Toowoomba Decides: 10 key moments from city’s major council election forum
Council candidates have delivered some thought-provoking and contentious answers during a mammoth election forum. Read the highlights here.
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Toowoomba council candidates have gone head-to-head on the tough questions at one of the region’s only major election forums.
Twenty-four of the 27 people running for the 10 available seats took the stage at Clifford Park for Toowoomba Decides, hosted by the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Triple M Darling Downs and The Chronicle.
While the region’s small business community featured among the topics, questions were spread across a full gambit of issues, including future projects, water security, local roads and the culture of council.
Here are some of the highlights from the 3.5-hour forum:
1. Notable no-shows
While most candidates fronted up to the forum to answer community questions, there were three notable empty seats at the Grande Atrium.
Prominent Toowoomba businessman and developer Gary Gardner declined the opportunity to speak, as did the “Say No To Woke” team of Nathan Essex and Adam Carney.
Mr Essex did have time to hold his sign up at the corner of Tor St and Hursley Rd on Thursday afternoon, just down the road from Clifford Park.
2. Councillor cops interruption from audience
While the crowd of nearly 200 people was generally well-behaved, councillor Bill Cahill was the subject of a heckler that caused a sharp reaction.
Mr Cahill was discussing the limitations of the Toowoomba Regional Council to fund its extensive local road network when the interruption occurred.
“The fact is, and I thought I was pretty clear in explaining, that we had to focus on water network,” he said in response to moderator Daniel McCay.
“It’s critical infrastructure, but we can’t balance all the balls in the air at the same time.
“That is the reality — I ask any of you, is your family budget up to scratch the way you’d like it?”
A young man then shouted out, “but you’re paying for it”, to which Mr Cahill curtly responded with “Excuse me?”
3. McMahon taken to task on lost mountain biking funds
Councillor Tim McMahon was grilled over the council’s decision to terminate $3.3m worth of federal grant funding as part of its delay of the long-awaited Toowoomba escarpment mounting biking masterplan.
When directly asked by an audience question about the matter, Mr McMahon said he didn’t agree with the premise of it.
“I’ve gladly stuck up my hand every time this term that came up and said we should have a really good mountain biking precinct in Jubilee Park,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s as simple as did we let the federal government funding lapse.
“We had in this year’s budget $3m from council ratepayer dollars put aside to start real work on that project.
“When it got to the point there were changes in the federal government.
“Now, what’s happened? It used to be blue, now it’s red.
“And all of the money that they had advocated to a whole bunch of projects Australia wide, they’ve changed the criteria and made it harder to get.”
4. Manteufel urges rethink on Toowoomba Aerodome
When asked by a chamber member over whether candidates were committed to the Toowoomba Aerodrome’s future, real estate agent Trevor Manteufel said the land could be used for a different purpose.
“Do we, long term, look at maybe closing it down, the council doing a housing development,” he said.
“Or do we put the stadium there?
“I think long term it will probably have to be relocated or moved. I don’t know whether all the hangars there are being used at the moment, but we’d need to do some feasibility studies on it.”
This view was shared by council customer service officer Robert Relvas.
“As a customer service officer, I can categorically say that over the 12 years that I’ve been taking calls, we do get a lot of calls complaining about the city aerodrome, planes that sit at the end of the runway at 5.30 in the morning, revving up their engines before they take off,” Mr Relvas said.
“Maybe it’s time that we perhaps look at taking it out of there and putting it somewhere else or the better utilisation of the Wellcamp Airport.”
5. Taylor questioned over council leadership
First-term councillor Melissa Taylor was pushed on her thoughts about the executive leadership at the council, including the future of chief executive Brian Pidgeon.
“I have stated that I actually support a functioning operational arm and a functioning governance arm, and we as an organisation have to come together to ensure that that’s what happens,” she said.
“I will do everything using my local government experience and my business experience … to ensure that that’s what happens to the betterment of our community.”
6. Hartwig’s caravan of ideas
Manufacturing worker Martin Hartwig, whose entertaining answers were a memorable part of the evening, made a suggestion that council lessens restrictions on people allowing caravans to set up on their properties.
“Stop trying to regulate things so much,” Mr Hartwig said.
“Step out of the way and let your grandson live in caravan in your backyard instead of falling into whatever the cascading effect comes from being homeless.
“Council can do something. Council must do something.”
This answer preceded Tim McMahon’s statement on the issue, where he said the TRC would be happy to work with anyone around the matter as long as vehicles or tiny homes could be connected to the sewerage system.
7. McIntyre wants to bring back festival
On the topic of tourism, local artist and community advocate Chelle Michelle McIntyre reiterated her idea that council should help fund the return of the popular First Coat Festival, which saw artists from across Australia and the world beautify buildings throughout the CBD.
“We have a huge arts community here. People are desperate, be involved in the arts and to get that running, they feel a little bit rejected over all of that,” she said.
“We’ve long been known as an arts town and I think people are a little desperate for something bigger to go on. So I’m suggesting a resurgence.
“And you know what? That will practically run itself because we have so many great volunteers here.”
8. Orford takes on ‘very good talkers’
Businessman Mark Orford, who admitted at the forum of his limited knowledge of council, took aim at the sitting councillors during a quick aside, describing them as “very good talkers”.
“The existing councillors are all very good talkers and they’re very knowledgeable on the areas and I think there should be disclosure,” he said.
“These guys just introduce themselves what areas they are responsible for, and that’s coming from somebody who doesn’t know very much about everything because I’m not on council.”
9. O’Shea fires back at audience member over Carnival
When a question from a small-business owner suggested the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers was becoming less lucrative for businesses and less popular with tourists, sitting councillor James O’Shea defended the council’s support for the premier event.
“There’s got to be times and opportunities where it moves forward, and we’ve seen that in recent times with the expansion to 30 days,’” he said.
“I take that seriously. I take that feedback on board. I hope that’s also being relayed through the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers team when it comes to the feedback and things like that.
“I appreciate the feedback and obviously we can always make an event better.”
10. Shine’s admission over Cressbrook Dam
The subject of the $270m Cressbrook Dam spillway upgrades, which will confront the next council, continued to pop up during the forum on Thursday night.
It is an upgrade the TRC has known about since 2009, with the council now hoping for a bailout from the state government or risk raising rates and taking on more debt in the next budget.
Sitting councillor and political stalwart Kerry Shine was quizzed on the project and whose responsibility it was for allowing it to slide, admitting it should’ve been dealt with earlier.
“It’s a shame looking back that it wasn’t dealt with earlier, money put aside,” Mr Shine said.
“But that’s the reality in which we find ourselves, and no doubt out there were very worthy projects that were undertaken because that money was spent on those sort of projects.”
Deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff weighed in on the subject, reaffirming the project was being imposed on council by the state government.
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