Social work as a political strategy: Greens aim to grow a grassroots campaign in a Brisbane seat

On a sticky autumn Saturday, three weeks out from the election, Greens candidate Max Chandler-Mather is going door-to-door, talking to voters in the southern Brisbane suburb of Carina.

In recent years, the Greens have won seats on the Brisbane city council, and claimed the state electorate south of the Brisbane river, where Griffith is based. That foothold has underpinned a very unconventional sort of campaign.

Most outsider candidates spend their time fomenting a mood for change. Instead, Chandler-Mather is acting like the incumbent, organising local forums and, with volunteers, planting community gardens and handing out Covid-19 care packages. After the Brisbane floods, they helped people clean out their homes and dropped off supplies.

The seat of Griffith covers inner-city suburbs on the south side of the Brisbane River, from the Gateway Bridge to Dutton Park.

While the Greens have strongholds in West End and parts of South Brisbane, as you move further away from the CBD, more Labor and LNP pockets appear.

To bolster their chances at victory, the Greens have attempted to build a grassroots community campaign that centres on meaningful relationships, says University of Queensland political scientist Dr Glenn Kefford.

But Kefford says the Greens are mistaken if they think victory will be easy.