A Rocky Reunion

Where you from?            Where’s that?

What about yourself?  Rockhampton.  Oh yeh I know where that this.

For a city of around 70000 people Rockhampton or Rocky seems pretty well known.  I’ve rarely had to explain where it is when I’m away.  It got me wondering, why is this so?  (I know I’ve pinched that TV Professors line.)  Education helps, not just the geography classes though.  The University and boarding schools are priceless assets of the city.  They not only produce graduates who may leave our city and spread word of Rockhampton, but also attract students from all over Australia and the world.  The Rockhampton Grammar School is one of the largest co-educational boarding schools in Australia.  Within one class I lectured at the CQUniversity there were 8 different nationalities.

How can we get an even better return from these assets and the general awareness of Rockhampton?  One way could be a Rockhampton Reunion.  Like a school reunion, former residents come from all over Australia return to re-acquaint with family, friends, work colleagues and places.  I believe a Rocky Reunion has been done before.  However Google didn’t seem to have a record of it.  Could one be held like Beef Week, maybe even every 3 years?  One central location; different schools, workplaces, extended families could book a separate room/pavilion for their reunion, displays of all things Rockhampton (past, present and future) could be on show; tours arranged to prime city sites; guest speakers, entertainment, sporting activities could attract more attendance and publicity of the event.  A bit like the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A lot of individual reunions and events bundled into one package.  A weeklong celebration of Rockhampton.  Like Beef Week the economic value to the region could be enormous.  Just important though is highlighting the positives of our city; the successes, the friendships, the progress, the history, the diversity of cultures, etc. What a social media gold mine this could be; after all everyone knows Rockhampton, or thinks they do. Why not take advantage of this awareness and every 3 years create a beacon that people around the world might be guided to.

Amalgamation, Not Perfect but....

Will the future of our region be better by staying amalgamated or de-amalgamating?  To me this is what the primary argument about de-amalgamation should be about.  The difference between population and rate revenue percentages argument may seem reasonable, but is that how any region should be managed?  For example if the ‘spend money where it is derived from’ principal was adopted by a newly de-amalgamated Livingstone Council would a suitable sewerage plant be funded for the Keppel Sands Caravan Park?

I assume most of Livingstone rate revenue is derived between the Causeway and Farnborough.  If correct, a major expense at Keppel Sands could be disproportionate to the percentage of general rate revenue collected from there.  Should this stop it from happening?  One would assume, as there is a justifiable need for it, that it would still be approved.  It should be the same for the whole region.  Decisions have to be justified on what and where expenditure is to be made on a need and potential to be realised basis.  Spending money in a section of the region just to match its population share to me is not good justification.   The divisional voting system Rockhampton Regional Council persists with is in my mind part of the problem. It encourages councillors to put their division first region second. Change it. The primary focus of councillors should be what is best for the region. While not perfect, the model Gladstone adopted of voting for councillors from the one pool of all the hopefuls arguably encourages a stronger regional focus of the candidates.

I believe the communities that made up the four councils in the Rockhampton region prior to amalgamation were and will continue to be intertwined. Why untwine something that is interdependent on each?  It wasn’t perfect prior to amalgamation; there will always be criticism of where and how money is being spent, no matter what size the council is. It’s democracy in action. 

Will our whole region be better or worse off, that should be the crux of the de-amalgamation debate.  I look forward to seeing how this point is debated. Hopefully it won’t be a one sided one.