The Electoral Commission is currently considering submissions to ensure that each of the 10 new divisions in the new Cairns Regional Council has an approximately equal number of electors; ie around 8,200 in each one.
The commission is supposed to complete this task by 24th September so let's hope that they keep to their schedule. Meanwhile, we can make some guesses. Division 1 will keep its name and expand from the current 6,000 voters in Mirriwinni, Babinda, Bramston Beach, Gordonvale etc to gain an extra 2,000 voters in Edmonton and East Trinity. This means that the current division 2 will have to push north into the Whiterock area to get its quota of voters.
Division 3 will be left with only half its constituents and will have to encompass almost all of the current division 4. Does this mean goodbye Paul Freebody?
Going north, a new division 10 will take in all of the Douglas Shire plus Palm Cove and Clifton Beach and a new division 9 is likely to include all the remaining northern beaches. Sno where will you go?
The main part of the city will be covered by the new divisions 5, 6, and 7.
The Cairns1st candidates are keen to know the boundaries so that they can get out there and start knocking on doors. Whilst it's a time of uncertainty we are all still out there listening to people, attending functions and raising our profiles.
We don't have developer money behind us so will be holding functions to raise the funds necessary to run a campaign and buy all the media we need. And no - unlike federal government candidates - we don't get any funding from the government!
Tuesday 21 August 2007
Wednesday 15 August 2007
"Iconic legislation"
Mayor, Mike Berwick, will play a key role in drafting the new state legislation which will ensure that the character of the Douglas Shire is protected and the shire is not over developed when it becomes part of the new Cairns Regional Council in March 2008.
The current mayor of Cairns, Kevin Byrne, condemned Mike Berwick and the huge number of people in the Douglas Shire who vented their anger at the proposed merger of the Douglas and Cairns councils, telling them to: "Take a cold shower and get on with it". Fortunately, they did not take his advice!
The protests of Mike and the Douglas shire residents have been heard in Brisbane and they have had a win. Whilst they have not been able to stop the amalgamation they will have the satisfaction of knowing that they have tightened up legislation and will have a better chance of being able to keep the balance between the environment and development that they have struggled so hard to keep over the past decades.
In a democracy it's important that people can express dissenting views and do everything legally possible to change policies and laws that they believe are not in their best interests.
The current mayor of Cairns, Kevin Byrne, condemned Mike Berwick and the huge number of people in the Douglas Shire who vented their anger at the proposed merger of the Douglas and Cairns councils, telling them to: "Take a cold shower and get on with it". Fortunately, they did not take his advice!
The protests of Mike and the Douglas shire residents have been heard in Brisbane and they have had a win. Whilst they have not been able to stop the amalgamation they will have the satisfaction of knowing that they have tightened up legislation and will have a better chance of being able to keep the balance between the environment and development that they have struggled so hard to keep over the past decades.
In a democracy it's important that people can express dissenting views and do everything legally possible to change policies and laws that they believe are not in their best interests.
Wednesday 8 August 2007
Amalgamations
Most Douglas Shire residents were dismayed to find that the Independent Commission on local government reform had recommended that their shire merges with Cairns City Council to form the Cairns Regional Council.
They have expressed their concern that they will lose their identity and the proposed nine Cairns-based councillors will dominate the new council’s decision-making with their one Douglas councillor struggling to be heard. They also look south to Cairns and see that it has not been able to get the right balance between development, protecting the environment and building a community in which everyone can participate and everyone can prosper.
My alliance of Cairns1st candidates can understand their concerns. The reason that we are running again is that we believe that we can do a better job than the incumbent has done in the past seven and a half years.
If the protests of the Douglas Shire residents are to no avail, then I look forward to the challenge of working with them on ways that their fears can be put at rest. We have a lot to learn from our northern neighbour and we need to work in a spirit of collaboration.
They have expressed their concern that they will lose their identity and the proposed nine Cairns-based councillors will dominate the new council’s decision-making with their one Douglas councillor struggling to be heard. They also look south to Cairns and see that it has not been able to get the right balance between development, protecting the environment and building a community in which everyone can participate and everyone can prosper.
My alliance of Cairns1st candidates can understand their concerns. The reason that we are running again is that we believe that we can do a better job than the incumbent has done in the past seven and a half years.
If the protests of the Douglas Shire residents are to no avail, then I look forward to the challenge of working with them on ways that their fears can be put at rest. We have a lot to learn from our northern neighbour and we need to work in a spirit of collaboration.
Cairns1st: Val Schier's Alliance
It's just over 7 months to the next local government elections and I and my new alliance of independent councillors are preparing for 15 March 2008.
We are reviewing policies, attending functions, listening to people's issues and raising funds to be able to mount a media campaign to persuade voters that we are a better option to Kevin Byrne's (dis)Unity Team. And in our spare time, we are all trying to earn a living!
It's a tough job but we are driven by the passion to make Cairns better than it is and are assisted by numerous supporters who also want Cairns to head in a different direction. We want a thriving tropical city where: people are valued, respected and listened to, services are properly planned to meet our needs, we look after the locals as well as the tourists, decision-making is open and accountable and not behind closed doors, and the environment, charm and character of our city is retained.
We are reviewing policies, attending functions, listening to people's issues and raising funds to be able to mount a media campaign to persuade voters that we are a better option to Kevin Byrne's (dis)Unity Team. And in our spare time, we are all trying to earn a living!
It's a tough job but we are driven by the passion to make Cairns better than it is and are assisted by numerous supporters who also want Cairns to head in a different direction. We want a thriving tropical city where: people are valued, respected and listened to, services are properly planned to meet our needs, we look after the locals as well as the tourists, decision-making is open and accountable and not behind closed doors, and the environment, charm and character of our city is retained.
We learnt a lot last time. Many people did not give us a chance of toppling the incumbents and were surprised when I received nearly 42% of the vote in the mayoral election. This time we will work to get over the line and make this region the best it can be. Val
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