'Meet the Candidates Forum' in Barraba
A representative of News attended the ‘Meet the Candidates’ Forum’ on Wednesday 24th November. The report of the meeting follows;
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS – “Meet the Candidates” Forum
Last Wednesday evening the Barraba Bowling Club was the venue for a “Meet the Candidates” Forum. There are nineteen hopeful candidates who have nominated for the nine member Tamworth Regional Council – elections are being held this Saturday 4 December. Voting is compulsory – so who are our prospective Councillors?
Every candidate present spoke for three minutes, and then each was invited to answer two questions drawn from a hat. The written questions had come from local Barraba residents. The format was the same as happened a few days previously in Tamworth and devised by Bryan O’Connor, the Executive Director of the Tamworth Business Chamber. Barraba’s Forum was very ably chaired by Trent Hartwig of “About Barraba”, who kept everyone to the strict timetable, and kept everyone on message. After the formal proceedings, there was ample opportunity for local residents to meet the candidates over a drink or dinner, and discuss policies and local issues.
The evening was a great success. Of the nineteen candidates for Council (listed in last week’s “Barraba Community News”), fifteen were there at the Barraba Bowling Club, forcefully putting their case for our vote. There were more than thirty local residents in the auditorium; discussions with the hopefuls went well into the night.
A common theme in the presentations was how to represent the concerns of the small communities like Barraba, against the larger, louder concerns of the majority in Tamworth. Suggestions such as sometimes holding the regular fortnightly council meeting in the smaller centres, and of increasing staff and the functions of the local office (including employing local based staff) were put. Towards the end of the formal proceedings, there seemed to be some consensus reached among the candidates that the most effective way to communicate Barraba community needs to the Council would be by re-establishing the 335 Committees. A 335 Committee, chaired by an elected Councillor, with a majority of local residents, should meet on a fixed regular basis, and formally report back to Council Meetings.
Water security for Barraba was an important theme. Current Councillors assured local residents that the current allocation was set in concrete, but there were questions of supply if a pipeline was built between Tamworth, the Namoi river, and Split Rock Dam. There were also questions of priority of supply if the community was successful in attracting some large scale industry (such as a poultry farm). Who has priority for the limited supply?
Amongst the candidates there were some fresh faces. The youngest candidate, Marc Sutherland, a Tamworth Aboriginal man, who works with young people. Chris Buckman, who works in the disability field, and has a disability himself. Marjolijn Thomas, who was born overseas, but has been in Tamworth for three decades and established a family and business here.
More information about the candidates can be found in this newspaper, and on the NSW Electoral Commission Website.