When asked by Warwick Stanthorpe Today what he was most looking forward to in 2023, Mayor Pennisi said he remained focused on the delivery of Emu Swamp Dam (12 January 2023).  This from the man who cannot vote in Council on matters relating to Emu Swamp Dam due to his declarable conflicts of interest.  But like an open wound, the Mayor cannot leave it alone, and has to keep showing us just why he’s not trusted by his fellow councillors to be able to vote on this issue.

With this statement, Mayor Pennisi was showing just how little he cares about the urban water issues of Stanthorpe.  Droughts are one of the most serious threats to residents of the Granite Belt.  The Mayor and his Council could have been looking at all available options to improve our urban long-term water security.  Instead Mayor Pennisi and Councillor Tancred have, despite their declarable conflicts of interest, vocally and single-mindedly pushed one option only.  The one that benefited just 50 unnamed irrigators/investors. 

Our leaders, particularly Mayor Pennisi and Councillor Tancred, have failed our community.  Not one tangible step has been taken since the last drought to improve our urban long-term water security. 

What kind of leader, faced with the certain risk of further droughts, would have put all their eggs in one basket? 

What kind of leader wouldn’t have assessed all available options, and progressed the most promising ones to ensure that work on at least one, or even more, would have commenced prior to the next drought? 

Certainly not a good leader.  Actually such spectacularly poor leadership that you are left wondering if perhaps there might be some other explanation.  Yet again I am reminded of Mayor Pennisi’s answer to Belinda Sanders on ABC Local Radio, on whether the Council was considering other options:

“NO, NOT WHILE EMU SWAMP DAM IS ON THE TABLE.”

So we’re on our own.  If this community wants long-term water security we’re going to have to fight for it ourselves.  We can be sure that our representatives on the Regional Water Assessment program, the conflicted Mayor Pennisi and the conflicted Councillor Tancred, are only going to be fighting for one option.  The dam that State government modelling shows would have been dry in the last drought.  Hard to believe, but true.