COMMUNITIES that nurture better connections between residents, organisations, businesses and government will have the best chance of thriving in the future, the Grow Qld Beaudesert forum has heard.
The third leg of the Grow Qld tour, which started in Toowoomba in February before moving to Quilpie last month, convened in the 7000-strong town 60 km south of Brisbane on Thursday to focus on the challenges facing the south eat corner.
The forum moves north from here, with Cloncurry the next venue on May 12.
Like the two previous forums, internet speeds were a dominant theme when moderator Brad Cooper shifted the conversation towards the subject of how to best grow our towns in the future.
Dr Neil Hockey, representing the Mununjali Housing Development Company in Beaudesert, said very often the solutions could be found from within the community’s own network.
“Communities very often have the answers to their own problems, but they are not enabled or allowed to speak up and contribute to the many levels of decision-making that could make a positive difference to where they live,” Dr Hockey said.
“The steps we need to take is to challenge this silence and give our people a voice.”
The panel of eight members agreed that social media had played a vital part in filling that void for many people, but slow connection speeds were still hampering some individuals from harnessing the full power of the digital platform.
Sluggish internet connections were a major topic of conversation at the two previous Grow Qld forums at Toowoomba and Quilpie. Those forums were focused on the Darling Downs and south-western Queensland, not the south-east corner where some might expect better services given the closer proximity to larger population centres.
Not so, said newly elected Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen, who lives at Tarome on the outer edges of the local government area he now controls, and where his family has had deep farming roots since the 19th century.
“I have friends at Beechmont (40 minutes drive to the Gold Coast) who have to drive to the top of a hill to send an email,” he said.
“I know myself that there are days when it’s raining or overcast that I’ll have to drive into town and sit in a cafe if I want to send emails. If we want our towns to grow it is absolutely essential that we solve our connectivity issues.”
Beaudesert GP Dr Michael Rice, representing the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland, which he will lead as president from June this year, told the forum of about 140 people at the Beaudesert Civic Centre that communities did best when the people who lived there had a deep connection to the same place but were welcoming of diverse ideas.
“What all great communities have in common is a network of people who are interconnected and will support each other to bring new ideas to the table without fear of being brought down or undermined,” he said.
Dr Rice gave the forum a first-hand account of the power of community action, when he described the resurrection of Beaudesert Hospital’s maternity unit in 2013 after it was placed in mothballs in 2001.
Beaudesert doctor Michael Rice tells the forum "Living in the country is not a lifestyle choice, it is a national necessity."
