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Trundle, ever heard of it? Up to a few weeks ago I hadn’t, but this town in NSW of less than 500 people now has its own weekly national television show – Country Town Rescue. To attract people to live in their dying town five homes were offered at a $1 a week rental. This raw reality program demonstrates what a community can do to keep their small country town just that, hopefully for the next five, ten, fifty years.
While definitely not a dying region I wonder that the Rockhampton region needs to do to attract more people to live here. Could towns like Marlborough, Bajool, Westwood or Mount Morgan benefit from a Trundle like initiative? Or is the plan to sit on our hands as more services leave these towns encouraging people to leave for the bigger centres, all in the name of efficiency.
What is the plan for the whole of the Rockhampton region?
The Council has a vision for the region to be the most liveable community in the world. However their website gives little detail. (Just finding the vision statement in the website is a challenge.) Does everyone in the region buy into this vision anyway? This to me has been the biggest failing of amalgamation for our region; the lack of a plan on how to include all the communities that make up the Rockhampton Region to truly feel a part of it. The Name for the regional council was wrong. Changing it though is maybe not the most prudent use of rate money’s. The top down approach Council seems to be taking rather than a bottom up (grassroots) approach is wrong. For people to buy into a forced amalgamation they need to feel their views are heard. Council did conduct their “Be Heard” workshops but I understand only 51 recommendations were received. A sign that more work needs to be done to encourage people to feel a part of the region and thus more willing to contribute. To assist we need a slogan that reflects positively on the whole region. Extending Rockhampton City Beef Capital of Australia title to the whole region is a big brother top down approach and not the answer. Perhaps a competition could be conducted to gain grass roots input for a slogan and hopefully acceptance of it. A slogan will help in the region’s branding, giving people a reason to think more about Rockhampton region. If Council does nothing and brands like Great Keppel Island Resort, Zilzie Bay, and Gracemere develop their own separate image without a blanket regional slogan then the fracturing will continue. Just look at Las Vegas, with all the multi million dollar casinos, hotels, resorts, ego’s, etc., one unifying statement brings it all together, – ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’. That was planned, it didn’t just happen.
Amalgamation has not been perfect, but was it perfect before? The next Council needs to bring a new approach to the way amalgamation is managed; de-amalgamation is not the solution to the current problems. New thinking is needed and a plan on unifying all the communities that make up Rockhampton region needs to be prepared. Our region is changing; we can manage the change or sit by and see what happens. Much like what has happened for the past ten years or more. Inaction that now sees the Rockhampton Region not benefitting as much as it should from the current resource boom. Fail to plan, then plan to fail. Before all the Mayoral candidates fall over their feet to say they are in favour of de-amalgamation in an effort to win votes, I urge them to look for new ways to make amalgamation work. In the long term I believe amalgamation will make us all stronger. Strong leadership and a willingness to listen are needed. Maybe like the LNP did with Campbell Newman, bring in someone new without the baggage, without the old prejudices. It’s going to take some time to achieve, but if we all feel part of our region, part of a unifying plan and vision, then together we will all be stronger communities and region for it. Something Trundle I believe will become with its warts and all portrayal of living in a country town.