By Dominique Tassell
Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) moved a motion to confirm The Stanthorpe Sports Association (SSA) joining the Granite Belt Alliance at the recent Ordinary Council Meeting.
In November 2020 Council endorsed its participation in a group called the Granite Belt Alliance (GBA). Members of GBA include Council, Granite Belt Growers Association, Granite Belt Sustainable Action Network, Granite Belt Wine & Tourism and Stanthorpe and Granite Belt Chamber of Commerce.
The purpose of GBA is to provide greater cohesion between the member organisations and to work collaboratively to achieve better outcomes for the Granite Belt.
They also aim to share and disseminate information across the member organisations, improve communication with Council, other levels of government and the community, and provide Council with strategic guidance and/or recommendations in relation to issues relevant to the member organisations on an ongoing basis.
The group’s inaugural meeting was held on 23 February 2021.
The last meeting of the GBA was held on 11 June 2021 and the draft minutes of the meeting were provided in the recent SDRC meeting.
The meeting recommended that the Stanthorpe Sports Association be invited to be a member of the GBA.
The agenda identified the risk of “Council failing to develop and maintain strategic relationships which impacts on Council’s ability to advocate in the community’s favour” if they did not confirm SSA joining the Granite Belt Alliance.
Councillor Jo McNally raised that there has been talk of the art gallery joining this alliance, however the only organisation nominated in this meeting was the Stanthorpe Sports Association.
“I’d like to see the Stanthorpe Art Gallery be included in this alliance,” she said.
“Obviously we’ve just received grant funding to build a new library and art gallery so it would be good to have the arts community represented on this alliance.”
Mayor Pennisi stated that he was sure SDRC could discuss that as an agenda item at the next meeting.
“I don’t think anyone is precluded, the only thing we ask is that they’re a representative of a big group of people.”
He used the Growers Group as an example.
He said he would be happy to speak to this on Councillor McNally’s behalf at the next Alliance meeting.
The motion was moved by Councillor Andrew Gale, and seconded by Councillor Cameron Gale.
The minutes of the meeting included in SDRC’s agenda revealed that Graham Parker had raised in a meeting that Melissa Hamilton being involved in both Protect Our Water (POW) and Granite Belt Sustainable Action Network (GBSAN) may present an issue as she had a public stance against Emu Swamp Dam (ESD).
Rick Humphries advised that GBSAN “has no intention of getting involved in the ESD project and that Melissa Hamilton is entitled to be a member of GBSAN regardless of her involvement with POW”.
