Toowoomba councillor Nancy Sommerfield takes aim at ‘exclusion’ in council in final speech

A Toowoomba councillor who will not contest the next local government election has taken aim at a major future project and fluoridated water in her final speech.

Councillor Nancy Sommerfield. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Outgoing councillor Nancy Sommerfield has taken aim at what she says was a “term of exclusion” in council during her final speech, which also features criticisms of a new hydro-electric project and the use of fluoride in public water.

The three-term elected official, who announced late last year she was retiring after the local government elections, covered a variety of topics in her outgoing address at last week’s ordinary council meeting.

But Ms Sommerfield headed her speech by the describing the past four years as “very difficult”, arguing she and other councillors had felt excluded during the term.

“It’s been 12 years of working in water and waste and certainly the first eight years were great years and I felt like I achieved much,” she said.

“But this last term I have to say has been a very difficult one – it’s been a term of exclusion.

“We’ve been excluded from monthly meetings with managers, visits to see the projects being built, information.

“And we have lived and breathed this for the four years of this term, with multiple councillors and staff alike walking by this behaviour and treatment of fellow councillors.”

Ms Sommerfield, who has been in the water and waste portfolio since she was first elected in 2012, also took time to address upcoming projects at council, harshly criticising a pumped hydro-electric scheme in the works at Cressbrook Dam.

“In relation to the pumped hydro scheme, I have strong concerns about that and I have voted against it every step of the way,” she said.

“The main reason I’ve done that is I keep going back to (the idea of) taking six gigs of water out of (Cressbrook) even when it’s mud.

“So it really worries me about what it’s going to look like when you’re taking six gigalitres out of 40, 20 or 10 gigalitres every single day and what that’s going to do to the ecology of that dam.

“We have beautiful fish and plants in there and that will be all destroyed, I believe, if this plan gets to go ahead, so I urge councillors to take caution on this.”

Among her numerous achievements, Ms Sommerfield said she was proudest of pushing for the delivery of the council’s landfill gas project – something that took years to realise.

“The landfill gas project is fantastic and I have fought for it since 2013,” she said.

“I have nagged staff ever since to keep it on the agenda and finally get it delivered in December 2022 and what a great project that has been.

“It’s one of my prouder moments I have to say.”

Ms Sommerfield also encouraged the council to review its use of fluoride in water, citing the recent Queensland court ruling that some vaccine mandates for frontline workers were unlawful.

“I’d encourage council to further investigate the putting of fluoride in our water,” she said.

“It’s considered a medical procedure to prevent tooth decay.

“With the latest ruling by Justice Glenn Martin that vaccine mandates were unlawful and the ruling reaffirming the fundamental rights of individuals to make informed decisions about their own healthcare without fear of retribution or coercion, I believe council should give careful consideration about its decision to fluoridate water supplies in the future.”

Every local government gets to determine whether to fluoridate its water supply, which the Queensland government says is “good for people of all ages”.

Ms Sommerfield closed by thanking portfolio chair and deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff and acting water and waste general manager Jaek Prasser for their help.

“I’d like to thank councillor Rebecca for all of her support and leadership in the water and waste portfolio,” she said.

“We have been a great team, I’ve really enjoyed working with you and we’ve done a lot of brainstorming about various things and gotten best outcomes out of it, so thank you very much.

“Jaek, to you and your team, thank you also.”