KASPER KAASGAARD
Graham Quirk is the current Lord Mayor of Brisbane, sitting since 2011. He represents the LNP and has been in politics for more than 30 years.
In his campaign Graham Quirk has four main areas of focus. He wants to ease traffic congestion by building new roads and bridges. One of the plans, called the TransApex network, is a network of tunnels and bridges to be put up throughout the city.
Quirk also has other plans for the traffic in Brisbane. He wants to improve the public transportation network by introducing 500 new buses and 11 new CityCats along with introducing free City Hopper ferries and the CityGlider bus service.
To enhance Brisbane’s economy, Graham Quirk wants the city to attract more events. This is meant to bring more tourists and visitors to Brisbane and also long-term investments, Quirk hopes.
Lastly, Graham Quirk plans initiatives to help the environment. By planting two million trees and purchasing 500 hectares of bush land for preservation he wishes to improve the city’s carbon footprint. On top of that, he wants the Council to use 100% renewable energy.
Graham Quirk was first elected to Council in 1985 as Councillor for the then Rochedale Ward. At this time Quirk was 27 years old. He has since then served as Finance Chairman, Works Chairman and Opposition Leader among other things.
In April 2011 Graham Quirk became Lord Mayor after fellow LNP Campbell Newman resigned to be the leader of the party and later Premier of Queensland. A year later he was elected Lord Mayor by the people of Brisbane.
Out of school he worked as a trainee teller at Bank of NSW. After a few years he started working for the Liberal Party, before being elected to Council.
Graham Quirk is a student of thoroughbred horse breeding, and a volunteer for the Salvation Army and the Cancer Fund.