Politicians are living rent-free in your “quiet spaces”

Attention Conservation Notice. This is a rant. Not a eulogy, not a civic announcement — a rant about how even grief, even the quiet act of remembering a beloved pet, has been transformed into a branding opportunity by those who understand that in 2025, visibility is virtue. See, once upon a time, public service meant showing up. Now it means showing up… on signage. Because if a politician builds a dog memorial in the woods and no one sees their face beside it, did it even happen?

You would think a memorial space for pets — a quiet, compassionate spot to reflect on loss — would be immune to political ego. And yet, in Brisbane, even grief gets a photoshoot.

The so-called Rainbow Bridge Reflection Seat offers a place to honor beloved pets who’ve passed on. But the sign meant to guide mourners is less a gentle invitation and more a soft-focus campaign ad. It features not just the name of the local councillor (potentially relevant), but also the full-page grin of Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner — a man whose actual involvement in this local initiative appears to be minimal at best, but whose party affiliation conveniently matches the local councillor’s.

It’s not grief, it’s co-branding. A kind of cross-promotional sympathy pop-up, where the real message is, “Look who gave you this moment.”