By Jeremy Sollars
Southern Downs councillors formally received a report from council staff on the business case compiled by the Granite Belt Community Association (GBCA) in favour of de-amalgamation at their monthly meeting held yesterday, Wednesday 27 February.
The report stated there were “incorrect” assertions made in the business case but the GBCA has denied this, saying there are “no substantive issues raised in the (council officers’) review that would alter the strong case for de-amalgamation put forward by the GBCA in its 2018 report to the Minister”.
“In particular, a review of all comments related to finance has concluded that they do not change the overall robust conclusions of our analysis,” GBCA president Rev Alan Colyer said in a statement released after the council meeting.
“The Association is disappointed however that SDRC has missed an opportunity for constructive engagement, by producing a report that is partially a partisan defence of the authors’ organisation and partially a frequently inaccurate commentary on the GBCA Report,” Rev Colyer said.
“The disconnect between the two communities could hardly be more clearly demonstrated than by comments in the officers’ review.
“For instance, with knowledge of the Granite Belt, why would anyone attempt to deny the importance of its rich Italian heritage and culture or of its tourism industry or of the various sets of legal proceedings that are current?”
“For the residents of Dalveen who were singled out for comment in the review, contrary to the comments in the review at no stage has the GBCA been advised or directed by the Minister not to include Dalveen as part of the proposal.
“Dalveen’s inclusion has been discussed both with the Minister and his staff.
“We are also very mindful that staff may be concerned about their positions if de-amalgamation occurs.
“The GBCA’s proposal is based on no forced redundancies.
“Our report was not able to provide a detailed assessment of the impact on staff because we were refused access by SDRC to the relevant information ‘to protect the privacy of staff’.
“It is doubly disappointing that the review now criticises the GBCA report for not addressing these issues for individual staff positions.
“We trust that the council will work positively to allay the concerns of staff”.”
Rev Colyer said the Association is preparing a response to the Officers’ Review for Queensland Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, who is also waiting on an analysis of the GBCA business case by his department and by Queensland Treasury Corporation.
Mr Hinchliffe has previously stated if de-amalgamation can be shown to be financially viable the matter will be put to a region-wide of all Warwick/Southern Downs and Stanthorpe/Granite Belt residents.
Southern Downs councillors are yet to vote on whether or not they support de-amalgamation of the former Warwick and Stanthorpe Shires.
The council has previously stated it may engage an external consultant to further review the GBCA business case, at a potential cost of up to $40,000.
