to be part of Gold Coast...read on and find out what people down there think of us...
On Tuesday September 4th the Gold Coast Bulletin published a front page story entitled...Do we want to keep Eagleby. As this article has now been removed from the website www.goldcoast.au which archives the Gold Coast Bulletin stories verbatim, I will transcribe it from my personal copy....
Do we want to keep Eagleby
Councillors voted last night to hold a referendum on whether Eagleby
and Beenleigh should remain part of the Gold Coast, which raises
the question: why bother?
Premier Peter Beattie has said he will push ahead with plans to include the northern suburbs in a new Logan City super council regardless of a Federal Government offer to pay for the referendum.
The gritty, inland commuter centres have little in common with the Gold Coast holiday playground. Beenleigh has a rum distillery and fields of sugar-cane, while Eagleby is a classic struggle town with the social problems that brings.
Mayor Ron Clarke is a strong supporter of the referendum, along with councillor Ted
Shepherd who says losing the rates base would be a massive blow to the city's economy.
But residents of the suburbs contribute much less to city coffers than other Gold Coast
ratepayers. The average rates payment in most of Eagleby and parts of Beenleigh is $1550,
compared to $2300 in Robina.
Even Beenleigh councillor Ray Hackwood admits the taxpayer-funded vote 'isn't going
to make a difference'. The referendum will quiz more than 40, 000 residents of the suburbs, but you can vote now on our website.
So that was what appeared on the front page of the Gold Coast Bulletin...I checked the website
and ironically the vote was around 80% to keep us and 20% to dump us....remember voters would
be readers of the Gold Coast Bulletin...of course it did not tell you how many votes there had been....
Ok ....so the story continued on page 4....this article remains pretty much as printed except they have changed the title...the original title was....
Eagleby a sore point
'Let whole Coast vote on keeping low-rate areas'
by council reporter, Geoff Chambers
Opposite the story was a google-earth style map of the area....and a box which showed comparative statistical data highlighting the differences between Eagleby and the Gold Coast, including:
Unemployment Rate
Eagleby 11.2% Gold Coast 5.8%
Average Individual Taxable Income
Eagleby $32,968 Gold Coast $36,602
Population with Bachelor Degree
Eagleby 2.6% Gold Coast 7.3%
All I can say is 'how rude'...They must have got quite a lot of flack because they have
since removed the original front page article and changed the title of the page 4 story....
it now appears as below....
September 7, 2007 07:02am
Council backs referendum for Eagleby
04Sep07
THE Gold Coast City Council knows a vote won't change anything but last night still decided to press ahead with a taxpayer-funded referendum on amalgamations.
After the council retained the Yatala industrial cash cow in the August State Government local government reform announcements, the consensus of most Gold Coasters was that the northern divisions -- home to the Gold Coast's lowest rate-paying housing estates -- wouldn't be missed.
At yesterday's meeting, southern Gold Coast councillors argued that many Gold Coasters were happy with the reform and that Beenleigh and Eagleby were always going to amalgamate into the new Logan City super council.
But the council's decision to allow the referendum will now see more than 40,000 Beenleigh and Eagleby residents included in the statewide postal vote, asking them whether they support the local government reform process in which 156 councils will be slashed to 72.
Councillors Greg Betts, Rob Molhoek, Ted Shepherd and Eddy Sarroff remained against the referendum and argued the vote should include the entire Gold Coast.
"I am against the motion. I don't think it will properly reflect the feelings of the entire Gold Coast. Some on the southern Gold Coast are quite happy about the whole process," said Cr Betts, who supports the amalgamation.
Cr Dawn Crichlow said in the Greg Hoffman report from 1995, which recommended the Albert Shire and Gold Coast council amalgamate, he mentioned that Beenleigh and Eagleby could not remain part of the Gold Coast City Council.
"That report said that within 10 years Beenleigh would have to become a council on its own or be amalgamated," she said.
Cr Molhoek said the entire process was politically motivated by the Federal Government to win votes.
"This is a process which is pushing forward and regardless of the vote these parts of the council are going to become part of Logan. This is ratepayers', or in this case taxpayers' money, and it's a waste because there is a political agenda at play," said Cr Molhoek.
The Local Government Association of Queensland last week pushed for October 20 as the preferred date for a vote but the Federal Government is expected to hold the referendum two weeks before the federal election, which is yet to be announced.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says the amalgamations will go ahead regardless of the referendum.
Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke put forward the motion.
"This vote is to approve a referendum north of the Albert River and conduct plebiscites to allow these residents a fair chance to express their views about the reform which I know many of them aren't pleased with," said Cr Clarke.
"Just today we have received a petition against the amalgamation and if the Australian Electoral Commission funds the referendum I believe we should allow these people that democratic right."
Long-time Beenleigh councillor Ray Hackwood said he was interested to see what his 'local residents were thinking'.
But, he remained sceptical about whether it would change the looming amalgamation.
"I don't have a problem with one being held but no matter what the results are, this is not going to stop the inevitable," he said.
"But at least I would get a feeling of what they are thinking. This was always going to happen and I have resigned myself to that fact.
"It isn't going to make a difference."
Cr Shepherd claimed the loss of Beenleigh and Eagleby could potentially devastate the Gold Coast economy.
"This is a big issue and it will affect the entire city. There are great ramifications south of the Albert River," he said.
"We are going to lose up to 40,000 residents and the $696 million in assets without compensation. This loss of rates is going have repercussions and I support a full referendum across the Gold Coast."
The average rates payment in most of Eagleby and parts of Beenleigh is $1550, compared to about $2300 in Robina.
Cr Sarroff said he did not want to give local residents 'false hope'.
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