Being a community

Reading Dominique Tassell’s recent story “A dam shame” In Stanthorpe Today was certainly a vivid and timely reminder of the sacrifices we are asking some people to make in the name of our “water security”.

Four landholders involved in the project have reportedly been told by GBIP that the project now wants to purchase their entire properties as opposed to the previously agreed upon sections of land.

It’s not enough to just say this is a private project, “nothing to do with us mate”.  If Council is involved in this project, then all SDRC residents are in effect asking a few people to give up their homes, farms and businesses in the name of water security for the rest of us.

Sometimes this might be reasonable.  But if the project does not deliver long-term water security for Stanthorpe, then how do we feel about taking other people’s homes from them?  Personally I don’t think it stacks up.  If I were a Councillor, could I explain this face-to-face to those affected, and ask them to sell their properties?  Nope, I couldn’t.

If people are being asked to do this in our name, for the benefit of all of us, then surely the least we could do is make the process as painless as possible.  Offer them support, minimise their stress and, quite frankly, publicly applaud them for being so civic minded.  I’m sure many of us would not like to be in their shoes.  And how many of us would selflessly agree to give up our homes in the same circumstances?

Something we all should think about long and hard.  I hope that 2022 brings an end to the limbo that the affected landowners have been stuck in, some of them since 2006.  Some empathy from the Councillors who are pushing this project also wouldn’t go astray.