March 7, 2016
Cr Barry Green believes the forced Council amalgamations in 2008 were probably the best thing that ever happened to the South Burnett.
The 68-year-old Councillor, who will be stepping down from his Division 1 seat on March 19 after two terms with the South Burnett Regional Council, also served two terms on the former Nanango Shire Council. So he’s seen the situation from both sides.
And in his view, the picture looks much brighter now than it did in the past.
“In the last few years the Council has spent literally millions upon millions of dollars in Nanango,” Cr Green said.
“Some of the projects we’ve tackled include spending $1.7 million to replace the Ben Walters Bridge in Drayton Street; another $1.1 million to upgrade Nanango’s CBD and fix the long-standing drainage problems in Henry Street; expanding the Scott Car Park and putting in a new toilet block there; bringing the Nanango Cemetery up to the standard it should be; and establishing the Nanango Energy Centre,” Cr Green said.
“We also upgraded Pioneer Park and Butter Factory Park after the floods; put in new toilets at Tipperary Flat, cleaned it up and planted it with Australian natives; built a new entrance for Lee Park and the equestrian area on Racecourse Road; upgraded the Nanango and Wattle Camp dumps; helped Nanango SES get a new building; fixed the roof and floor of the Nanango Cultural Centre and installed new furniture there; and spent a small fortune on the Nanango Aquatic Centre to retile it and fix the roof.
“With no disrespect to the former Council, we’ve probably spent more improving and expanding Nanango in the last eight years than they spent in the previous 20.
“But we’ve only been able to do that because our new Council simply has more financial muscle and can tackle bigger problems.”
Cr Green said the outlays didn’t just stop at the CBD; the Division had also seen extensive roadworks.
“We sealed a big section of Wattle Camp Road, and Kimlin Street is now full width,” Cr Green said.
“We also fixed the section near the BP Garage, widened a big section of Appin Street, sealed Brown Street and the northern end of Gipps Street, and extended the bitumen on Brights Road from McGee to Rural Road.
“This was in addition to the normal maintenance we carried out on rural and urban roads in this Division, which is a never-ending process. And let’s not forget the maintenance and upgrades we’ve carried out on the town’s water mains and sewerage mains, which were starting to get to the end of their working lives.”
Cr Green said he knew some people thought amalgamation was a backward step and that “things were better in the old days” but he respectfully disagreed.
“We simply didn’t have the money to tackle really big projects,” Cr Green said.
“For example, within the next five years if everything goes to plan, Nanango will stop getting its water from Barkers Creek and start getting it from a pipeline Council is going to build from Kingaroy,” Cr Green said.
“This is going to cost about $9 million to build, so Council will be setting aside $3 million a year over a three-year period to do it. But when it’s built, Nanango will get better water and its future water security will be assured. And that, in turn, will set the town up for future growth.
“That’s not a project we could even have dreamed of when we had our old Shires, much less a project that Nanango – or Kingaroy, for that matter – could ever have afforded.”
Cr Green said he was stepping down because he felt he’d achieved what he wanted to achieve when he put up his hand for the new Council in 2008.
“I got onto Nanango Shire Council in the 1980s because I wanted to get street lighting in the CBD. That was my single major aim, and it took me two terms to get it,” Cr Green said.
“Once I’d done that, I stepped down. But when the new Council was formed I had a new vision, which was to upgrade the CBD itself, and it took two terms to get that, too.
“But now that it’s done, I think I’ve achieved what I set out to do. So it’s time I retired and pursued some of my other interests, like horse training and bird breeding.”
Does he have any words of advice for his intending replacements?
“Yes, I do,” Cr Green said.
“First of all, have faith in the good sense of the electorate. An election isn’t just a judgment of the people, it’s a judgment by the people. And they rarely make a mistake.
“Second, never engage on the side of what might appear to be popular. Always get the facts and make your judgment based on fairness.
“The majority will eventually agree with what you’ve done.”
Thank you Barry. What a wonderful example you have left.
As I sit in a small internet cafe in the back blocks of south-east Thailand having just read the report on the retirement of South Burnett Regional Councillor Barry Green after 8 years and his comments on the success of the amalgamation of the former Shire Councils, especially for the town of Nanango and surrounding areas in Division 1, I hope that all the residents in that Division really appreciate his efforts to achieve all the improvements and additions etc that Barry has outlined.
It would be great to see sometime in the (not too distant) future that Barry’s efforts be honoured by naming a prominent local building or fixture etc after him, perhaps at Lee Park racecourse given his love of thoroughbred racing.
I have attended a number of SBRC meetings over the last 4-5 years and I always appreciated hearing Barry’s views on the subject being debated and most times he managed to bring a sport as an analogy eg rugby league or horse racing etc into his comments. For this alone he will be missed in the Warren Truss Chamber.
One addition Barry did not refer to in the report is the South Burnett Sporting Wall of Fame in Nanango which was one of his pet achievements and I am sure he is most proud of it.
Finally, I wish him all the best for the future and I trust that the successful candidate in Division 1 adopts the words of wisdom he has offered, it has definitely worked for him over the previous 8 years.