THE chair of the city’s Infrastructure and Planning Committee has apologised to a grieving family after the Ipswich City Council rejected their proposal for a tribute with a letter the family complained of being insulting.
As previously reported in Local Ipswich News, the family of Kierra-Lea Jensen, a 28 year-old woman who was allegedly murdered by her de facto partner in July last year, applied to Council for a cross to be installed against the power pole outside the Leichhardt home where the alleged incident occurred.
Her sister Shyleen Fazackerley said her mother Colleen Eggmolesse received a letter from the Council stating the application was refused because it “did not demonstrate that Kierra-Lea was a person of outstanding significance to the local open space or road networks”.
“We are deeply upset about this,” she said.
“While we understood any concerns regarding the people around it or the safety concerns the Council may or may not have had, to be told that she simply was not important enough and that be the final reason as to why we could not have something so simple and harmless is so, so hurtful.
“We see personal tributes on the side of roads all the time – every single day.
“It upsets me to drive past them, all I can now think about is my sister and how she is “not of importance”.
“We won’t accept this as a valid reason. Not when there are hundreds, if not thousands, around the city of Ipswich.
Committee Chair Andrew Antoniolli apologised to the family for the letter’s tone.
“That letter is not in line with the sensitive nature in which we discussed the matter,” Cr Antoniolli said.
“I personally apologise to Mrs Eggmolesse for the tone of that letter and how it has upset her, and I certainly will advise the CEO of her displeasure of the letter.
“Personally this application was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve had to discuss in Council.
“We have a policy, the application was at odds with that policy and because of that we were not in a position to essentially approve the application, however I felt we left the door open for the possibility of some other arrangement subject to a workshop session on ways to broaden the policy.”
During discussions in Council, Cr Antoniolli said the sensitivities of the matter were handled delicately by the committee, and Cr Jim Madden requested that the letter advising the decision explained the reasons for Council’s refusal.
