OUR CITY OUR FUTURE - Ron Bellingham

IF THERE is one man qualified to offer an opinion on the future of our fair city, it's Ron Bellingham.

Mr Bellingham has been a business leader in the area for almost 60 years and led the region as Mayor for 12 years from 2000, firstly of the Warwick Shire, and then after amalgamation, as Mayor of the Southern Downs Regional Council.

Mr Bellingham said despite having been retired from politics for four years he still had a strong passion and interest in the whole of the Southern Downs region.

"I'm still very much interested in what's going on in the area,” he said.

"I haven't retired from living here.”

Mr Bellingham said with a new council came a fresh opportunity.

"The new mayor and councillors all have the chance to address some of the issues that had not been resolved by the previous council,” he said.

"They must tackle these issues and make those decisions that must be made.

"There is a solid nucleus of residents here who love our community and it's up to these people, me included, and the younger generations, to provide the passion and drive for our direction in the future.”

Mr Bellingham said community confidence was a fragile commodity.

"It needs to be nurtured and people's opinions need to be sought and listened to,” he said.

"Economic development is at the core of future opportunities for this community.

"But the whole community needs to pull together to achieve our full potential.

"All parts of the local government need to work together and talk to each other.

"There seems to be so much red tape and report writing, it gets in the way of actual forward movement.”

Mr Bellingham said the region had come so far since the first amalgamation of Warwick City, Rosenthal, Glengallan and Allora Shires into the Warwick Shire.

Then, in 2008, the amalgamation of the Warwick and Stanthorpe Shires into the the Southern Downs Regional Council threw up a whole new set of challenges.

"We need our current local government to put the right people in place that will grasp the huge opportunities this region has on offer.

"We all need to learn from the past, but focus on the future.”