Context
Fighting to ensure the council follows the proper legal process in its governance of the airport corporation has required much of our time and energy over the past two years. The council’s poor processes enable the fudging of decisions, entrenching power to those in the clique.
It’s obvious to the community that the council could control the airport company. After all, it is majority-owned by the council and legally defined in the Local Government Act 2002 as a Council Controlled Trading Organisation.
Yet the council had for years done nothing but rubberstamp everything that QAC proposed. As community concerns about the management of the airport grew, councillors appeared unaware of precisely how and what they could do to control the airport company.
Rather than assisting to empower councillors, the agenda notes and advice prepared by the council executives appeared to obfuscate control mechanisms. Even the timing each year, where the formal motion to agree to QAC’s statement of intent was put to a full council meeting before the report was even due, seems construed to prevent change.
It’s these concerns that FlightPlan2050 supporter Sally Stockdale addressed to councillors.
QLDC full council meeting
June 30, 2021
I am Sally Stockdale from Peninsula Road.
Firstly, I want to welcome Esther. Thank you for stepping up. We need another strong voice for the community. And to all of you, thank you for allowing me to speak here.
It seems whatever we say whether here at Council or in public consultations, it really doesn’t make a difference to the outcome.
Electing councillors, the vast majority who publicly agreed not to extend the ANB, hasn’t seemed to make a difference either. Everything seems predetermined even before we speak and the councillors vote. Perhaps it’s not the speaking nor the voting that counts.
Perhaps it is in the Agenda. Like today’s Agenda. It had errors that mislead. Errors that had happened before and had been pointed out. Errors that could affect the outcome of your votes.
Who was responsible for the Agenda? The topics, the urgency, the law, the consequences. Perhaps it is in the very wording of the Agenda. What must be done? What can’t be done? What is true. And what are your options? I come to wonder, what is the agenda behind the Agenda?
We all seem to think we have choices and free will.
It’s like we go into an ice cream parlour with a 50-flavours sign. What most of us really want is vanilla, but we find out that’s not available. We decide on Hokey Pokey, but that too isn’t available. One by one all the flavours we want aren’t an option. Council gives us a choice of one – Rocky Road. Take it or leave it.
So here we go down another rocky road, not heading the direction the community and common sense want us to follow, not what is necessary to address the climate emergency you declared, and certainly not enough to get us out of the dire straits we find ourselves in for being overly dependent on tourism.
It is business as usual.
Is this what we really want?
As our elected representatives, you councillors have been empowered by the people to govern fairly. It is time to stop listening to the powers that be, and the agenda placed before you. They only hamstring you into accepting their rationalisations. Question your sources, especially those who have misguided you in the past. Remember group think is dangerous.
It is time to listen to your community and your hearts. Let your intelligence and wisdom lead you. We will back you. We can do this.
Thank you.