Brisbane mayor rejects Struggle Street filming permit

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has rejected a filming permit request from KEO Films to shoot Struggle Street on council-owned property in Inala, claiming the SBS show damaged the reputation of Mount Druitt in its first season.

Season Two of the series will be based in Victoria and Queensland, but Mayor Quirk says it won’t be getting any help from Brisbane council. He wrote a letter to KEO advising Mt. Druitt was “…unfairly tainted with the stigma of poverty, drugs, abuse and dysfunction without the ability to present a contrary view.”

Targeting a particular suburb, he noted, was not taking a balanced view of economic and social disadvantage.

“Inala is an emerging, aspirational suburb that is overwhelmingly populated by proud and hardworking members of our community. They deserve better than this,” he wrote.

“While Council cannot interfere with your right to deal with individuals on their own property, we will not actively assist you with your production on Council owned or controlled locations.”

An SBS spokesperson said the intention for the series was to be a fair representation of people and communities capturing stories from a diverse multicultural cross-section of the community.

The first season drew volatile headlines and protests, but resulted in bumper ratings for SBS.

Source: Fairfax