Council needs real vision

“WHERE there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)”.

I am reasonably sure this is the very first of my musings ever to begin with a scriptural passage – so there you go.

We are in the home straight for local elections with more candidates putting up their hands to serve the community every week.

Although it may turn out to be a Melbourne Cup sized field there are some wonderful candidates making their way to the barrier.

People from a diverse range of backgrounds are wishing to serve and wanting to lead.

So here is what I’m looking for when it comes to the local government celebration of the democracy sausage on March 28, 2020.

I want councillors and a mayor with courage and a vision.

I expect council to be actively listening to the wants and needs of the Toowoomba region’s residents. That’s a given.

I would especially hope that each candidate could tell us what the hopes and aspirations as well as gripes and challenges are for residents in Yarraman, or Clifton or Pittsworth and all of our smaller towns.

So roads, rates and rubbish are a given – but what I really want to know is what your vision is for our region.

Of all of our levels of government I honestly believe that local government has the greatest capacity to create healthy, harmonious and truly sustainable communities.

In 2018 the Queensland Cancer Council highlighted the fact that 60 per cent of adults in the greater Toowoomba region were overweight or obese.

To current councillors, what have you done and to aspiring councillors what will you do to address this appalling statistic locally?

The face of Toowoomba is constantly changing.

Once upon a time it could be assumed the majority of residents would subscribe to one faith tradition or embrace a similar cultural heritage.

What is your vision for our region when it comes to cultural diversity?

Does this vision move beyond celebrating dance and cuisine to addressing the very real challenges when it comes to employment for people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Can you conduct an adult conversation around the make-up of our population without unleashing the demons of racism and bigotry?

Is our region truly accessible to people of all abilities?

And then we move to the sustainability of our region.

If this past Spring and Summer of bushfires teaches us anything, it is that climate change is not only a moral question for Australians, it is an economic one as well.

How will you protect our precious wildlife and agricultural sectors?

What will you do to prepare for a transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable forms of energy?

Does your vision leave space for the next Queens Park for our region?

Do you have a proactive plan to address the challenges of climate change?

I write none of this with a sense of deficit or indeed defeat in terms of our community leadership.

We have been blessed with leaders of vision and courage before now, in the present and I am sure into the future.

Sometimes we as residents have not been big enough to catch the vision put forward by our officials.

The resurrection of the Empire Theatre is a case in point.

Today the theatre is considered a jewel in the crown of our regions performance arts, but there was a time when those who dreamt these dreams suffered at the ballot box for the breadth of their vision.

May our council aspirants be courageous in the vision they put before us and may we as residents be brave in backing them as they lead us through opportunities and challenges into the next decade.