By Jeremy Cook
Water, housing and a return to the basics are just some of the issues on the agenda for newly-elected Southern Downs Mayor Melissa Hamilton whose electoral win was made official early this week.
Having claimed victory last Tuesday, Ms Hamilton’s mayoralty was formally rubber stamped by the state’s electoral commission on Monday morning, marking the start of what could shape up to be a busy four years for the former lawyer.
Speaking ahead of the declaration, Ms Hamilton, who campaigned heavily on a platform of unity, said one of her very first priorities was to achieve consensus amongst councillors on the issues which required council’s focus.
“What I would really like to do is get the group of councillors together around the table and make sure that we all reach agreement on our areas of focus so we get the most out of all working together,” she said.
Ms Hamilton said issues like housing and water security posed big challenges for the region and needed “real progress”. She said council basics also demanded some attention.
“Particularly roads, parks and gardens came up consistently in people’s conversations,” she said.
“We need to have a think about how council delivers those services.”
A review of the rates structure could also be on the agenda.
“In our council, it’s clearly of great concern to a number of residents,” Ms Hamilton said.
“It’s becoming unaffordable and I think we need to look at how council operates, where the income’s coming from, where the savings could be and how we could restructure rates to ensure that they remain fair and affordable for all residents.”
Ms Hamilton said no progress had been made toward achieving water security for Stanthorpe in the last four years and signalled her intent to engage and consult with stakeholders early to ensure “something [is] delivered for the region”.
“I’ve indicated I would like to see the council adopting the portfolio system and so one of the councillors would end up with water in their portfolio,” she said.
“I would hope that very early on, we would be organising some meetings with key stakeholders and making sure that we are all looking at what options are on the table following that regional water assessment process.”
