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Opal Town?
17.5.07
Andamooka may soon get more autonomy in Local Government decision making following the pressures being placed on the Opal mining town by the expansion of nearby Roxby Downs.
At a recent meeting with the state Minister for Local Government Relations, Jennifer Rankine, the Chairman of the Andamooka Progress and Opal Miners Association Mike Freeman said the town is facing big challenges.
ìWe need government assistance because thereís pressure on our waste management, housing and roads, and hopefully we can work it out.
ìThe people of Andamooka will even contribute towards that cost with a rate on their blocks,î he told the Minister.
Ms. Rankine has returned to Adelaide and commissioned a comprehensive review of governance structures across 36 outback communities.
ìThe outback is facing many changes, such as the mining and tourism boom, hence we have to ensure that communities have sufficient governance structures in place to manage themselves, whilst upholding a strong sense of community spirit,î she said.
The review will address a plethora of issues such as the increasing levels of accountability and expectations of more than 6000 people who reside in the outback.
The minister spent 3 days on the road to various outback communities to find out what they needed and how they were coping with the increased demands being placed on them.
ìWeíre effectively on the cusp of one of the biggest changes weíve seen in those areas and its imperative that weíre on the front foot in ensuring we have a structure that adequately caters for those communities,î Ms. Rankine said.
The Secretary of APOMA, Jean Lawrie told the minister that the organisation had no way of finding out who owned land in Andamooka and who actually lives in the town.
ìIf youíre going to charge a levy or rates well we will not know who to send those notices out to. We just canít access the information,î Ms. Lawrie said.
The Economic Development Officer with the NRDB in Roxby Downs, Alex Barker told the minister that the town operates purely on volunteers.
ìI feel for these people who operate the town as volunteers doing the same job and having the same responsibilities as paid workers who do that job in Roxby Downs.
ìThey want to introduce a levy so they can operate the town and provide services,î he said.
The Minister agreed and said: ìYou canít have a population as you have at the moment without appropriate planning regulations in place.î
Ms. Lawrie told the minister that there are 38 development plans in at the moment, but the town has no control over them, and as long as they meet the state governmentís criteria for a building then they get approved from Adelaide.
ìBut it may not be what the people of Andamooka want,î she said.
The Minister said she is keen for the review to look at the needs of people on the administrative, legal and environmental fronts and the pressures resulting from that heightened level of responsibility.
A steering committee, comprising members of the Outback Areas Community Development Trust and representatives from the Office of Local Government will head the public consultation process.
This will allow community leaders and members to provide feedback on flagged key policy directions of the Trust, with the aim of having the reviewís findings completed by the end of August.
Designed by
Cornfield Communications