EXPRESS The
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
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Trick or Treater’s hit the streets
Home is where the heart is P3
Business Awards this weekend P9
Children from across the region have embraced the fun of Halloween. Pictured are Trick or Treaters Charli Graham, 2, Zahra Quilliem, 7, and Tyrceh Graham, 4, who enjoyed a spooky Halloween in Malanda at the annual event organised by Spar Malanda and the Malanda Hotel. Meanwhile in Mareeba sweet-tooths were satisfied as kids dressed up and visited businesses along Byrnes Street as part of the annual Halloween celebrations.
Swim star at MSHS awards P21
TRC backs down By Rebecca Wallis
In an emotionally fraught meeting last Thursday in Atherton, Tablelands Regional Councillors voted to give property owners in categories F and G a concession on this year’s rates, admitting they made a mistake when passing through the 2017/2018 budget. The unusual move came
after weeks of tension in the community over massive rate hikes that were instigated by property valuations earlier in the year. Some property owners were slugged with rises of a 50 per cent increase in rates, causing them to band together and form a Rate Payers Action Group. After meeting with councillors and Queensland Valuer-General representa-
tives late last month, the group were not happy that increases in property valuations were being blamed solely for the rate rises and asked TRC to use its powers to cap the increases offering some financial relief to those dramatically affected. The issue was itemised at Thursday’s meeting and gave councillors two options to vote upon. The first
was to offer a concession to ratepayers in categories F (Primary Production) and G (Grazing) of 20 per cent, while the second was to not provide any concessions and instead conduct a comprehensive rating review before next year’s budget. Councillors gave their opinions on the matter for the first time in front of a packed gallery, each taking an emotive stance for and
against the options available. “This issue has triggered a significant amount of personal and professional reflection for me,” said Councillor Bronwyn Voyce who represents Division 6 where most of the affected rate payers reside. “This is one of the hardest jobs I have ever had to do because there’s no crystal ball that provides us
with the exact right thing to say or do, so we are forced to rely on the best knowledge that we have – our values, our morals and our principles and our better judgement. And as we do, sometimes we get it wrong.” Cr Voyce was visibly moved as she spoke publicly for the first time on how much the issue had affected her personally.
“When I ran for this council, I wanted to stop outside the newsagency in Tolga or the Post Office and look people in the eye and know that I am doing the best that I can for the future of this region and at the moment I don’t even want to leave my house because I think we got this wrong and we have to own that and we have to fix that,” she said. Continued. P4
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