Cairns Regional Council: Top: Cr Max O’Halloran, Cr Steve
Brain, Cr John Schilling, Cr Linda Cooper, Cr Jessie Richardson, Cr
Richie Bates and Cr Greg Fennell. Front: Cr Rob Pyne, Cr Terry James,
Mayor Bob Manning, CEO Lyn Russell and Cr Julia Leu.
BOB Manning's triumphant election team will drop its Unity
tag for the sake of unity in the council chamber now that the official
business of the new-look Cairns Regional Council is under way.
A packed gallery watched yesterday as the council CEO
Lyn Russell swore in the new cohort of councillors, seven of whom are
Unity team members and four who are independents.
As
the group embarks on its first orders of business – preparing the
upcoming Budget and dismantling the Cairns Entertainment Precinct plans –
the new mayor has promised a fair go for all councillors, Unity natives
or not. "I’m very confident this will be a united and decisive council," he said."What I’ve found is that there’s a great feeling within the group of wanting to work together."We operate as a council – not as a local government and an opposition, but a council."
The
promise of equality was welcomed by the council’s independent members,
who are outnumbered by the majority formed by Unity councillors. "I
think there’s a very pragmatic and workman-like group of people who are
going to achieve great outcomes for the people of Cairns," returning
Division 3 councillor Rob Pyne said.
The council
includes only three councillors who served during the last term, and the
group says its top priority will be to bring the newcomers up to speed.
The
council staff spearheading the Cairns Entertainment Precinct plans will
brief councillors on the existing project today, and Mr Manning says
"settling" the matter will be the new group’s first big task. "We’ve
got some contractual matters that have to be resolved, at the same time
we need to be having conversations with the State and Federal
governments. We want to protect that money flow that is coming in."
It
is likely the new council will officially start dismantling former
mayor Val Schier’s $155 million waterfront vision at its first ordinary
meeting on May 30. "I fully appreciate the
disappointment of those who supported the Cairns Entertainment Precinct
in its current form, the promotion of which became a divisive issue
within the community," Cr Manning said in his inaugural speech.
He bared his softer side during the 11-minute speech, choking up when paying tribute to wife Claire. "Claire’s put up with a lot over the years and, as I said, she’s always been the wind beneath my wings," he said.
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Unity is really important in any group.
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