Emu Swamp Dam
Dear POWter’s & Rate Payer’s,
As we flicked through the paper last week, another big POWty one page add screamed out at us. It’s great this mischievous mob are supporting local business and we hope they are paying top dollar for it.
Now they scream about back door deals and secrecy from our elected representatives. But who are these mysterious POWters? No body knows !
They haven’t named themselves or called a public meeting ? Who’s the secret blogger writing ” I” this and “I” that ? Sounds like a one person band. They are pretty much an anonymous mob who say they represent the “Rate Payers”. You don’t represent us. We don’t even know who you are. Surely we the Rate Payers have to trust that our Council and our elected are doing the best for us ? Not some mysterious secret dam haters club.
Now they say ” the squeaky wheel makes the most noise”.
Time to put some oil on those squeaky wheels because the we’ve become immune to the noisy minority.
This dam is a priority. Stop spreading misinformation and lies and find another hobby like gardening or knitting.
Best regards,
The Emu Swamp Dam Brigade.
Councillors exit Stanthorpe 150 re-enactment
Take a bow Mayor Vic, Cr Gale, Cr Bartley, Cr Tancred and Cr Gow !!
I read the Stanthorpe Today headline last week “Crs exit stage left”. Witty but also disappointing.
Apparently 4 of our Warwick based Councillors have found reasons not to celebrate Stanthorpe’s 150th birthday party, which is sad. Where is the sense of regional unity they touted at the last election? Plenty of people in Stanthorpe voted for Cr McNally, Cr Windle, Cr McDonald and Cr Gliori and may now be disappointed in them. But I’m very glad that Cr Gale and Deputy Mayor Bartley are going down from Warwick to join Mayor Vic, Cr Gow and Cr Tancred for the party. The mighty 5 !
You reported that Cr McNally says she “doesn’t have the time.” Then why did she attend rehearsals and reportedly force changes to the script to suit her role? What will she now be doing on Sunday afternoon 15th May? Gardening? Pilates? House work? Who knows.
Cr Windle is also quoted as not having time to be involved. Perhaps she will be at pilates with Cr McNally on Sunday afternoon. I heard that at rehearsals Cr Windle dressed up in period costume and told the organisers she was ‘really looking forward” to the event. What changed?
Cr McDonald won’t attend because apparently she has “a four hour trip” to get to Stanthorpe and back. Really Councillor? Google maps show it is 85 km from your property at Rogers Creek to Stanthorpe and should take 1 hour and 2 minutes. The S. S. Minnow (Gilligan’s Island fame) was only gone for a ‘three hour cruise’. Perhaps you are driving too slow?
But Cr Gliori has the best excuse of all! He is double booked at a poet’s breakfast at Allora apparently. The Stanthorpe event starts at 3pm. When does the Allora breakfast finish? Probably when all the pork pies have been eaten. It’s intriguing that Cr Gliori also attended Stanthorpe rehearsals before his Allora engagement became known. Surely Cr Gliori isn’t so important a poet that the Allora event can’t do without him for the afternoon?
I really hope that the Stanthorpe locals enjoy the afternoon that the Little Theatre is organising. I have heard that some previous Councillors have stepped up to the mark to fill in for the current Councillors who are respectively; too busy, too busy, too far away and too important. Hey ! that would be a good name for a children’s song by the Wiggles; Busy, Busy, Distant and Important. Perhaps on the ABC children’s hour?
L. Ross
Warwick
Council Mid-Term Legacy
This Council is at its mid-point. Elected in March 2020, it will stand down in March 2024. I look forward to the newspaper perhaps doing a ‘report card’ evaluation of Council and Councillors at some stage, but I thought I’d offer my personal opinion of our performance to date. This is partly prompted by regular correspondence from a past Councillor (2016 to 2020) who asks “What will be the legacy from this term of Council?” It’s a legitimate question. Although leaving some sort of legacy was not a motivation for me to run for Council, I suppose if you do your job well then by default there will somethings to hang your hat on after four years. Let me offer three hard and three soft achievements I’m particularly proud of.
Legacies usually involve building something you can touch and look at – these are the hard bits of a legacy. This Council has ticked off two large infrastructure projects so far; the Warwick Saleyards redevelopment and the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery and Library expansion. These are significant projects that affect industry and liveability. They had been considered and re-considered over several previous terms of Council, but I take some pride that we revisited the projects with fresh eyes, settled on the plans, successfully applied for funding and will see them both started in 2022.
The third very large infrastructure project is the possible construction of Emu Swamp Dam. It’s another project that has been on the boil for many years and although its realisation is out of Council’s control, this Council has certainly supported it. I’ve supported it because of the great economic benefits for the whole region and the added urban water security it could provide for Stanthorpe.
There are several soft legacies that I am also proud of. Firstly, I’m proud that Council developed and adopted an Environmental Sustainability Strategy that will guide Council to reduce our urban footprint and be balanced custodians of the land we operate on. It’s a 10-year plan that incorporates water, waste, energy and valuing nature as we seek economic resilience and ongoing liveability. Secondly, I am proud that Council reviewed its Pest Management Scheme and now has a scheme that is workable and widely supported by our landholders. Landholders are the front-line custodians of the land and it was very important that we consulted with them in the review.
The third soft legacy will be the new Planning Scheme that is being developed over the next two years and will last for 10 years. I’m hoping that with broad community and business consultation, the new scheme will also be something that I and my colleagues can hang our hats on.
There are many, many bread and butter services Council provides and small and medium sized issues that we deal with every week. Getting a good outcome for residents on each and every one of these is important and it’s what keeps me engaged as a Councillor. But as my mid-term answer to the question ‘What’s your legacy?”, I would humbly offer up the six pack described above and look forward to adding a few more things to the ‘pool room’ before March 2024.
Cr Stephen Tancred
