From The Mayor's Desk

Talwood Ordinary Meeting

On Wednesday last week, Council held our monthly meeting in Talwood. Council recognises the importance of ensuring that the views and opinions of our smaller communities are recognised and valued throughout the region. The Talwood township looked very presentable and well-maintained, a credit to the outstanding work of our Council's Parks and Gardens team and the local community.

Weengallon Public Toilet Consultation

Recently, Councillors and I engaged with the Weengallon community about the future of the public restroom facilities and the ongoing maintenance challenges. Keeping our more isolated public facilities clean and tidy is an ongoing cost and resource challenge, and we wanted to discuss options with the local community. Council continues to engage a professional cleaning contractor to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the asset. We also had the opportunity to receive local feedback on the recreation and sporting facilities at Weengallon. We discussed local priorities for improvements at the facilities, with a focus on a master plan, which will now be developed through consultation.  

Inglewood Housing Forum

The Inglewood Housing Forum was well represented by a cross-section of industry professionals, local businesses, and residents on Wednesday evening at the Inglewood Civic Centre. The attendees held excellent discussions about the current challenges affecting the area and opportunities available now and in the future. Council's proactive approach to development was highlighted, and we expect further conversations to see how we can assist in promoting growth in the area. The attendees welcomed Council’s initiative of removing the Flood Overlay building application fees for habitable and unhabitable buildings, showing confidence that Inglewood is a community worth investing in.

The discussions at Inglewood marked the third housing forum held in the region. After successful talks in Goondiwindi and Texas Housing Forums, all three forums have raised a range of solutions to the housing crisis that are attainable in our region.

Warwick Credit Union

On Wednesday afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Warwick Credit Union in Inglewood. Our discussion revolved around two key topics: The impact of the loss of banking services to Inglewood, highlighted by the imminent closure of NAB’s local branch and the Credit Union’s commitment to serving the community with face-to-face banking services at their local branch, three days a week. 

Kaloma Aged Care AGM

I had the pleasure of attending the Kaloma Home for the Aged Annual General Meeting this week. Kaloma is an outstanding not-for-profit, local 80-bed community aged-care facility. Our region is privileged to have such a facility to meet the needs of our elderly citizens and their families. The volunteer community Board of Directors, the dedicated management team and the staff of professional carers provide excellent high-quality service. We should never take such an important community facility for granted, especially given the challenges of escalating costs, staff recruitment, and availability for the aged care sector.