From the Mayor's Desk - 17 February 2021

Council advocates for Inglewood aged care, connectivity and locust support

I’m sure many residents would agree that advocacy at a local government level is crucial, and I’d like to take the opportunity in this fortnight’s column to discuss some of the ways that Council is currently turning advocacy into action right across the Goondiwindi region.

Last Wednesday, Council facilitated a community meeting in Inglewood to discuss the provision of aged care services in the town. More than 100 people including myself attended, and I want to thank all those who came along with the shared goal of working together to get results for our community. I’m pleased to say that a local steering committee has been established as a result of that meeting, and Council will work with that group in the coming weeks to determine the next steps going forward - stay tuned for updates.

Regarding internet and mobile connectivity in the region, I’ve recently been hearing from some residents who have noticed service deterioration with their telecommunication providers. Along with my fellow Councillors, I was able to meet with representatives from Telstra last week to discuss mobile ‘black spots’ and customer support. We were all pleased to hear about the return of Telstra customer call centres to Australia, which will include their expansion and establishment of regionally-based centres. I was also educated about the Internet of Things (IoT), a new and emerging opportunity available even in traditional black spots for small data parcels (such as sensors), which will be able to provide connectivity on farms for improved productivity.

Meanwhile, Council has also been lobbying the State Government for an appropriate response to the current locust population in our region. Since locusts are not a species we regularly deal with in our area, that response has certainly taken longer than I’d like. But, as a result, we are now hopeful that Council will soon have more resources to help landholders tackle this issue, and that state-level assistance may become available in the future. In the meantime, we remain concerned about the locusts’ future breeding cycles between now and the end of the season and ask that landholders remain vigilant.

On a different note, after a quiet 12 months or so, the region’s 2021 event calendar has begun with a bang. I want to congratulate the Festival of Hell committee who this year celebrated 30 years of one of the nation’s most celebrated - and most challenging - triathlons right here in the Goondiwindi region with the Hell of the West. It’s such an enormous achievement and continues to be a huge boost to the region. Well done, too, to all our local athletes who took part – what a great show of skill, spirit and determination.

I also wish to congratulate Rotary Australia on their Centenary celebrations, with the Goondiwindi Rotary Club hosting the R100 Baton Relay earlier this month - it was a great family night with nearly 1,000 in attendance. Over in Texas, I spent some time this fortnight with the organisers of the Texas Country Music Festival and the Texas Race Club, and I can assure you that the town has a lot to look forward to in 2021.

Finally, I attended a Goondiwindi Chamber of Commerce business breakfast last week – the first I could attend since becoming Mayor due to previous COVID-19 restrictions. With more than 60 people in attendance, it was a great pleasure to meet some new faces and discuss upcoming opportunities for our region, such as Inland Rail. We also heard from some local speakers about an exciting range of innovative ideas and projects under way in our region – and I very much look forward to watching these progress.

Hon. Councillor Lawrence Springborg AM

Mayor

Goondiwindi Regional Council