8 March, 2023
Keeping ‘regional’ in Toowoomba Regional Council
Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has agreed to consider steps towards ensuring true regional representation among the elected councillors.
Cr Kerry Shine raised the issue, noting the high proportion of current councillors who reside in Toowoomba.
“Representation is a big factor,” Cr Shine said.
“There is nothing like that reassurance for people who are familiar with what they’re talking about, they know the street names.”
Statistics show representation from regions outside the city of Toowoomba has been in decline since amalgamation in 2008.
“Those first elected in 2008 included 8 out of 10 who were from country areas,” Cr Shine said.
“Then in 2012 it went down to six, and in 2016 down to four then in 2020 just three” (when four new councillors came to council, all of whom were from Toowoomba).
Cr Shine said he wanted to see the election system changed.
“I have received constant feedback from residents in the rural parts of the Region expressing frustration, since amalgamation, at not having ‘their’ own representative on Council,” he said.
At the last Ordinary Meeting of Council Cr Shine proposed that Council receive a report to consider preparation of a change in the way Councillors are elected from the currently undivided to divided or multi - member divided electoral arrangements.
“My intent is see provision for up to eight Councillors to be elected in Toowoomba (an area covered by the State seats of Toowoomba North and South) and at least two from the balance of the Region,” he said.
“Bearing in mind that at the last election the four new Councillors all came from Toowoomba (Melissa Taylor, Tim McMahon, Rebecca Vonhoff and Cr Shine), it is probable that at some time in the not too distant future, all of the 10 Councillors will be from the City.”
According to their latest registers of interest, of the ten councillors, seven reside in Toowoomba while Megan O’Hara Sullivan resides in Greenmount, Bill Cahill resides in Highfields and Nancy Sommerfield resides in Crows Nest.
Cr Shine said that in the TRC area, roughly 80 per cent of electors were in the city and 20 per cent outside in towns or country.
“My suggestion therefore, to comply with the Act re ‘reasonable proportionality’ or equality of numbers, we have five divisions; four in the city and one in the country.
“We will still have 10 councillors, but with two in each division.
“The precedent is Ipswich where there are four divisions with two councillors in each, with a total of eight.”
Ipswich is the only local government area in Queensland where this is the case.
The system was implemented in 2020.
Cr Shine believes it is currently almost impossible for a country candidate to be known well enough in the city, to win.
“If that’s the case 20 per cent of electors will never have one of their own elected. That’s neither fair nor democratic.
“It’s not good for any part of the region to be denied the local knowledge and sentiment of a large section.
“In order to meet the pub test, skill, capability and passion is not sufficient… being a local is what is also desired,” he said.
“Good, effective and trusted government requires wide representation across the region.”
Opposition within Council to Cr Shine’s motion came from councillors who had all previously served on shire councils, Carol Taylor, Bill Cahill and Mayor Paul Antonio.
Cr Taylor spoke very passionately about the topic.
She said new councillors and citizens have brought up the topic with her time and time again but the reality is all divisions have to be somewhat equal in population.
Cr Cahill was equally unenthused with the proposal.
“Dare I say this old chestnut gets rolled out again,” Cr Cahill said.
He said a divided council leads to unwanted discussions before meetings and less priority given by councillors to wards they do not represent, as he experienced during his time in the Crows Nest Shire.
He said the Ipswich case was a poor example due to it being more urban that the Toowoomba Region and the money spent under a ward system would be better allocated to administrative action.
“I say very respectfully, let’s keep politicking out of the boardroom of local government,” he said.
Mayor Antonio, who was Mayor of Millmerran Shire which had three divisions, said the system leads to divisions fighting one another over budgets.
Although not in support of Cr Shine’s proposal, Mayor Antonio did admit he is concerned about the future of TRC in its current shape.
In support of Cr Shine’s proposal, Cr Nancy Sommerfield agreed more needed to be done to ensure the area outside of Toowoomba is represented.
“We have to be fair and reasonable in looking after all of our community,” Cr Sommerfield said.
Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan said a divided electoral arrangement has worked well in many local governments across Queensland.
She pointed to the service of retired councillor Anne Glasheen as a shining example of how “a country lense” is beneficial.
The motion was carried 8 to 3 with the Mayor Antonio, Cr C. Taylor and Cr Cahill voting against.
Council resolved to receive a report from the CEO by October 2023 which will consider the preparation of a proposal seeing TRC move from undivided to divided or multi-member divided electoral arrangements.
A change to divisions will need approval from the Deputy Premier.
As it is too late to make a submission to make changes for the 2024 election, any change would not be implemented until the 2028 election.
