Be interesting to see if any of the Mayoral aspirants respond to this column with their aspirations.
A producer of Sixty Minutes was on the phone to the Mayor’s office, “we want to do a feature story on Rockhampton, a city that despite being in the heart of Australia’s greatest ever resource boom is identified as one of the ten most disadvantaged cities in Australia. We feel there is an interesting story here and want to get local perspectives on the reasons behind this. Would the Mayor be available for an interview?”
How would our five Mayoral aspirants handle that scenario? An opportunity to sell Rockhampton, or make excuses and pass blame for poor planning, or simply decline the national television exposure. If the opportunity was accepted how would the next Mayor respond to the following questions (especially if asked during Beef Week)?
(i) Do you believe persisting with the Beef Capital of Australia slogan has negatively affected people’s perception of Rockhampton as a place to re-locate to?
(ii) Why hasn’t the Council been more pro-active in fighting for the early roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN)?
(iii) Why in a region screaming out to fill jobs does Rockhampton have an unemployment rate of approximately 7%?
(iv) Why do 10000 people want to de-amalgamate from the Council?
(v) If the resource boom were to end tomorrow, what would be Rockhampton’s future?
(vi) It’s been described as the gap in the Queensland map. Why is that?
(vii) Why should people consider moving to Rockhampton to live?
(viii) What is Rockhampton doing to attract new industry/jobs to Rockhampton?
(ix) Why in the eye of the resource boom are property prices flat?
Hopefully the next Mayor in this scenario would accept the opportunity and see the national coverage offered as exactly that, an opportunity. An opportunity to start reversing the negative image created from previous national coverage Rockhampton received of last years flood. Despite being seemingly behind the eight ball in comparison to other centres in Central Queensland, like Mackay, Gladstone and Emerald and a high percentage of disadvantaged in the community, in the right light and with genuine enthusiasm these apparent weaknesses can become our strengths. Rockhampton region has people wanting work; Rockhampton region has affordable housing; Rockhampton region offers both sea change and tree change lifestyles; Rockhampton region has the chance to learn from other regions mistakes as it actively pursues opportunities its geographic position provides.
Of course the Sixty Minutes reporter would be trying to paint a picture of poor planning, poor leadership, a region grown reliant on government incomes and spending; but a vibrant Mayor brimming with genuine enthusiasm could positively respond to the above questions, not dwelling on the past, but projecting an image of a region ready to go forward, ready to meet the new challenges that lay ahead. A Mayor that’s not weighed down with baggage, but one with a new set of eyes, has a long term plan and will persistently fight to see solid foundations are correctly laid.
The Mayor would be a salesperson for the region that through their enthusiasm inspires others to get involved at grass roots level eager to help lay the solid foundations for the community. A salesperson that inspires others to live, work, play and invest in the region. A salesperson that sees the national exposure a Sixty Minutes interview would offer as part of a platform to build a new dynamic vibrant image of Rockhampton region.
Let’s hear more about the Mayoral candidate’s aspirations for our regions future than who didn’t do what so many years ago. We’re in a new era, with new challenges, new opportunities. It’s time Rockhampton region embraced a new direction and dared to dream big. Hopefully one of the five Mayoral aspirants agrees and sees one of the lights at the end of the tunnel is a train; a fast train travelling between Rockhampton and Gladstone, and eventually west out to Alpha and beyond.
