Goobye Brum, G'Day Oz!

Ex-bins chief ditches 'stink city' for fresh start as activist says 'I may join him!'

- DAN WARBURTON News Reporter

KEY player in Birmingham's bins strike crisis has moved to Australia - leaving the piles of stinking rubbish behind him.

Craig Cooper, who staunchly defended Birmingham City Council's stance during the strike conflict, has moved 10,000 miles away to Brisbane after quitting earlier this year.

His move to Queensland will see him based in one of the “cleanest, greenest and most sustainable cities in Australia”, which was awarded a UN accolade in 2023. Mr Cooper, 58, announced his relocation on LinkedIn, expressing his anticipation “with one eye on Brisbane 2032”, seemingly alluding to the Olympic Games.

He denied he was already working on Games preparation.

Community activist Paul Smith, 46, from Northfield, suggested the move mirrored the council's attitude towards residents who had “given up hope” after enduring months of squalor.

He said: “I might join him. It shows the attitude towards residents. People feel like dead men and women walking. I don’t know what the answer is but people are really suffering.

“I've been out and about and I've seen the rats. There are piles of rubbish everywhere. The weather is getting warmer and it stinks.

“Contractors are coming to clear things. The council is bankrupt - are they going to have a huge bill at the end of all this?”