Councillors who understand the fabric of our communities

Peter Newton, Kingscliff

I was interested to see Councillor James Owen’s resolution (Tweed Shire Council Meeting, 15 August) for Tweed recognition as a Special Activation Precinct. I was very relieved to see – via an amendment to this resolution –that the Mayor and other Councillors, while working toward the same goal, recognise what is valued by our community.

In what is becoming a pattern of behaviour, Councillor Owen presented an idea that is nothing new and already well advanced by the Tweed Shire Council. In case he missed the memo, the Council also has a process for reporting potholes and other issues, there has been extensive community consultation in relation to the repurposing of the VMR Tower at Kingscliff and there are ample community Facebook pages for arguing over important stuff like horse poo.

I understand that there is a Council election next year, that Councillor Owen is making up for lost time and that he is desperately trying to get his accomplishment list from 0 – 100 in just over 12 months. But what we need in the Tweed are Councillors who understand the fabric of our communities and who share the vision clearly articulated in the many Locality Plans that have been developed with extensive community consultation.

Thoughtful, sustainable development contributing to the Tweed Shire’s economic growth is something we all want – just not at the cost of what we value. If Councillor Owen is looking for something meaningful to contribute prior to next year’s Council election, here’s an idea. Perhaps he could push for answers from our State MP and his Liberal mates in the NSW Government regarding progress around the iron-clad guarantees that there would be no further development of State Significant Farmland. If he can make some meaningful inroads there, I might even vote for him myself.