I am highlighting the subject of Council wards for Tweed Shire and encouraging residents to lobby current councillors prior to the forthcoming Tweed Shire Council elections to seek their support for the introduction of Council wards.
Tweed Shire LGA has around 99,000 residents and is anticipated to grow by 34,338 (35.34 per cent growth) to around 132,000 by 2041 at an average annual change of 1.52 per cent.
In a recent discussion with Tweed Mayor, Cr Chris Cherry, I raised the prospect of Tweed Council wards being better able to service Tweed ratepayers.
Cr Cherry reiterated that each of the councillors are responsible to all Tweed residents. Considering the very large area of the Tweed Shire I feel Mayor Cherry needs to reconsider as it is just not possible for councillors to efficiently and adequately cover the varying needs of the residents and businesses throughout the Tweed Shire area.
The needs of ratepayers near Tweed CBD area are different to those in Kingscliff or those in remote areas.
I believe it is now time for Tweed Council to introduce a ward system to better represent its ratepayers.
When elected representatives live within or nearby their ward locations, they better understand the local needs and are more effective in representing and acting for their local residents.
Now is the time to look closely at candidates seeking election and to see if new candidates are better able to manage the future growth of the Tweed.
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