{"id":52449,"date":"2013-12-04T20:52:04","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T10:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=52449"},"modified":"2020-09-07T13:39:32","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T03:39:32","slug":"visit-spreads-qlgra-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/12\/04\/visit-spreads-qlgra-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit Spreads QLGRA Message"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 4, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

A member of the Queensland Local Government Reform Alliance<\/a><\/strong> – an alliance of various groups pushing for de-amalgamation of local councils – visited Yarraman recently to touch base with local residents.<\/p>\n

Dan McCabe, from Toowoomba, told southburnett.com.au<\/strong> he wasn’t acting officially on behalf of the QLGRA but he had written back to president Bob Johnson about his impressions collected during the visit.<\/p>\n

Mr McCabe spoke to several Yarraman businesspeople to gauge their feelings about how amalgamation was going.<\/p>\n

He also attended Community Engagement Forums organised by the Toowoomba Regional Council at Cambooya, Greenmount, Clifton, Pittsworth, Crows Nest, Goombungee, Gowrie Junction, Kingsthorpe and Meringandan West.<\/p>\n

“I was interested in the (community engagement) process and how it was received in these communities,” Mr McCabe said.<\/p>\n

“I spoke with some who presented proposals to Council at the forums; I spoke with others about Council\u2019s community engagement efforts and about amalgamation in general.<\/p>\n

“I also raised the work of the Queensland Local Government Reform Alliance.<\/p>\n

“Formed in July this year with the overall objective of putting the \u2018local\u2019 back into local government, QLGRA currently has representatives from 21 former Councils and Shires.”<\/p>\n

Mr McCabe said he was impressed by the differences between the communities in the Toowoomba Regional Council area, especially driving from Crows Nest to Yarraman.<\/p>\n

He noted that all the towns he visited had very different characters but all were feeling a loss of identity and a “Toowoomba-centric” view of Council prevailed.<\/p>\n

“I take this opportunity to thank those who spoke openly with me in the districts mentioned and at Yarraman. Your acceptance of me and your views were appreciated,” he said.<\/p>\n