SCENIC Rim Mayor Tom Sharp says Council is reviewing how it does community consultation and may bring in external providers to revisit the Beaudesert Pig and Calf Saleyards issue.
It comes after the Mayor at a July 24 meeting pushed for Council to reopen community consultation on the saleyards, a saga dating back to 2020 when local auctioneers Hayes and Co found out Council would not renew their lease.
Cr Sharp has been part of a vocal community-led campaign to save the saleyards from being demolished as part of the Beaudesert Town Centre Revitalisation Project.
The review into community consultation also comes after Council decided not to proceed with a public artwork planned for Kalbar after community backlash against the project.
Deputy Mayor Duncan McInnes said Council acknowledged the Kalbar mural did not have ‘widespread support’ among locals.
“Council has listened and responded to the concerns that were raised and trusts that this decision will be welcomed by the Kalbar community,” Cr McInnes said.
The Beaudesert Bulletin asked Cr Sharp if the Kalbar mural backflip indicated Council was changing its approach to community consultation.
“I believe Councillor McInnes’s comments indicate we as a Council are moving in the right direction, listening to community feedback and increasing the ways that we engage to optimise that feedback,” he said.
“A single platform or a single method (the online portal, Let’s Talk Scenic Rim) is not necessarily working to the optimum. I believe Council needs to engage and listen and in my opinion that was not Council’s strongest suit.”
“You don’t want to be the fool that thinks you can read the minds of 40,000 people.
“Consultation needs to take many different avenues and formats and is currently under review – there’s no doubt about that. This is inclusive of the saleyards and in general.”
The Bulletin asked Cr Sharp, who on the campaign trail criticised what he considered Council’s excessive use of consultants, if external consultation providers are the answer going forward.
“Not necessarily. I think it very much depends on the situation and I think in the case of the pig and calf situation we probably serve ourselves well to make that process somewhat independent,” he said.
