From the Mayor's Desk - 13 September 2022

Mayor sends condolences on the death of Her Majesty the Queen

It is with great sadness, that I join with all the people of the Goondiwindi Region in mourning Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II following her death last week.

Many people have defined history, but none have defined it in a more profoundly positive way than the late Her Majesty the Queen.

For the majority of people around the world, they have only known Her Majesty. In a world of change, tumult and uncertainty, Her Majesty was a constant, a bedrock of stability, certainty, courage and calm. A continuous reference point of hope, a comfort to millions, especially during some of the world’s most challenging times.

The citizens of Goondiwindi Region join with countless others from around the globe, in offering messages of condolence and support to the Royal Family at this time, as well as expressions of hope, encouragement and loyalty to our new Sovereign, King Charles III.

The official State of Queensland Condolence Book is available at www.qld.gov.au/condolences.  The messages of support and condolence provided to the State of Queensland Condolence Book will then be collated and forwarded via Government House Queensland for transmission to Buckingham Palace.  For those residents unable to complete the online condolence book, you may visit our Customer Service Centres in Goondiwindi, Texas or Inglewood and we will assist with entering your message.

Inglewood Aged Care Committee progresses towards solution

The Inglewood Aged Care Committee met again in recent weeks to review the quantity surveyor report for the independent living plan for the former ‘Casa Mia’ facility.  The report includes an estimate of the likely costs of possibly up to $2 million to convert the existing facility to five (5) independent living units.  The proposal includes Council continuing with the management rights to the site, and undertaking a property management role, with rental income to offset operational costs.  As independent living units, individual residents would then engage a Home Care provider directly for their needs.  As expected, the investment required is significant and will rely on external funding to proceed.  I want to again acknowledge the wonderful work of the Inglewood Aged Care Advisory Committee who have been instrumental in progressing us to this point.

Inglewood Evacuation Assembly Point open to the public

Councillors and staff have also visited the new Inglewood Evacuation Assembly Point, that is now at the Inglewood Waste Transfer Facility.  The new site has the ability to take around 500 vehicles and includes basic amenities.  Whilst it’s not luxury, it will certainly be far more fit for purpose than the previous site.  In Inglewood the nature of flooding is that we have very little warning, but are also fortunate that flood waters usually recede in a relatively short time.  That’s why it is an Assembly Point to cater for what is hopefully a short period of disruption rather than a fully equipped Evacuation Centre. 

On Tuesday 4th October, 2022 we are inviting the public to the new site to take a look around and ask questions of the Local Disaster Management representatives.  The site will be open to the public from 3pm – 4pm.

Texas Housing Forum a fantastic evening

Last week I was invited to speak at the Texas Queensland Inc (TQI) Texas Housing Forum.  I thank TQI for coordinating such an important information evening, and it was evident by the large attendance numbers how topical this issue is even in our smaller towns.  The evening was extremely positive with people now looking at how they optimise vacant lots of land in Texas including through subdivisions, and the community were appreciative of Council commitment to assisting them through that process. Congratulations TQI on a successful event.

Talwood Community Consultative Committee meet again

Last week I also attended the Talwood Community Consultative Committee (TCCC), along with fellow Councillors where we outlined upcoming Talwood projects, and addressed a range of community queries.  Council has again in 2022-23 financial year allocated $20,000 in discretionary funding to the Talwood CCC for the town’s community improvement priorities.  Council also advised that following community consultation, and only favourable responses, we would be proceeding with the application to the state government to remove the North and South Talwood suburbs and create a single Talwood suburb.

Inglewood Hospital celebrates centenary

It was my pleasure to attend the centenary commemorative celebrations of the Inglewood Hospital over the weekend.  A great day out for families and a wonderful opportunity to catch up with past residents and hospital staff.  Celebrating 100 years of operations is a milestone which highlights the hospital’s proud history of providing quality care and support to the community.  The Inglewood hospital continues to work closely with the community and it is evident that even 100 years on, the community appreciation for the hospital is as strong as ever.    

Community events and activities continue to thrive across the region

Congratulations to the Texas Historical Society on a great day out on the weekend at the Texas Heritage Centre and Tobacco Museum.  They were celebrating 50 years of the Society and along with many locals past and present, it was my pleasure to join in their celebrations.  We are so fortunate to have such wonderful volunteers committed to the critical role of preserving our history.

The St Mary’s year 3 class were out and about last week assisting Council with tree planting.

Congratulations to the Texas Terriors rugby league team.  This was their first year back in the Border Rivers Rugby League competition and how superb that they were the grand final winners!

Congratulations also to the Goondiwindi Hawks AFL women’s team, on their historic first premiership win this past fortnight.

Border Crime Prevention Committee continues push for improved outcomes

The Border Crime Prevention Committee met last week and I was very happy to welcome in person the President of the Children’s Court of New South Wales (NSW), and the NSW Cross-Border Commissioner, along with the Chief Magistrate of NSW virtually.  The meeting also include a number of other senior NSW officers, local representatives including the Queensland Police Service and Goondiwindi Chamber of Commerce, along with senior officers from the Queensland government.

The committee’s efforts to date have resulted in a 24-hour police station in Goondiwindi and an additional 7 police officers, most of which have now been appointed.  Our efforts now focus on advocating for appropriate interventions, restraint and rehabilitation for the small number of repeat youth offenders – all of which are State (NSW and Queensland) responsibilities.

September marks the 100-year anniversary of solar eclipse experiment in Goondiwindi

On the 21st September 1922 a team of scientists travelled from the Sydney Observatory to the Goondiwindi Town Park to participate in a worldwide effort to confirm Einstein’s general theory of relativity.  Einstein’s general theory predicted that the light travelling to us from the stars should bend as it passed the Sun.  Goondiwindi was one of many sites chosen for the exercise, ultimately resulting in evidence to support Einstein’s theory.  Whilst the Goondiwindi team were unable to take sufficiently precise photographs to test the theory, it was nonetheless a significant milestone and an important historic event.