The Opportunity for Change
Recent
changes to local government present opportunities for positive change in Kuranda
and the surrounding area.
For years, Kuranda has been effectively without any representation on Mareeba Shire Council. Not surprisingly, there weren't many complaints from our area when the Queensland Government decided to amalgamate Mareeba into a new Tablelands Regional Council.
The greater Kuranda area (including some parts of eastern Mareeba) is now one ward - Division 8 - within the new Tablelands Regional Council. Division 8 will elect one Councilor to represent its interests on the new Council.
There's also an election for Mayor of the entire Tablelands Regional Council. These elections are on March 15th 2008.
Why I'm Standing
I'm standing for the position of Councilor in the Kuranda Area because I want to ensure this very special part of Australia is represented effectively and has the best possible start to the new local government arrangements.
At the core of my policies is better consultation. I want everyone in the Division to feel they have a Councilor who listens, keeps the electorate informed and works hard to promote the common good. I intend to use the internet to help keep constitutents in touch with what's happening on Council. I also suggest setting up a new, consultative forum, open to all interested people in the electorate. Such a forum could review upcoming Tablelands Regional Council decisions, advise Kuranda's new Councilor and develop strategies for positive change in this area.
This
means that if I get elected, YOU can have ongoing input into Council decision-making
- if you want it!
If you're too busy to be involved, at least you'd have confidence that important decisions are routinely open to review by interested members of this local community.
Please visit my campaign website at www.betterkuranda.com for more about this proposal and other ideas for Kuranda's future. I invite you to tell me your own priorities for the new Council.
A Prosperous Kuranda
Kuranda Paper readers may know me as an activist in Friends of the Earth Kuranda, who has campaigned in opposition to the Kuranda Range 4-Lane Highway and urban development at Myola.
These campaigns have met with some success, but I've become increasingly dissatisfied with this role. A community activist can help to STOP inappropriate new infrastructure, but that's much less than half of what's necessary if we are to create a prosperous and sustainable Kuranda.
We also need appropriate NEW initiatives to make this community a better place to live. We need investment in infrastructure for sustainability. A Councilor has more chance of pulling this together than an activist on the outer.
I am not - and never have been - only interested in blocking new development.
I
want appropriate development - development that's compatible with a sustainable
way of life - and plenty of it!
Many new jobs will be created in the transition to sustainability. I want Kuranda to be a leader in this worldwide necessity. Kuranda can turn the environmental crisis, generally regarded as a problem that threatens our living standards, into an economic opportunity.
If elected Councilor, this will be at the heart of my policy approach.
Other key goals include building a resilient, prosperous local economy, state-of-the-art Council service delivery, keeping rates and charges stable, creative support for tourism and community activity - and a process of reconciliation, at local level, between the indigenous people of this land and those of us whose background is non-Aboriginal.
For more information, contact: Syd Walker Phone:07 4093 8384