Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Members opposite perhaps do not want to listen, but I ask them to consider the examples that I put forward. Emerald has had unprecedented rain recently. Over 3,000 people have been displaced from their homes because of the emergency that arose with flooding in that area. Who was at the forefront of the organisation of the safe movement of people and their goods and chattels from their homes? It was the local council, led by local leadership—because the council is local. We did not hear much about the Bauhinia Shire Council, but that is the neighbouring shire in Central Queensland. It is suffering just as much devastation from the flooding and the water coming over the Fairbairn Dam—as we saw on television and heard on the radio in Emerald. Once again, at a time of national emergency, local leadership and the local council were leading the community and being there—because they are the local council.

On 15 March this year we are going to see the amalgamation of those shires. The local government elections will be held on that date and the councils will be forced together. The Bauhinia Shire will lose its CEO and its representation at a local level. Should we have another emergency—which is inevitable—the local councils, the local representatives in those communities, will not be able to show leadership in times of emergency. The headquarters will be in Emerald, some 60 kilometres away. Jericho Shire is about 150 kilometres away. It has been forced to amalgamate with the Barcaldine Shire Council. They have had emergencies because of the flooding that is occurring in Central Queensland and have been able to respond. The local people in the region have been moved safely out of their homes because a local council understands their needs. The equipment is available locally and the local council area is able to respond and ensure the safety of its residents. The headquarters of Jericho Shire will move to Barcaldine, as will the Aramac Shire. Aramac Shire is about 150 kilometres north of Barcaldine. It is going to be forced to amalgamate by an arrogant Labor government in Queensland that did not listen to the people of Queensland in the recent plebiscite. I think in the Aramac Shire the plebiscite recorded a 96 per cent no vote on the stupidity of forcing amalgamation against the will of the people. Eighteen months ago in Aramac a minicyclone went through the town. Many houses were unroofed. Working families were without a roof on their house. Who dealt with that situation immediately? It was the local council—a mayor, councillors and workers of the council. In so many of these smaller communities the workers are also the SES, the local volunteer State Emergency Service people. That council will be forced to amalgamate with the Barcaldine Shire Council, along with the Jericho Shire Council. We are going to lose all this local leadership has been so important and effective and that has been with these communities for more than 100 years.

We heard during the election campaign that the present Prime Minister was very concerned about this matter. I welcome the member for Flynn. I know he cannot interject and this may be an unfair attack on him—he has not made his maiden speech—but we saw these great advertisements in Emerald in the Courier-Mail saying that Kevin Rudd, the member for Griffith and current Prime Minister—he was Leader of the Opposition at the time—did not like it; he thought it was dreadful and he said so. He went to see Anna Bligh, the Premier of Queensland. We thought: ‘Here’s a breakthrough. He’ll be able to convince Anna Bligh. He’s running for the office of Prime Minister of this country; he’ll have some influence over the Labor Party in Queensland. After all, he is a Queenslander.’ Of course, the people of the electorate of Flynn thought: ‘Okay, perhaps we should vote for the Labor Party because they will listen. They’ll listen to the plebiscite results.’ In the shire of Aramac, 96 per cent of people said, ‘No, we do not want this madness to occur in our community.’ But where is the Prime Minister on this now that he is the Prime Minister? He is nowhere to be seen. He is silent on the issue. Against the will of the people he is forcing this madness of amalgamation of shires with no net benefit to the community.

Local government is more than just roads, rubbish and rates. In these country shires it is not only about the leadership they have shown in times of national emergency; the council workers in some of these towns are also the volunteer SES people and the volunteer fire men and women. So, when there is a fire in the town, who comes to the fore? The local council workers. If you take the council out of the town and put the central office 100 kilometres away, what is going to happen in those communities where you do not have those volunteers any longer and you have to respond to a fire or another emergency? Some of these councils in these areas in rural Queensland also provide childcare facilities; they are also the local undertaker. I will never forget the big rally that we had in the now electorate of Flynn. In Barcaldine last year a lady from one of the western shires came up to me and told me she was very upset, as most Queenslanders still are, at this forced amalgamation. She said, ‘Who’s going to bury me when we don’t have a local council in the area?’—because they are also the local undertakers. So councils are more than roads, rates and rubbish.

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