Queensland MP Aidan Mclindon talks about the Regent:

A supporter of this campaign has compiled a list of superannuation companies who will be investing in the Regent development via owner ISPT. The list is as follows and the suggestion is that, if your super provider is one of them, send them a letter or email expressing your opposition:

(savetheregent.com has not independently verified this list; we welcome corrections and/or additions.)

In the Courier-Mail today (July 16, 2010), Matt Condon writes of his frustration with the stock reply he received from the Premier's office when he wrote, as a private citizen, to ask Anna Bligh to intervene on behalf of the Regent. Condon writes:

I also know enough about life to understand that any government that treats its people and their concerns as unworthy of mindful consideration, that deems it satisfactory to subject them to cut and paste mimeographhs on matters that go to their hearts, and that frankly disrespects them as fools who know no better, has lost its grasp of democracy, its purpose and its obligation to the people it pretends to represent.

Well said, sir!
I suggest everybody who received the same form letter as Matt write again to the Premier with specific questions and asking for real answers. Don't let the Premier and her team treat us with contempt.

The battle goes on. For the moment, make sure you have signed the petition to Queensland Parliament. And please spread the word to others about it. The link is here.

Some video from the Reclaim the Regent group's recent rally:

What a line-up - a reminder that the big names of the arts and music industry are opposed to the current plans for the redevelopment of the Regent. Be there if you can!
And don't forget the Rally Behind the Regent on Saturday. Details below.

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.

The picture tells the story: these people and thousands of others are opposed to the current development proposal for the Regent.

Des Partridge, the longtime cinema critic for The Courier-Mail, has thrown his weight behind the Save the Regent cause. Here's some audio of him telling 4KQ's breakfast team of Laurel, Gary and Mark how this last-of-a-kind venue will be lost barring a last-minute change of heart by the State Government. As Des notes, not only are the Showcase (which, he confirms, does include material from the original Regent auditorium) and bar area set to be demolished but the Heritage-listed marble staircase is under threat by the development.

Throughout this process, Premier Anna Bligh has been promising a "vibrant arts hub" in the redeveloped Regent. Yet the details have been sketchy at best. Here's a question you might like to pose to your local MP, the Premier, the Deputy Premier or the Infrastructure Minister (See Links for contact details):

Could the Premier or other relevant minister please inform the people of Queensland of the exact length, in terms of years and/or months, of the agreement for BIFF and Screen Queensland to lease office space in the Regent Tower, and for films to be screened to the public, albeit only on weekends and public holidays, at the redeveloped venue?

A group of passionate people are organising a "queue" to draw attention to the closure of the Regent and the fact that the cinema can be saved. It will be held on Saturday, 29 May, between 11am and 11.30am in Reddacliffe Place, at the top of the Queen St Mall near the casino. The organisers write:

. There will be a simple 'queue', symbolically waiting, I guess, for the government and the developer to realise that the existing plans are inadequate.

I am all in favour of any way we can draw attention to this issue and, on the understanding that it's being organised properly and will be conducted in a legal and safe manner, I urge people who can do so to attend it.
- Brett Debritz
savetheregent.com webmaster

Did you receive a letter/email from Campbell Newman or Anna Bligh thanking you for bringing the Regent to their attention? If so, please reply along these lines:

Dear Lord Mayor, With so many people having already drawn this issue to your attention, do you think it may now be time for action? Will you support a public/private partnership to at least save the Showcase cinema and bar area, and perhaps even to restore the orginal Regent auditorium to give Brisbane a much-needed second large multipurpose auditorium?

As this story on Ourbrisbane.com says, please visit the Regent before it closes -- and keep making a noise about saving the Showcase and bar areas.

The history of the Regent, including events since its 1980 makeover, is presented in a beautifully compiled document here. Please take the time to read it and look at the pictures, then ponder what the State Government and the Brisbane City Council is prepared to sacrifice in the name of "progress".

The Regent's "D-day" is fast approaching. Please, even if you have already done so, send a letter to Anna Bligh (premier@ministerial.qld.gov.au), the building's owner (admin@ispt.net.au and dbrowning@ispt.net.au) and others (there's a full list of addresses here) saying something like: "Along with thousands of other Queenslanders, I do not believe the current plan to redevelop the Regent sufficiently protects this unique building. Any redevelopment should include the culturally significant Showcase cinema and ornate bar area. Premier, you have promised that a "cinema" will be included in the new office tower, however it will only be open on weekends and it seems that it will lack professional cinema-style projection and sound equipment. Also, I am extremely concerned that nobody will say how long it will remain open to the public, even on this very limited basis. Premier, it is not too late to ensure that the Regent truly lives again as a public venue for all Queenslanders to enjoy."