Fed up, and ready for a fight

Concerned Queenslanders coming together against inadequeate local government accountability

Members of the QLGRA committee in Gympie on Saturday. Picture: Jacob Carson

FRUSTRATION and determination were the major themes on display as concerned constituents from Gympie and around Queensland came together yesterday.

As part of the Queensland Local Government Reform Alliance (QLGRA) forum, members of the group had the opportunity to voice their frustrations and concerns with the actions and behaviour of local councils in their area.

With 2017 providing local government bombshells in Ipswich and the Fraser Coast, the decision to host the meeting in Gympie was far from coincidental.

"From what we've been told, there are a number of concerns from residents here in Gympie that echo similar issues across Queensland,” QLGRA President Colin Hewett said.

"There's a feeling local constituents aren't being listened to, and even through things like community meetings and forums with councils - there's still a divide.”

The format ion of the QLGRA was a way to, essentially, create a united front by bringing together disparate groups with similar concerns to better tackle the issues.

"If you have a small group of people, working singularly, they'll very rarely have an opportunity to get through the door in the first place,” Mr Hewett said.

"So the idea behind the group was to be large enough, to make enough noise.”

How effective this has been, he admitted, is hard to gauge - but with several recent high-profile incidents (the ousting of Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale and major internal problems in the Fraser Coast Council), more and more are coming over to the cause.

Issues of local government have never received as much scrutiny as that of state and federal issues, but Mr Hewett sees that changing soon.

"Well people are hurting, that's the truth plain and simple,” he said.

"They're paying more in their rates and for many, I don't think they're seeing any benefit of that.”

The latter part of the meeting saw community members from a wide range of local government areas voice their concerns, from Ipswich, the Fraser Coast, St George and the Sunshine Coast.

Not the type to mix words, they spoke candidly about the frustration they've felt when attempting to hold their respective councils accountable.

"For too often it's been the administrators ordering around the elected officials, when it really should be the other way around,” said Cliff Thomas - who was instrumental in the deputation of the Fraser Coast Council.

"What sort of people are we electing?”

The meeting continues today at the Freemason's Hall.