The Chronicle calls for council accountability

Everyone wants to see the Toowoomba Regional Council thrive and reach its full potential, however some serious issues facing Toowoomba council does not make for easy reading.

The Town Hall in Toowoomba. Toowoomba feature: journalist, Jessica Grewal.

Everyone wants to see the Toowoomba Regional Council thrive and reach its full potential.

The leaders of the organisation and their ability to succeed as a team in the short term will determine how bright the future will be for our city and region in the long term.

Their success in a lot of ways is tied to how much your family’s rate bills come to, your business’s opportunities in the future and ensuring the wider region thrives as it grows.

Today’s investigation into the serious issues facing Toowoomba council does not make for easy reading. It is neither a mud-raking exercise or cherry-picked opinions from disgruntled employees and stakeholders.

To make those assertions is to bury your head in the sand and discredit real growing fears from a wide range of women and men in the ranks of the Toowoomba Regional Council as well as some of the most community-minded and influential people who call this region home.

Councillors, council insiders, the business community and even our state and federal MPs have expressed their concerns about the organisation’s ability to seize and follow through on opportunities that have real consequences in shaping our city’s future.

The sheer number of people from all sectors of the community and inside council who have spoken up about their concerns for the organisation is overwhelming. All have agreed the way for council to move forward is to address these issues, acknowledge the scandals as well as the toxic culture in a meaningful and transparent way.

I have no doubt every councillor who made the admirable decision to represent their community wants the best for the people they represent – but infighting, childish behaviour, lack of transparency and accountability will only let these issues fester.

There are a lot of great people within our elected representatives and higher ranks of council, but there are questions that need to be answered.

What is being done to address claims of a misogynistic and toxic culture within the organisation’s ranks?

Who took a photo of a councillor – a man who has served and given so much to this community – then leaked it and failed to step up and apologise?

How has the council not planned to fund Cressbrook Dam throughout the past decade?

Is the higher leadership of council ambitious and methodical enough in its future planning and execution of those plans?

There is a lot at stake in the next four years, and it is imperative these questions, among others, are answered to have a council with diverse and robust debate, ambition and accountability.

The Chronicle is calling on mayor Geoff McDonald, deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff and their councillor colleagues to pledge to lock in quarterly meetings with Groom MP Garth Hamilton, State MPs Trevor Watts and David Janetzki, the Chamber of Commerce and Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise to have open discussions and enable a unified attack to planning, advocacy and accountability to ensure our region reaches its full potential.

Mr Watts and Mr Hamilton have agreed to the idea of these meetings, we hope the other leaders will join.