Save the Regent

The Reclaim the Regent group will hold a rally in Reddacliffe Place, at the top of the Queen St Mall, on Saturday, June 26, at 10.30am. Your attendance at this peaceful event will help let the Government and the owners of the building know that the current development plan, which will see the demolition of the Showcase Cinema, Elizabeth Street facade and original bar area, is unacceptable cultural vandalism.

Please sign the e-petition to State Parliament here.

More than 11,000 people have joined the Facebook group, All those against Regent Cinema in Brisbane being knocked down!, (click here to visit), while membership of the group offciially affiliated to this site is around 5000. Several other Facebook groups also have many thousands of members between them. Even given multiple membership, this represents a formidable number of people opposed to the current development proposal for the building. And that's just among Facebook members -- the number is much, much larger in the wider community. Please continue to engage with these groups, and let Anna Bligh, Sitlring Hinchliffe and ISPT know that we mean business!

With the Regent closing its doors, it's time to redouble our efforts to obtain a change of heart from ISPT, which owns the building and has commissioned the redevelopment, and from the State Government, which has the power to persuade the developers to take another course. Please continue to contact the Premier and ISPT -- flood their in-boxes -- with protests and, especially, positive comments about how the Regent could be restored for the benefit of all Queenslanders and what a enourmous act of corporate citizenship it would be to make that happen. It may seem like the darkest hour, but politicians sometimes do listen to the people who elect them. Click here for contact details.

If you saw the segment on the Today show on Channel 9 and want to help save the Showcase cinema and other unlisted elements of the Regent theatre, here's what you can do: Write to the Premier, Infrastructure Minister, Lord Mayor, developers and owners of the building, saying there is a better way, where a public-private partnership can truly save this cultural icon for future generations. Addresses can be found here. Time is running out, so please act now!
PS: If you want to see more video of the Regent, this link will take you to the Bruce Paige Remembers story from the Brisbane Channel 9 news.
Update: Thanks to those who pointed out the link was wrong. It's now fixed.