Politics of Toowoomba, Queensland
Local government
Toowoomba contains and largely consists of the City of Toowoomba (governed by the Toowoomba City Council), but the last twenty years has seen the rapid growth of satellite towns and an expanding urban fringe in the surrounding largely rural previous separate shires of Crows Nest, Gatton, Cambooya, Rosalie, and Jondaryan. Urbanisation has changed the demographics of these shires significantly and displacing their centres of power to the Toowoomba urban fringe.
Toowoomba councillor Lyle Shelton called for Toowoomba's boundaries to be expanded to encompass the area some refer to as "Greater Toowoomba".
March 2008 saw the Toowoomba City Council replaced by the Toowoomba Regional Council.
Toowoomba City Council
The City of Toowoomba was a local government area in Queensland, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) west of Brisbane.
Elections were held every four years (previously every three years) with ballots for the mayoralty and the councillors being held simultaneously. Voting was compulsory for all eligible electors. Councillors were elected from a single pool of candidates by a "First Past the Post" poll, Toowoomba having abandoned the system of wards (electorates).
As with other local governments in Queensland, Toowoomba City Council was bound by the Local Government Act 1993. Under this act and other legislation, the state government had devolved the power to make local laws (previously by-laws) onto Toowoomba City Council.
Toowoomba City Council offered a variety of cultural services to the community, including the Municipal Library and the Toowoomba Art Gallery. The council restored and substantially funded the Empire Theatre.
The main offices for the council were at the Toowoomba City Hall complex clustered around the northwest corner of Ruthven and Herries Streets.
After former Premier of Queensland, Peter Beattie, announced his program of LGA amalgamations in 2007, Toowoomba City Council began the transition to becoming part of the Toowoomba Regional Council. The March 2008 local government elections marked the end of over a century as a city.
Toowoomba Regional Council
A council of 10 councillors and a Mayor were elected in March 2008 for a 4-year term. This election was held at the same time as other local government areas in Queensland and subsequently every four years.
The ballots for the mayoralty and the councillors are held simultaneously. Voting is compulsory for all eligible electors. Councillors are elected from a single pool of candidates by a "First Past the Post" poll, The system of wards (electorates) being recommended against by the Local Government Reform Commission.
State politics
The two seats that are drawn from Toowoomba City itself are Toowoomba North and Toowoomba South. Toowoomba South remains a safe seat for the National Party.
In the 2001 state election, Kerry Shine, a member of the Australian Labor Party, became the member for Toowoomba North. The member for Toowoomba South, Mike Horan, has held the seat for the National Party since 1991. The seat has never left the non-labor parties since federation.
Historical seats
- Drayton & Toowoomba 1860 - 1912
- Drayton 1912 - 1927
- Toowoomba 1912 - 1950
- East Toowoomba 1912 - 1950
- South Toowoomba 1950 - 1960
- North Toowoomba 1950 - 1960
- Toowoomba East 1960 - 1972
- Toowoomba West 1960 - 1972
- Toowoomba South 1972–present
- Toowoomba North 1972–present
Federal politics
Toowoomba has formed the core of a Commonwealth electoral seat since Federation. Originally Darling Downs, the seat was abolished and the new seat of Groom was created in 1984, with the effect (largely) of renaming the seat. The seat has always been held by the non-Labor parties.
Ian MacFarlane, a member of The Liberal Party of Australia has held the seat since 1998.
Significant political events in Toowoomba
During the 1989 Queensland State Elections, the Toowoomba-based Logos Foundation caused controversy with a questionnaire on "moral" issues sent to Candidates and the results published in newspaper advertisements.
In 2003 Aboriginal Activist Stephen Hagan created a stir over the name of the "E.S. Nigger Brown Stand"[1] at a Toowoomba sports field. E S Brown was an Anglo-Australian, who was known as "Nigger Brown" during his career as a rugby league footballer. He has also challenged Coon cheese over claims that the name was racist.[2]
In 2005 a white supremacist group calling itself the White Pride Coalition put up racist posters in Toowoomba and Crows Nest, harassed African (mostly Sudanese) refugees living in Toowoomba and achieved national notoriety.
In 2005 Mayor Di Thorley proposed a controversial plan to recycle purified treated sewage into one of the dams to be used for drinking water.[3] On 29 July 2006 Toowoomba City Council conducted a poll regarding this controversial plan. The poll question was:
Do you support the addition of purified recycled water to Toowoomba’s water supply via Cooby Dam as proposed by Water Futures –Toowoomba?
A majority of 62% of voters opposed the plan.