Toowoomba residents have their say on divisive issues in 2021

Ranked from least to most divisive, these are the issues that created division among Toowoomba residents in 2021, from vaccines to controversial developments.

From politics to development to national, and global news – 2021 has been packed with events that have caused division and sparked opposing opinions among Toowoomba residents.

In 2021, The Chronicle ran several opinion polls in the paper, online and on social media to encourage people to share their opinions on the issues that matter, from local concerns to global crises.

Here are the issues that divided Toowoomba in 2021, from least divisive to most based on the number of responses to each poll:

6. Covid-19 vaccines

Toowoomba residents were quick to broadcast their many and varied opinions on the COVID-19 vaccine at the beginning of 2021.

https://www.facebook.com/TheToowoombaChronicle/photos/a.10150994789336254/10157750722881254

In January, Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio called on the Premier to give Toowoomba residents early access to the Covid-19 vaccine as a result of the quarantine hub proposal.

The Chronicle asked Toowoomba residents whether they agreed the region should have access to the vaccine before the rest of the state.

391 people voted, and 108 comments were made on the Facebook post.

QUESTION: Should Toowoomba have early access to a vaccine?

YES: 59 per cent

NO: 37 per cent

OTHER: Four per cent

5. JobKeeper

At the beginning of 2021, thousands of Australians were still relying on the JobKeeper payments, however fears of job losses were rife in the community if the subsidy dried up.

We asked The Chronicle readers if they believed the payments should be extended beyond March 2021.

462 people voted, and 92 comments were posted on the Facebook post.

Majority of people voted no, like Terry Crouther, who said a lot of businesses should not be getting the payments.

With hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders still relying on JobKeeper to stay in work, there are fears of job losses when the subsidy dries up. STORY: https://bit.ly/3ali7fq

Posted by The Chronicle on Sunday, February 14, 2021

“I agree we need to keep some sort of help coming in, but it should be targeted at specific industries like, tourism operators and events agencies,” he comments.

“The government should be building a lot more infrastructure like, public housing, water infrastructure, disability care and aged care facilities, fast rail network to help turn the course of our ever rising fuel costs and co2 emissions.”

QUESTION: Should JobKeeper be extended beyond March this year?

YES: 45 per cent

NO: 55 per cent

4. Toowoomba water

In January of this year, the Toowoomba Regional Council were forced to respond after Highfields and Meringandan residents voiced concerns about the town’s drinking water, with some identifying changes in the taste and smell.

One resident said the water tasted like “unhealthy sludge”.

In response, Toowoomba Regional Council Water and Waste Committee Chair Cr Rebecca Vonhoff said water to the area came from the Mt Kynoch Treatment Plant.

https://www.facebook.com/TheToowoombaChronicle/photos/a.10150994789336254/10157722980156254

“The Mt Kynoch Water Treatment Plant is currently undergoing an upgrade and as part of the upgrade a condition assessment was completed to ensure there was no drop in service to residents connected to this supply,” Cr Vonhoff said.

“During this process council began taking water from Cooby Dam exclusively rather than Cressbrook Dam.

“The water from Cooby Dam is usually only used to supplement supply during high demand rather than as a primary source.

“While the water from Cooby Dam is treated to the same standard and complies with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, there is a difference in the taste between the water from Cressbrook and Cooby.”

383 people voted on the poll, and 216 comments were posted on the Facebook post.

QUESTION: Do you think Toowoomba’s water changed in taste recently?

YES: 75 per cent

NO: 23 per cent

OTHER: Two per cent

3. The US Election results

It’s a fair way from home, but the US election attracted the attention of Australians for months in 2021, after Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.

Biden’s monumental win over incumbent Donald Trump drew both praise and criticism from Toowoomba residents.

Democrats leading the impeachment trial against Donald Trump have warned their case against him could be strengthened if he refuses to testify. STORY: https://bit.ly/2My7Fry

Posted by The Chronicle on Friday, February 5, 2021

Readers were asked whether they thought Biden would do a better job during his presidency than Donald Trump did.

533 people voted on the poll, and 160 comments were recorded.

QUESTION: Do you think Joe Biden will do a better job than Donald Trump?

YES: 50 per cent

NO: 44 per cent

OTHER: Six per cent

2. New Acland Coal Mine

The New Acland Coal Mine has long been a source of division in the Toowoomba community.

https://www.facebook.com/TheToowoombaChronicle/photos/a.10150994789336254/10157777351296254

So it’s no surprise that when a poll question was proposed to the public, opinions were mixed.

In December this year, the Land Court of Queensland made its final recommendation for the expansion of the mine at Oakey, recommending that the application for stage three be granted.

In February, when the Land Court was still making their decision, we asked whether the readers of The Chronicle believed the expansion should be approved.

801 people voted, and 160 comments were made.

QUESTION: Should the New Acland Coal Mine be approved for expansion?

YES: 90 per cent

NO: 10 per cent

1. Cheer Cheese

https://www.facebook.com/TheToowoombaChronicle/photos/a.10150994789336254/10157718414736254

At the beginning of 2021, a popular cheese brand revealed a groundbreaking and necessary new rebrand, changing their name from “Coon” to “cheer”.

The original name was retired after more than 80 years over claims of racism.

The company rebranded to be named “Cheer Cheese”, announcing the shift in January 2021.

More than 1500 people voted on our Facebook poll, and 554 comments were posted.

QUESTION: What do you think of Coon’s rebrand to Cheer Cheese?

Should have stayed Coon: 87 per cent

I like the new name: 13 per cent