Toowoomba City Council by-election press reports ...

Reports on the Toowoomba City Council by-election win by Snow Manners.

Excerpts:

Snow Manners is not expecting a cool reception when he takes up his seat on Toowoomba City Council.

Though counting of votes from Saturday’s by-election is yet to be completed, Mr Manners appears to be the runaway winner of the seat made vacant by Lyle Shelton’s unsuccessful bid for election to the State Parliament last month.

With most of the vote counted before counting ceased Saturday night, Mr Manners had almost 30% of the vote with 13,819 votes, more than double his nearest rival, Hugh Rose, with 6343 votes or 13.4%.

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However, Mr Manners said he did not envisage any problems among councillors when he takes his seat.

"That debate is over," he said of the Water Futures referendum. "As civic leaders we need to lead by example.

There is nothing to be gained by opening old wounds.

"This council, me included, is on clear notice that there must be a huge improvement in the way council presents itself, conducts business and engages with the community."

Once on council, Mr Manners said he would seek an accurate summary of the city's groundwater supplies, but he believed Toowoomba had adequate water supplies despite community fears.

The answer in the short term was tapping into the fractured basalt under the city, putting down an artesian bore at Wetalla and linking to a sub-artesian bore at Hampton.

"Those three sources are adequate for permanent supply on a restricted basis," he said.
"Then we still have the dams."

"The community can rest assured that Toowoomba cannot run out of water now that the development of groundwater supplies is well under way."

"I expect some positive reassurance will come from council in relation to water supplies while we await (State Minister for Natural Resources and Water) Kerry Shine s Task Force Report to provide options for long-term solutions."

See - Chronicle - Recycling opponent huge winner in council by-election.

Mr Manners says he is looking forward to fulfilling his campaign slogan.

"Water was an issue in the by-election because it seemed to be on the lips of every voter, but more than that it really is the way, the manner in which the council treated the community," he said.

"We campaigned under the slogan of, 'put manners in council', and I think that is exactly what we mean that let's be polite with our community and bring them into decision-making."

See - ABC News - Water recycling opponent elected councillor.