31 nominations received for SMBI Communities Advisory Committee

2nd April 2009

Redland City Council has received 31 nominations from people interested in serving on the inaugural Southern Moreton Bay Islands Communities Advisory Committee.

Nominations for the new representative body closed on Friday. The selection panel will now work through them over the next few weeks, under the oversight of a probity auditor.

The statutory advisory committee is part of Redland City Council’s new framework for addressing strategic issues for the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI).

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It will provide an important interface between Council and the SMBI communities, with a scope of interest including land use planning, social and civil infrastructure, environmental management, transport, economic development and community development.

The appointed committee will include between five and nine community members and meet at least every three months (holding every second meeting in Council chambers, with the other meetings rotating between the four islands).

The initial term of the advisory committee will be two years. In addition to the community representatives, its membership will include Division 5 Councillor Barbara Townsend and Mayor Melva Hobson.

Cr Hobson said she was pleased with the number and quality of candidates who had nominated.

“The new committee is one of the most significant initiatives in our efforts to build a strong partnership between Council and the island communities,” she said.

“The committee will offer a very tangible way to play a vital role in creating a stronger future for the islands, and the fact we have received so many candidates is a sign of how seriously the island communities are taking this opportunity.

“Council is looking forward to working with the new committee to address a range of long-standing issues on the islands.

“We are also looking forward to a new level of partnership with the state government. The day before the 21 March state election, we received a commitment from the Australian Labor Party that, if re-elected, the Bligh Government would establish a joint working party of senior officers to identify cooperative solutions to the issues we raised relating to SMBI.

“This is a commitment we will now actively pursue with the newly elected government,” Cr Hobson said.

Council will announce the successful candidates once a final decision has been made.