Thursday, May 10, 2007

People power vs Amalgamation

Thursday 10th May, the people of the Monto community meet in the shire hall.

We are meeting to discuss our future. The Queensland Government has set in train forced amalgamation of local governments. In many small rural towns like Monto, the council is a major employer. So in addition to residents being concerned by a lack of representation, and loss of municipal services. There is the concern that even a small shrinkage in the local workforce will have a knock on effect in the economy. This could lead to a loss of essential services like hospitals, schools, and the small but excellent retail opportunities a small twon like ours has.

Tonight people spoke passionately about thier town and consensus was reached that the vast majority want to keep thier town and keep thier conuncil. There will be plenty more said on the subject and the people of Monto will have thier say.

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