Strong talk over boundary debate

BY ROBYN HOLMES

A PLEA by Division 2 Councillor Annette Haydon for a redistribution of Tablelands Regional Council’s electoral boundaries that would shift the township of Herberton into Division 1 was met with strong opposition by Deputy Mayor Kevin Cardew at last week’s meeting.

Cr Haydon told the meeting the vast area covered by her division which includes Ravenshoe, Herberton and Mt Garnet, presented a huge challenge and was, at times, overwhelming.

“As the Division 2 Councillor at this moment in time, I cover a vast area ..... and represent two large towns and two smaller towns with monthly meetings that sometimes run late into the night,” she said.

“Travelling from Herberton to Mt Garnet takes one hour and 15 minutes - sometimes, this gets very overwhelming, tiring and stressful – and you’re lucky to climb into bed around 11pm to begin the next day at 6am.

“A boundary shift between a few divisions would hopefully give the Division 1 representative (Cr Cardew) who does not commit to evening meetings with chambers, progress and business associations, a bit more work to do and maybe an association within the boundary to pick up some of the workload.”

Her remark earned a sharp response from Cr Cardew who said he was “totally opposed” to the request for a boundary review.

“Everyone’s aware of the divisional boundaries before the election – you know the workload, the divisional councillor has been the councillor for a long time in that area and knows only too well what the job entails,” he said.

“If it’s too hot in the kitchen, well maybe you’d better get out of the kitchen.”

He pointed out that the current enrolments in all divisions were of similar numbers.

“The numbers in each division is just about equal throughout the whole six divisions. There is very, very little difference.

“So the fact that the request is being put up and if it’s successful, then in my mind, it will have a very large impact upon the constituents in Divisions 1 and 2 and if they are changed, it will more than likely affect the boundaries of all the other divisions.

“Not to mention the cost for such rectification. Now this was only done four years ago – just imagine what the cost is going to be like for the taxpayer to go back and change this.”

Cr Bilney rejected Cr Cardew’s premise, saying “wholesale” changes had been made prior to the previous election and it had not caused a “public outcry”.

“The quotas are in the tolerance (level) I accept that, but we are not talking about the reason for change being the quotas, we are talking about the geographical challenges of trying to undertake the role in Division 2,” he said.

“Irrespective of who’s the councillor in the division going forward, the same challenges are going to be experienced due to the civic and community duties to be undertaken.

“I think there is an expectation in that division for the councillor to attend community organisations, events and have involvement – a redistribution of towns will make it more equitable in my opinion.”

Mayor Rod Marti weighed into the debate, saying while he understood Cr Cardew’s argument, he did not agree with him.

“It’s not about the population thresholds, it’s about one councillor having three significant communities to service across a fairly large geographical footprint –there’s chambers, there’s business associations, there’s community groups – these things do add up,” he said.

“The request, to be determined by the electoral commission, is really about the welfare of the councillor.”

Chief executive officer Gary Rinehart advised that while council could make the request to the Queensland Electoral Commission, it did not guarantee the review would be undertaken.

Council voted to put forward the request for the boundary redistribution, with Cr Cardew recording his vote against the move.

New way forward for Atherton’s Rail Trail

SUPPORTERS of Atherton’s Rail Trail left Tablelands Regional Council meeting relieved and happy last week after the organisation endorsed the development of a strategy to manage the trail and supported the reforming of the advisory committee.

The group turned up in numbers to the meeting in the hope councillors would support a motion brought forward by Cr Dave Bilney to develop a strategy for the trail in the wake of a decision by the council earlier this month to stop tree planting along a section of the path at the edge of the Tolga Industrial Estate.

“It is evident that there is an absence of a strategy that underpins the clear purpose of the existing Rail Trail and the benefits that such a strategy will bring to the region,” Cr Bilney put forward.

He said the strategy should demonstrate how the council would prioritise maintenance of the trail, engagement with community groups, and the ongoing development and enhancement of the trail.

He also called for the reintroduction of the Rail Trail Advisory Committee, saying it was “critical to get community back on board and helping to guide the future of the trail”.

Crs Bernie Wilce, Kevin Cardew and David Clifton spoke in favour of the strategy being developed, all agreeing that if the document was in place, council would not have been in the situation it was earlier this month.

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ST JOSEPH’S SCHOOL CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1923-2023

St Joseph’s School community congratulates our School Leaders for 2023 - our Centenary Year (1923 -2023).

It is indeed a credit to be recognised by their peers as students who can exemplify the special qualities that are required to serve as leaders.

Our school leaders were officially commissioned at our Opening School Mass on Friday 3rd February.

Throughout the year, our school leaders will be involved in Mini Vinnies aimed at social justice, volunteering to help younger students (Playground Guardians), religious celebrations and extra-curricular activities including discos, Under 8’s Day, Day for Daniel, Walk to School Day and much, much more.

We are confident that our 2023 school leaders will fulfil their positions with a genuine sense of responsibility and commitment – supported by the entire school community. We wish them all the best in their busy year ahead.