Stand Up for Our Community

What makes a community?

Our former many would say that the 'heart and soul' for a community is event when creative people come together to create an event, work of art, song, poem or stage performance. Currently a blanket of cloud sits over Ipswich City Council with multiple charges being brought against several administration staff and councils.  Despite no convictions the Ipswich Council has lost the trust of its community.  However is this how a community acts? And is this the 'real communities voice being herd?

I confess not known all the facts I took felt frustrated and dishearten.  Let the lot of them go and have fresh elections.  The honest community working councilors will be left standing, 'I told myself!'  However I've been wrong on that account before and my opinion still pretty much makes the councilors guilty by association and why should honest, hardworking councilors who genuinely cares about their residents, go through the pain and the expense of another election - and we are yet to discover what the truth is. 

Sure, I am not going to argue their are a few rotten eggs, but why toss out the good ones with them.  The legal system will ask the officials to give account for their actions, until then we have a local community than needs love and nurturing. How does this community come together, well . . . . . its through the council of course. 

Creativity connects us all!

The Queensland Government has asked Ipswich City Council to give cause why they shouldn't be dismissed, having lost the trust of members their community? Which members are being heard and how many is their number? 

What a community needs is to come together when

things get though.  

Remember the mud army and how together we cleaned the city and resorted the broken.  Our community is broken again, its just less visual, unless to see it etched on council employees or local business waiting on Ipswich CBD redevelopments to bring trade back to their stores. Unless these are the people who you worked along side year after year.

These are the faces right now I see as I wheel down the street, the same people who built this community, Arttime Supplies, Reto Dinner, Forth Child, Articulated Framing, Coronation Hotel, Studio 118; Studio, The Catrus Bar.  Our councilors are not the only jobs on the line here.

If the Queensland administrators walk in, every council project could be on hold while every dollar and cent of councils budget needs to be accounted for.  The redevelopment of our mall who local traitors are counting on is at risk. 

Demonacry in Ipswich dies and we become run by state government who has its only history of misconduct . At no time did the Federal Government attempt to dissolve the Parliament.  The community of Ipswich do not need administrators to restore honesty to the council chambers, all that is needed is a higher degree of accountability and a chamber of councilors who work closely with its residents to restore their trust. 

As a artists who travels across Australia I marvel at the level of community involvement our councilors have.  The are at our school fates, nursing homes, senior and disabilities expos, sporting events, school speech nights, Rotary and Lion's events, cultural events and exhibition opening.  When I talk with other artists I ask how their local council have viewed their project proposal. 

The arts? No our local council has no interested in the arts. Just like the Historical Society, Ipswich Library, Schools, Sporting clubs, Service Clubs and Local Environments Projects our council is investing in the Arts to grow tourism and the local economic.  Sure we need roads and local works; we need our waste collected and water ways kept clean.  How the heart and soul of the community in held in our creative community.

Home of the Ipswich Art Society

The Ipswich Festival is where we see the growth of community spirit.  This year we saw one of the largest turn outs for our street parade. It was one of the largest community events I ever attending. A festival driven by the Ipswich Chamber of Commerce and the Ipswich Arts Community.  If you've ever being involved in anyway with the Ipswich Festivals you would know the thousands of volunteer hours it tasks to create this event. This event takes a community to create and drive its development and a council to provide leadership to make it the success and injection into the local community. Years of community participation and monument are now put at risk, if the administrators move into Ipswich and our conductors are removed.  

I wonder which community voices are being heard by the media and the Queensland Governments, because all I see on the faces of my friends is the strain the threat of adminstators bring. Every council and governments has faced the situation our councils finds itself in at present. Why shouldn't the Ipswich Council undergo the same Judaical system, . . .  innocent until proven guilty.

Want to experience our community? Stand up and start fighting for our council and our right to decide our future.