Articles by Jonathan Sriranganathan
- Profile
- Councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan is a writer, musician and community worker who was elected in March 2016 as Brisbane's first ever Greens city councillor, representing the Gabba Ward. Jonno campaigned on a bold platform focussed on making our city more sustainable, equitable and democratic, and addressing the negative impacts of gentrification and speculative property investment. He is firmly opposed to unsustainable, profit-oriented over-development, and believes that residents should have more say over how their city changes and evolves. Jonathan is ran again for election in March 2020, prioritising local issues such as housing affordability and economic justice, improving public transport, creating more walkable pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods, greening our city, greater support for the arts and community events, and great transparency and democratic accountability in local government. Jonno currently lives with his partner Anna on a houseboat in East Brisbane, and in his limited spare time enjoys kayaking, chess, and rapping with his hip-hop band, Rivermouth. Jonathan supports the Greens’ core values of ecological sustainability, grassroots participatory democracy, social justice, and peace & non-violence.
Culture, Democracy, Environment, Featured, Social Justice, Theory
Establishment vibes — Reflections on Greens election results mustn’t ignore deeper tensions
Simultaneously branded as “too extreme” while acting too moderate, Jonathan Sriranganathan looks at the Greens’ electoral paradox, calling for a thoroughly anti-establishment approach that radically embraces grassroots power, mass participatory democracy, and systemic change [...]
... Read MoreCulture, Democracy, Green Agenda 2024:2, Peace, Social Justice
Labor lost the Queensland election a year ago: Unpacking strategic missteps on youth crime
What might we be overlooking when we analyse how the LNP’s youth crime fear campaign spread and took hold? Elections are weird. Right until they step into the polling booth, a surprising proportion of voters are undecided, or at least open to changing their minds. But although it’s possible to shift some voters late in a campaign, candidates are also... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Economy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda 2024:1, Social Justice
Solid swings but not many ward wins – unpacking the results of the 2024 Brisbane City Council election
Well it’s six days since the council election, and the last few postal votes are being scrutinised closely, with the Greens frustratingly close to winning in a couple of different electorates both in Brissie and elsewhere in South-East Queensland. Across Brisbane’s 26 wards, the Greens primary vote has grown by a very healthy 5.2% on average, to 23%. (There’s a few percentage points difference... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Featured, Social Justice
The radical potential of Brisbane City Council
It’s no accident that so many Brisbanites think local government is mostly just about fixing potholes and building playgrounds. Power-holders find it convenient to perpetuate the narrative that councils are merely local service providers with limited political relevance, because it helps justify anti-democratic moves to take more power away from local communities, while reducing public scrutiny of the many big,... Read More
Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2022: Volume One
One ring to rule them all: Unpacking the centralisation of power within the Queensland Greens
No matter how noble its intentions, any political movement that seeks to win power through electioneering is gradually going to be co-opted by the process. In imagining how a Greens government might one day operate in practice, we can find clues in the ways important decisions are currently made within our party. Unfortunately, real-world experience suggests we risk falling into... Read More
Social Justice
Was Keneally’s Migration Diatribe Fair Dinkum Racist?
Greens Councillor Jonathan Sri from Brisbane argues that regardless of whether Kristina Keneally is racist herself, her views of immigration will bolster a racist system. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a few people have taken issue with my suggestion that Labor Senator Kristina Keneally’s opinion piece about immigration was advancing racist arguments. I shouldn’t need to start with this disclaimer, but: No, just... Read More
