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Range remains split with new "Beerwah Heights" |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
Despite
George Street bureaucrats taking a “flat plan” approach to drawing the
divisional boundaries for the new Sunshine Coat Regional Council,
Maleny-based councillor Dick Newman is pinning his hopes on the fact
that councillors will ‘make them work’.
Following the amalgamation, Brisbane based officers of the Electoral Commission of Queensland failed to use the opportunity afforded by the new ‘super council’ to combine the Blackall Range in one division. Instead, the Range remains split, with the new Division 5 containing most of the Maleny district, plus Conondale, Witta, Montville, most of Flaxton, as well as Palmwoods and Woombye.
“The bits of Maleny that will go to division 1 include the residents on the southern side of Mountain View Road and Stanley River Road,” said Cr Dick Newman. “There is no truth to the rumour that the area on the southern side of Mountain View Road will now be known as Beerwah Heights,” he added tongue in cheek. “There’s no doubt the councillors in Divisions 1,5, and 10 are going to have to cooperate to overcome clumsy boundary settings. What usually happens under those circumstances is that the councillor with the majority of a town in their division establishes an agreement with his or her colleague. That will be the requirement for parts of Maleny, Flaxton and Landsborough all over which have overlapping boundary lines.”
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council can look to adjust the boundaries in 2012, Meanwhile Cr Newman threw down the gauntlet to developers who are speculating with land purchases just outside the Maleny town planning areas.
“They won’t be getting my support,” Cr Newman said. “ Further residential development will just be a burden on our existing traffic network and parking and would be insufficient to get the state interested in investing funds in new infrastructure. There is some small scope to reduce existing development rights and I will be exploring these. We have plenty of land – perhaps too much – available for commercial development or redevelopment in maple Street and Coral Street. We have sufficient industrial land available and need more to retain existing employment as well as generate new employment.”
Of course that is dependent on whether Councillor Newman is elected to represent Division 5 next year.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 05 October 2007 )
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Range News 2005 - ON 
