January 30, 2014
Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio can see advantages in having Blackbutt and Yarraman in the same council area but his feelings are officially neutral on a push by some Blackbutt residents to leave the South Burnett Regional Council area.
Speaking to southburnett.com.au during an Australia Day weekend visit to Yarraman, Mayor Antonio said he believed a petition currently being taken up in Blackbutt by residents requesting a boundary change had 900 signatures on it.
“I can see the benefits of Yarraman and Blackbutt being in the one area,” he said.
“They are only 12km apart. They have a lot of commonality.
“But there’s a lot to discuss about it.”
He said representatives from the group which are organising the petition had met with him.
“All I can do officially and practically is to make sure that they understand the process exactly on border realignment,” he said.
Mayor Antonio suggested opportunities had been lost when the State Government forced council amalgamations in 2008.
“When they did the amalgamations they worked on the boundaries from 100 years ago. If someone had had courage, they would have looked at (combining) communities of interest,” he said.
Mayor Antonio met with members of the new-look Yarraman Community Council during his visit.
The Community Council has a whole new executive following its recent annual general meeting.
He said the TRC was hoping to build stronger lines of communication with Yarraman.
“Councillors will be visiting here monthly,” he said.
He said the TRC was proud of what it had done in regards to holding community consultation sessions around the region.
The first of these was held in Yarraman just over a year ago.
Mayor Antonio said it was very important that Yarraman had a group like the Community Council which could raise issues on behalf of the community.
He identified tourism opportunities as something that could be improved in Yarraman, including the Rail Trail.
“We are also hoping we can put some effort into the ‘community level’ of economic development.”
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