Tweed Shire Councillor Warren Polglase OAM has endorsed businesswoman Kimberly Hone as the candidate to fill his shoes when he retires from Tweed Shire Council at the Local Government Elections to be held in September.
The long-serving Tweed Shire councillor and former mayor (once sacked) of five years, praised Ms Hone’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis, advocating for changes to outdated policies restricting rural housing development.
Polglase says that Ms Hone, a small business owner and dedicated volunteer, has an unwavering commitment to relieving a bureaucratic burden in the latest Tweed Growth Housing Management Strategy – the strategy seeks to retain a restriction that prevents a second house from being built on rural farmland.
Out-of-date policy
Ms Hone says it is an out-of-date policy that separates grandma and grandad from their grandchildren for the sake of paperwork from a bygone era. ‘We have vast stretches of rural land in the Tweed with enough space for a second house, and rural lifestyle blocks which could be the perfect place for one house, that people are not allowed to build a home on simply due to a bureaucratic burden.
‘Every level of government is responsible for reducing the cost of living and relieving this housing crisis. Allowing a second home on rural titles would do so in the most sustainable way, without burdening existing water or sewerage infrastructure.’
Cr Polglase, 82, first elected in 1991, says he has refused to retire from council without finding a like-minded candidate to continue his efforts to help relieve the housing crisis in the Tweed Valley Shire. ‘It’s time to pass the baton on, and Kimberly Hone is committed to changing this out-of-date policy,” says Cr Polglase.
‘On this issue, she has engaged our farmers, landholders and families, hundreds of which wish to live on the same title without being jammed under the same roof.
Proven ability
‘Kimberly has proven ability to negotiate better outcomes for the whole community, and I have full confidence in her in working to bring the Tweed in line with neighbours on this issue.’
Cr Polglase says Ms Hone would bring the balance back to the Tweed.
‘The Tweed runs on small business, and Kimberly, being in small business herself, the founder of a small business coaching company with her husband Wez, and the mother of three young girls understands that and is committed to supporting enterprise.’
Cr Polglase says Ms Hone, a former Queensland Parks and Wildlife interpretational ranger, had already shown outstanding leadership at a community level. ‘Kimberly played an integral role co-ordinating churches of all faiths across the district following the devastating 2022 floods while assisting in organising the evacuation centre. She has managed a disability service provider company and is raising a family.’
Ms Hone thanked Cr Polglase for endorsing her nomination.
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