Our sister in the Alice

IN an effort to strengthen Longreach’s sister city relationship with Alice Springs, local government representatives recently travelled to the inland city to broaden their horizons.

Longreach Shire mayor Pat Tanks, councillor Rae Bowden, councillor Mick Bischel and councillor Diana Harris headed west for a three-day trip which included attending the Interland Alliance conference and the Desert Knowledge Symposium.

Cr Tanks said he was feeling inspired after his time away in the red centre.

"This was basically a fact-finding mission, and a great way to share information and ideas with another inland town.

"We discussed how to get this sister city relationship going, including the exchange of shire council flags to promote tourism, as well the possible exchange of staff to broaden their experiences.
"While we discovered that they are dealing with a lot of the same issues as us in the Central West, it is still a very different place, especially in terms of local laws and council responsibilities."

While in town, the quartet headed out to the Alice’s local cemetery hoping to draw inspiration from the facility’s planning.

So inspired by the Alice Springs design, Cr Tanks initiated a tour of Longreach’s cemetery on his return home to share with other councillors ideas garnered from the Northern Territory.

"It was then decided that the engineer would put together a plan, addressing some of these ideas," Cr Tanks reported to The Longreach Leader.

The coouncillors who took part in the Interland Alliance, a 300-plus meeting, said it aimed to strengthen ties across the Australia’s inland.

"[We discussed] combining the forces of all inland towns to lobby the government to appoint a minister for the inland.

"Years ago, under a Labor Government, this portfolio existed.
"Our needs are so different from the eastern seaboard that I think such a position is warranted."
This was the first time the Longreach Shire has sent delegates to Alice Springs for the conferences and, according to Cr Tanks, not the last.

"Of course we will keep in touch with our counterparts in the Northern Territory via tele-meetings, but hopefully the next face-to-face will be in Queensland."