Moreton Bay Residents Say ‘No’ to City Status

MORETON Bay residents have said “no” to changing the status of their home from ‘region’ to ‘city’.

Residents had their chance to have a say during a two-week window late last year. An overwhelming majority of respondencs favoured leaving Moreton Bay Region as it is.

proposal.

Since then, Mayor Peter Flannery has been a vocal proponent for the change of status and has received tepid support from Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister Steven Miles, who said he thinks the proposal has merit.

FOR Judi Waller, publishing her first book at the age of 87 has proven to be quite an achievement. The Tales End is a mixture of pieces including poetry and short stories, as well as personal recounts of different events that have taken place in Judi’s life. Although she has dabbled in writing throughout her life, Judi never imagined she would become a published author. Taking that first step has given Judi the encouragement she needed to continue writing, with work already underway on an autobiographical book.

Judi’s many life experiences, including growing up in London during World War II, have certainly shaped her as a person and her memory recall is amazing to say the least. Putting her memories, thoughts and creativity into words all lead to The Tales End coming to life.

“I had written a lot of little bits and pieces over the years, everywhere I go, I write things down,” Judi says. “But never had the courage to do anything with them in terms of getting something published.

“I did think a lot about whether my writing would be good enough…everyone is their own worst critic. With a lot of encouragement from others and with the help of Disruptive Publishing, it all happened.

“I’m pretty chuffed about it all. Plus, it’s nice for the people that are around me, like my family, who can read about the things I have been through and also some of the stories I have created.”

The Tales End has certainly been a work in progress, culmi- fectly.

“There’s one story in there I wrote about my grandson Craig who committed suicide,” Judi says. “I needed to put something into words which helped me work through what happened because it was a difficult time.”

Judi was about five-yearsold and living in London with her family at the time World War II broke out. For someone who was so young, she can remember quite a lot about what

Judi and her family moved out to Australia in 1949, seeking a better and different way of life. She has lived in various towns and cities along the east coast over the years and undertaken many different job paths including one in nursing. There’s not a lot she hasn’t done, so adding published author to her list is another amazing feat for this proud mum, grandmother and great-grandmother. The way she eloquently recounts her past personal experiences, it feels as though Judi was always meant to be a storyteller. But of course she takes it all in her stride.

“I wouldn’t say I have a passion for writing,” she says. “I think it was more of an interest in putting down my thoughts. Memories can be hard to hang on to.

The Local Government Change Commission received 103 public submissions by the deadline, with Commissioner Patrick Vidgen describing the volume of submissions as a high number; however, the contents of 34 public submissions were designated by the contributor as confidential, so they are unable to be classified as either as for or against.

Mr Vidgen acknowledged that people felt very strongly about the arrangements in their local area and that the feedback would inform the Change Commissions assessment process. He qualified this by stating that the consideration of submissions was just one part of the assessment process the Change Commission would undertake.

The Mayor said that Moreton Bay is the third largest local government area in Australia, and by definition, “we are already a city because our population is already bigger than Canberra, but we are missing out on funding because politicians have mistaken our region for being a regional centre.” nating in bits and pieces over a period of about 20 years. The book also has some input from other family members, with Judi’s grandchildren contributing a few pages here and there. Plus her son is also the brains behind the creative illustrations, matching their respective stories per- happened and she’s using these memories to create her next book, an autobiography, a keepsake for her children to understand what she went through at the time and to share with others.

The proposed name change has provoked many comments on the region’s community-based social media groups. Most people engaging on social media have wanted to leave Moreton Bay as a region. Many commented on the large size and wide diversity of the region, which comprises around 75% rural landscape and several small towns.

“I can remember being terribly, terribly frightened,” Judi

“I often go back through my old files before I throw them out and I’ll see letters that I’ve written in the course of business and I think how did I write that? You don’t realise that some of the things you write can actually be quite informative.”

The submissions are currently on the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) website. While some of the messages are a forthright statement of a yes or no position, many others are heartfelt and sincere love letters to our diverse and beautiful region.

Of the remaining 69 submissions, only 16 favoured the change to Moreton Bay City, with 53 stating a desire to remain as Moreton Bay Region. In percentage terms, that is 24% for a change and 76% against it.

When Moreton Bay Regional Council voted in July 2022 to pursue the controversial name change, councillors Brooke Savage, Tony Latter, and Darren Grimwade voted against the

Public submissions to the Change Commission can be viewed online. Visit www.ecq. qld.gov.au and type Moreton Bay Regional Council written submissions into the search box.

The Local Government Change Commission is the independent body responsible for assessing proposed changes to Queensland Councils. All proposals are first referred to the ECQ by the Minister for Local Government.

A decision is expected to be handed down by April.

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