AS the lone journalist on the Local Ipswich team every week is a busy one and I must admit I sometimes wonder why I decided to drop back into journalism. Long hours each week are the norm and deadline’s loom too quickly.
Keeping our elected officials accountable is a big part of the role and in this city, we have plenty to talk about as Ipswich tries to fightback from the controversies of recent years.
At least our mayor has finally decided to concentrate on the future rather than continually drag in the past which only serves to tarnish our reputation.
You can only blame someone else for current issues for so long and the time is now well past to say, “it was all their fault”.
The mayor’s greatest issue currently is to build a cohesive team of councillors because they are totally divided.
We don’t want to hear about complaints levelled against councillors from within the council itself we just want to hear about the positive things the council is doing for the future.
The citizens of Ipswich want to see positivity and there is plenty to talk about in that regard.
The new Lions stadium at Springfield is a brilliant addition to the area, while once completed the greyhound centre at Yamanto will be a world class venue that will attract thousands of patrons and international TV coverage.
Our Ipswich Show celebrates its 150th anniversary this week and out at the Willowbank motor precinct things are cranking up like never before.
In many areas our council is doing a good job, in others they need to do a rethink.
The mayor’s loving few supporters enjoy bashing not only this paper, but also the other local paper that features journalistic integrity.
They have the right to say what they like and as a journalist it is my role to present the facts and create the debate that is needed in this city.
While a lot of the focus in this paper over the past nine months has been on council, we also need to look at what our state and federal politicians are doing in the area.
Our four state members, Jennifer Howard, Lance McCallum, Charise Mullen and Jim Madden are all members of ALP and with elections looming we need to be asking what have they done to improve our city.
It is a disadvantage to be seen as a safe ground for the ALP because it simply means we won’t get the State Government pre-election sweeteners they will shower on the seats they might lose.
On the federal scene I can only say well done to Shayne Neumann who is totally committed to our area and is doing his best for our future. Some of our state pollies could well adopt his work ethic.
While I stop and look over the paper as my deadline passes I reflect on the stories it contains.
I love writing about the great people of this city and the story on Andy Brodersen featured on page five is a perfect example.
He should be first pick for the 2024 Australia Day awards as our citizen of the year.
It was uplifting to hear his love of Ipswich and to listen to him talk about the school breakfast clubs that he has helped establish.
Talking to him for an hour over a cold beer at the end of the day made me realise just how much I love journalism.
It’s an honour to be able to write these stories for you.
