By Member for McConnel Grace Grace
I’m a rare MP who has lived in their electorate all my life, growing up in Spring Hill and then New Farm/ Fortitude Valley and it’s been a pleasure to watch it change and grow.
This area, renamed McConnel in 2017, includes some of the oldest parts of Brisbane. Its charm is its diversity. I love how it flows from parklands to high rises – you can be wandering along the riverfront one minute and passing a music venue a few blocks later.
The sense of community is so much a part of this place. I’m one of six sisters and four of us still live here. My husband Michael and I raised our child here. I enjoy the way different groups come together and I’m a very proud supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community.
We take in the CBD, Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills, Newstead, Teneriffe, Spring Hill, Kelvin Grove, Petrie Terrace, Herston and New Farm.
Representing this area in State Parliament is an honour. It’s unique in that it’s the centre of the capital city and yet it’s also a really colourful patchwork of neighbourhoods. We have everything here from landmark parklands, the best restaurants, cafes and retail and the oldest tin and timber suburbs.
It’s been a pleasure to work hard for the locals and since I was first elected in 2007 I’m proud of the way we’ve reshaped and improved the area. We’ve made the decision that no stadium will be built in Victoria Park.
Every state school has been upgraded and air-conditioned and I reopened a new state high school in Fortitude Valley. Free kindy and free TAFE are game changers for families.
We’re establishing opportunities for new social and affordable housing in the Ivory Street precinct and a new Youth Support Centre with Brisbane Youth Service to provide a safe space for young people to receive housing, mental health and other services.
As well as a local representing locals, I’m also a proud member of a government focusing on the big things, such as legislating for 80% renewable energy and a 75% reduction in emissions by 2035. We’ve delivered around 600,000 new jobs since 2015.
We’re delivering the Cross-River Rail public transport system and we’ve opened a 182-bed Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service at Herston, providing specialist treatment to approximately 100,000 Queenslanders a year. We’ve decriminalised a women’s right to choose, we’ve legalised voluntary assisted dying.
So much has been achieved. I love this area, I love my work and I’m looking forward to continuing to listen to locals bringing me new ideas for a future made in Queensland, and proudly in McConnel.
