The Town Centre Renewal Plan (TCRP) has made Inverell a tale of two towns.
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Accusations are flying in every direction, fired at the Inverell Shire Council, at “concerned citizens”, and of course, at the Inverell Times for its coverage of an issue that some consider was a fait accompli sealed by the results of the last local elections.
“Why are you drumming up old issues? Find some real news!”
What is real news? For us, real news is what people care about. It is about getting to the heart of an issue though this is hard to do in a tale of two towns, each with its own separate truth.
There are two conflicting arborist reports on the safety of the plane trees – one in favour and another opposed.
And there are two camps.
On the one side, you have a charismatic and confused mayor who doesn’t understand why there is opposition to a plan that he and the majority of Councillors believe will propel Inverell into the future. It is the same plan he supported during his election campaign and got voted in for. Isn’t that when the people chose what they wanted? How can he accept a nonobligatory poll, conducted by our newspaper, that shows 76 per cent opposition to TCRP when he has already received the voters’ mandate?
He cannot be deaf to the “silent majority” that spoke during the elections.
Then, you have the other camp. Proactive citizens and local businesses that protest, pen letters of complaint, and let their anger flood social media in opposition to a plan they say will destroy the beauty of the town, close businesses and waste ratepayers money. They argue that there was a lack of transparency in the TCRP process and feel vindicated by the delay in the works after the RMS asked for an independent assessment and for more information. They demand more debate, discussion, democracy…
And all they can see is a Council that is blind to “people power”.
At the Inverell Times, we hear, see and acknowledge both camps. As an independent news service, we are not here to judge but to document and hold both sides accountable.
Time will eventually show us who was right in this tale of two towns. But until then, we must endure a time of wisdom and foolishness, a time of belief and incredulity, a time of hope and despair...
And that is the stuff Charles Dickens novels are made of – and independent newspapers too.
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