win unless the opponents start talking about better alternatives instead of just saying they don't want it at VP.
I love this “If there are restrictions you don’t like, or people disagree with your proposal, it doesn’t mean that one of you is right and the other wrong. It means that you need to work harder to find a better solution.” This sums it up perfectly.
I wish we had the time and space to do this for Victoria Park.
Who says we don't have the time and space for Victoria Park? The people who don't want other options to be considered, those who can't imagine something different to the way they'd done things in the past, those who are trying to maintain the status quo while the world is changing around them.
Meanwhile they've managed to sideline action on climate change, sustainability, housing affordability and homelessness, public health, and everything else that matters - because Olympics! Who needs the nuclear distraction when you can have the Olympics?
RE: Parks. Sometimes people just need an open space. And probably most people some of the time. RE: under-utilised. If the fire engine sits idle for most of its life- is that under-utilised? Do we do away with fire engines?! RE: Batteries- this is a problem with a solution. Do we think more about it? Or do we think more about our priorities?
The challenge I see is how do we actually get everyone at the same table to consider the realistic options? The community battery discussed here has been talked about within the community for over 3 years now, with the local council approached throughout the process. Multiple options and ideas were proposed to council. But unfortunately, when conversations are one-way and power is concentrated on one side, the community has no opportunity for positive outcomes. This can be seen with both the Victoria Park and community battery outcomes. There are clearly better solutions to both of these problems, but those in power have no incentive to work with us, the community.
It was broadly discussed that the battery could be mounted up on a pole or on the ground. Restricted by requirements of access determined by the utilities partner, multiple locations were discussed, but I recall all were parks here in The Gap. I don't recall any specific road reserves being discussed.
Ultimately, this battery was only a possibility due to the work and advocacy of our local community group, who were trying to do something for our community. We never thought we knew all possible locations, nor were we strongly vested to a single option, but in the end had to put a proposal up to be taken seriously. Had the council worked in good faith with the community, rather than keeping this group at arms length, this whole situation could have been avoided.
Learning to work with councils is something groups learn with Shady Lanes but only if they do the reading and realise that it’s much more than a planting project. I’ll send an email to the contacts I have in your group.
Really interesting to draw the parallel between these two debates. It highlights how “under-utilised” is so often code for “not commercially productive,” revealing a very commercialised lens on public space. Agree we need for more open, creative, and collaborative conversations about how we define value and legacy in our city. I look forward to more of those types of discussions at Regen Brisbane and ACF Northside
I feel like this is a common pattern. When state or local government have tried being nice and it hasn’t worked, they bring in the muscle brains and any potential chance of something positive coming out disappears, and it becomes a matter of my power is bigger than your power. I’m afraid the only suggestion I have is to only pick the fights you can win.
It happens a lot here because community groups go to their state or federal members and get a grant but nobody bothers talking to the council about the logistics.
Councils are the ones who are more in touch with the practical implications and most state/federal members and staff are more theoretical.
In this case, all they needed to do was to find an appropriate site for their battery instead of complaining about not getting their first choice.
Vic Park is an ongoing saga - money will win unless the opponents start talking about better alternatives instead of just saying they don't want it at VP.
I love this “If there are restrictions you don’t like, or people disagree with your proposal, it doesn’t mean that one of you is right and the other wrong. It means that you need to work harder to find a better solution.” This sums it up perfectly.
I wish we had the time and space to do this for Victoria Park.
Who says we don't have the time and space for Victoria Park? The people who don't want other options to be considered, those who can't imagine something different to the way they'd done things in the past, those who are trying to maintain the status quo while the world is changing around them.
Meanwhile they've managed to sideline action on climate change, sustainability, housing affordability and homelessness, public health, and everything else that matters - because Olympics! Who needs the nuclear distraction when you can have the Olympics?
RE: Parks. Sometimes people just need an open space. And probably most people some of the time. RE: under-utilised. If the fire engine sits idle for most of its life- is that under-utilised? Do we do away with fire engines?! RE: Batteries- this is a problem with a solution. Do we think more about it? Or do we think more about our priorities?
The challenge I see is how do we actually get everyone at the same table to consider the realistic options? The community battery discussed here has been talked about within the community for over 3 years now, with the local council approached throughout the process. Multiple options and ideas were proposed to council. But unfortunately, when conversations are one-way and power is concentrated on one side, the community has no opportunity for positive outcomes. This can be seen with both the Victoria Park and community battery outcomes. There are clearly better solutions to both of these problems, but those in power have no incentive to work with us, the community.
What were the multiple options and ideas? Was putting it in the road reserve (street) along with similar service infrastructure included?
It was broadly discussed that the battery could be mounted up on a pole or on the ground. Restricted by requirements of access determined by the utilities partner, multiple locations were discussed, but I recall all were parks here in The Gap. I don't recall any specific road reserves being discussed.
Ultimately, this battery was only a possibility due to the work and advocacy of our local community group, who were trying to do something for our community. We never thought we knew all possible locations, nor were we strongly vested to a single option, but in the end had to put a proposal up to be taken seriously. Had the council worked in good faith with the community, rather than keeping this group at arms length, this whole situation could have been avoided.
Learning to work with councils is something groups learn with Shady Lanes but only if they do the reading and realise that it’s much more than a planting project. I’ll send an email to the contacts I have in your group.
Really interesting to draw the parallel between these two debates. It highlights how “under-utilised” is so often code for “not commercially productive,” revealing a very commercialised lens on public space. Agree we need for more open, creative, and collaborative conversations about how we define value and legacy in our city. I look forward to more of those types of discussions at Regen Brisbane and ACF Northside