What should Brisbane feel like after dark—and what needs to change before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
Adam sits down with John “J.C.” Collins, Queensland’s first Nightlife Economy Commissioner, whose experience includes touring the world with Powderfinger and operating Brisbane venues including The Triffid and Fortitude Music Hall.
They discuss why the nighttime economy extends well beyond bars and clubs, what J.C. heard while consulting across Queensland, the pressures threatening grassroots music venues, outdated regulation and liquor licensing, late-night trading and public transport, safety and connectivity between precincts, and the opportunity to develop a distinctly Brisbane nightlife experience before 2032.
This conversation was recorded in the green room at The Triffid. As it is a working live music venue, you will occasionally hear some background noise.
This is the public version of the podcast. YouTube channel members can watch the extended conversation, which includes more on the practical regulatory obstacles facing venues, the different nighttime economies J.C. encountered across Queensland, and his fuller assessment of how further reform could be progressed.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Brisbane after dark: what must change?
1:22 From Powderfinger to Nightlife Commissioner
4:00 What overseas nightlife gets right
4:55 What actually counts as nightlife?
6:03 What J.C. heard across Queensland
7:27 What makes a great nightlife precinct?
8:24 Where Brisbane is falling short
9:47 YB Painting Services
10:16 Can nightlife work for everyone?
11:29 Could licensing relief keep venues open?
12:51 The night out begins before the venue
15:18 Connecting Brisbane’s precincts safely
18:23 Why women feel unsafe after dark
20:27 Can more nightlife make cities safer?
21:34 Why Brisbane needs to be ready by 2028
25:06 What makes nightlife uniquely Brisbane?
26:19 Is Brisbane really an early-to-bed city?
28:58 Which reforms should happen first?
30:37 Turning the report into action
33:09 Will Powderfinger reunite?
#Brisbane #Nightlife #JCcollins
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