Here in Hervey Bay we seem to be gathering an interesting crop of candidates ranging from councillors from the current Fraser Coast Regional Council to people with business experience who want to see something better for the region than what we currently have and others who are just plain enthusiastic.

In the past it’s been hard for ordinary residents to actually get to know the candidates … and for those candidates to get their message out to the voters. But these days … thanks to all the various types of social media … it’s a little easier than it once was.

These days we have candidates advertising on Facebook and even running their own blogs where ordinary people like you and I can actually question them … and hopefully get a response.

One such candidate is Stuart Taylor … the guy who runs Charlie Bucket’s down on the Esplanade at Scarness. He has an interesting blog that gives you some insight into the man behind the election advertising and if you want to know what his vision is for the Fraser Coast … and Hervey Bay … then head over to this entry.

Perhaps you can even surprise him with a few questions to see if there’s some substance to his ideas. Visions are wonderful things but what’s behind all those wonderful ideas?

Another new candidate who is using the web to get his message out is George Seymour. Follow that link and you will find that he has policies on everything from abandoned shopping trolleys (cattle grids at car park entrances … really?) to bigger recycling bins and cat desexing.

And of course there’s Jim MacKellar who has his own website and at the same time is busy sending out press releases to every local news website he can find … and that’s not such a bad thing.

Local Government Minister Paul Lucas has just  announced that the Government had accepted the recommendations of the independent Change Commission to change the Fraser Coast from an undivided council to a divided council.

The Change Commission will now work out where boundaries will be drawn to ensure quotas comply with requirements of the Local Government Act 2009.

And what will all that mean? Only time will tell but perhaps some of the current members of Council will be struggling to make the new Council … and that may not be such a bad thing.

We might even get some Councillors who are prepared to look at their role in a whole new light. Hopefully we’ll at least see an end to complaints that Council is biased towards Hervey Bay or Maryborough.

Who is right?

Well maybe Jim has a point because Council was not able to spend all the money it allocated in the last budget … there may be as much as $30 million left unspent. Yet the latest budget takes an additional $10 million dollars from ratepayers … many of whom are struggling to survive financially.

Sure the Council may be looking at building up its cash reserves but when so many businesses and individuals in Hervey Bay, Maryborough and beyond are struggling to survive in these difficult times now is hardly the time to be making the struggle even harder.

Perhaps it’s time our Councillors realized that governments spend money in tough times and save money in the good times. They do it to hasten the recover and it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do. It’s a lesson that our Council needs to learn because if they don’t this area will never recover.

In places the road is not all that wide and there are large stretches that have no footpath for pedestrians or those on mobility scooters and one of the worst spots just happens to be the busiest spot … the last few hundred metres or so that lead down the hill to the lights at the McLiver/Main Street intersection.

Jim MacKellar says that the Fraser Coast Regional Council still has $1.7 million in their Footpaths and Bikeways Capital budget but the council has been busy telling residents who have complained about the situation that they have no money.

So does the Fraser Coast Regional Council have the money or not? It’s possible that all will be revealed on the local news on Channel 9 tonight.

According to the draft Community Safety Plan presented to the Fraser Coast Council on Thursday 27/1/2011 almost half (49.8%) of the residents of the Fraser Coast are among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged people in the state of Queensland.

Only 3,300 people in Maryborough are considered to be among the 60% least disadvantaged people in the state. 24,000 are among the 40% most disadvantaged.

These are appalling and distressing facts. Especially as there are no apparent reasons for our region to be so poor, for our people to be so disadvantaged compared to the rest of the state.

We have a wonderful climate, ready access to road, rail and air transport, a ready pool of employable people and ample available land. Why are we so disadvantaged?

Even more appalling is the fact that this report was presented to Council on the same day as they chose to increase their salaries to cover the proper reduction in their allowances. Where is the empathy?

What is to be done? Professional regional economic development presents the only real opportunity to improve the situation. And the organization best placed to implement regional economic development is the regional Council.

But what are they doing? The Council’s economic development efforts are directed only to major projects and tourism. And the last few months have proved how fickle the tourism market can be. Why are we pouring millions of dollars into it at the expense of all other forms of business development?

Economic wellbeing is based upon a solid foundation of small to medium size businesses producing goods and services for local and external markets. Building this base can only be accomplished by following the well proven steps that have been successful in the past.

Where are our small business incubators? Where is our business retention scheme? What has Council done to improve the regulatory environment for small business investment on the Fraser Coast?

Are our present Councillors seriously interested in improving the desperate degree of socioeconomic disadvantage on the Fraser Coast or are they more focused on the preparation of their fancy reports and strategies to create the impression they are doing something?

‘Words, its only words’, may very well be the theme song of this Council but the people of our region need more, much more.

You can find his website here and it’s definitely worth looking at if you want to know what Jim stands for.

“Fuel supplies have not been interrupted, but a rush on service stations created a temporary shortage yesterday.”

Really Mick? Mate where have you been? Obviously you haven’t been in Hervey Bay where all the servos have been out of fuel for the last few days … not just yesterday.

Come on Mick – try and make a real difference like most other Mayors are doing instead of producing nothing but hot air!

The link to the Fraser Coast Chronicle article

The question of whether we should have electoral divisions within our Regional Council area is one that has been long debated. At first examination the view that each Councillor should represent a division has much to recommend it. Each Councillor has a specific area for which they are responsible and about which they should be knowledgeable.

It is argued that residents can be aware of who their Councillor is and so who they should contact about Council matters. In the present, undivided, Council a resident is at liberty to contact whichever Councillor they feel is best able to assist them with their query or problem. This is, in fact, also the case in a Council with divisions. People are not restricted as to whom they may contact. So the situation does not really change one way or the other.

However, the real difference between the two systems becomes more apparent when we consider elections. Given that the state government insists that we are only allowed to have single member electorates there are two principle disadvantages in a divisional system.

The first, and most obvious, is the limitations on the geographical spread of the Councillors. The electors of the Fraser Coast showed at the last election that they are quite ready to elect Councillors from all over the region, regardless of where they actually live. So we have a fairly even spread of representation.

If divisions are introduced for the next election this would be arbitrarily changed. With each division having, as close as practicable, equal numbers of voters, we would see 6 Councillors from metro Hervey Bay, 2 from Maryborough, and one each from the northern beaches area and the entire rural hinterland. History has proved that, despite the best intentions of Councillors to consider the entire area, in democracy the money goes where the votes are. Regrettable but true.

The not so obvious disadvantage of single member divisions is in the resulting degree of diversity in skills and interests of the Councillors. This is the result of each voter being only able to make one choice of candidate. So they must weigh up all the issues and chose the person who has the best mix of strengths on the issues that most concern them. It also leaves Council vulnerable to being ‘stacked’ by vested interests. For example, the way the Gold Coast and Cairns Council’s have been controlled by the development industry in the past.

On the other hand, in either an undivided Council, as we have now, or one in with multi-member divisions, the electors are able to choose a number of candidates who cover a much broader spectrum of interests and talents. So an elector may give one vote to an environmentalist, two to people with business experience, a couple to people with community or arts interests, etc. etc..

In this way we are much more like likely to have an elected Council which is able to have a balance of skills and backgrounds and is thus able to bring a much broader perspective to their considerations of the business of progressing our region in a sustainable manner.

Though the present system may have its problems, I believe there are much better solutions available than changing to single Councillor divisions. One I would suggest is the New Zealand system of Community Boards. It warrants much more scrutiny and consideration than it has been afforded to date.

Perusal of the FCRC’s Community Financial Statement for the 2009-10 reveal quite a bit for local ratepayers to be concerned about.

One of the most disturbing facts revealed is the 20% of arrears in payment of Council rates and charges. This represents an amount of $12.6 million outstanding.

The causes behind this level of rate arrears must be of serious concern to our Councillors. Is it because people simply will not pay their rates i.e. a rate rebellion?

Or is it because the level of rates in this region are causing financial stress to a substantial proportion of our residents, i.e. they are not paying because they simply cannot afford to.

As we live in an area recognized as economically distressed and welfare dependent it would be a fair assumption that the later applies in many of these cases.

Has Council compiled information as to the circumstances of these people for consideration by our Councillors when they next vote on an increase in the rates and charges?

Given that Council has over $80million in cash reserves (money in investment accounts) and showed a surplus (profit) of $12million for the last financial year, one would have to seriously question the necessity of this years increases in rates and charges.

How much money does the Council need to accumulate and how much hardship are the Councillors prepared to inflict on our needy in accumulating more and more reserves?

Where is the compassion, where is the empathy?

The brochure was titled “Five Point Response to Financial Crisis” and on the Council website the Fraser Coast Regional Council said this about the brochure:

“The Fraser Coast Regional Council has adopted a five point plan to help minimise the impact of the current global financial crisis on our region.

The plan outlines the Council’s initiatives under the headings:

* Employment security;
* Development activity;
* Injection of funds into the local economy;
* Utilisation of local suppliers in the provision of goods and services; and
* Strong fiscal management.”

Amongst all those fine words in the brochure are a few that I think the Council needs to be reminded of:

“Council must show leadership and instill confidence in the community about the local economy by continuing to invest in tourism, facilitating job creating development, supporting local industry, investigating the provision of incentives for targeted development and encouraging business opportunities that close the service gap to the community.”

So Fraser Coast Regional Council when are we going to see you do more than just utter fine words? When are we going to see you take some action to actually do what you said you would do? When are you going to get with the plan guys?