As a member of AgForce I think Blue Print for the Bush has been shot dead in the water by these changes being forced on the councils (therefore the bush) with total lack of democracy and regard for the future of the bush.

The more remote areas will suffer from lack of representation and therefore lack of funding.

To suggest that the State Government will step in if the councils withdraw from the process is a joke - what, the state government and all their might with the very minimal (in comparison) muscle of AgForce?

Blue Print is proving to just be warm and fuzzy stuff any way, nothing much in it for the bush, just for the small rural towns.

Where is AgForce on this? Why aren't they shouting from the tree tops?

Stop pussy footing around and tell Beattie and Wallace that it is just not on - or Blue Print goes.

Blueprint for the Bush was, from the very beginning, unfortunately accompanied by more hype and publicity than new, well-funded initiatives.

However, Beattie's deceptive and secretive amalgamation proposals will have such damaging impacts on many communities that Blueprint for the Bush is no mare than a farce.

If the proposed amalgamation goes ahaead as planned it will be the deathknell for many small, currently viable communities.

In regard to Shire amalgamations:

One cannot help wondering if the 'Big Brother' with the 'Big Stick' method of decision-making, which is so entrenched with the Beattie Government, is so that somewhere in the Local Government Department and in future funding of Shire Councils in general, there will be severe cut backs, as has happened in virtually every other State Government Department.

I understand that the survey the government has used to assess the viability of Qld councils was a survey done on NSW, Vic and SA after the rationalisation of their councils, which has caused even more instability than previously.

Show us the survey of Qld Shires - where are the figures? We want to see the publication of this survey in full to back up Beattie's statements.

Is it bad for democracy? What democracy? There has been no democracy in Qld for quite some time now and the situation is deteriorating fast.

I heard Beattie say recently that he believed in democracy!! Well let him prove it by reverting to the SSS and do what the people want.

Antiquated Local Councils appear to be in a 1920s mode, the decade in which many local government entities were established in order to provide services and governance to growing communities.

Many were formed in very close proximity due to the limited transportation and telecommunication available at the time.

If the income versus expenditure of every local council were to be published in the Courier Mail it would be plain to see that without Government grants most local councils are not financialy sound to exist.

The amalgamation of councils without the necessary consultation of the effected parties smacks of slash and burn county communites to obtain a quick hit of funds in order to fastrack southern corner projects and perhaps appease the water starved majority metropolitan voters.

This amalgamation has been proved not to be the correct policy in Canada, the US and our own southern states.

Where is the "saved" money taken from country communities going to be spent?

Jacqueline Curley

Cloncurry

Mrs Fraser ordered 'Handy Andy' and all she got was 'Andy Pandy'.

The Minister for Local Govt isn't handling the situation well at all.

We have everyone quoting the correct figures in the QCL and then he puts an article in the same paper that is misleading.

The man must think we are idiots.

Beattie is like a Hitler complete with his own SS hitmen determined to wipe human habitation off the face of Western Queensland.

Beattie is using the emotional green sentiment of the suburban feel gooders in the 40-odd seats on 2pc of the Queensland landmass between Coolangatta and Noosa to bludgeon and victimise the people who live in the regional areas of the other 98pc of the Queensland land mass.

Beattie spends the GST revenue earned from businesses all over regional Queensland on trophy projects in the green zone in SE Qld to placate and buy these peoples votes.

Beattie has already spent $30m of regional Qld money on a seldom-used footbridge across the Brisbane River with a second extravagance for $60m under construction and three more in the planning stages.

This Caesar-like waste of a $100m on just one reckless spending spree is nothing to the billions being wasted on polluting tunnels and other extravagant infrastructure.

Yet regional Queenslanders would be grateful if it could get the same government support as the green zone in SE Qld instead of the destruction of the infrastructure of whole sections of the rural community.

Mr Fraser, says it is scare-mongering tactics by a group who have a vested interest.

I am a grazier with no vested interest, but I have a vested interest for our small but amazing community, which supports us all in so many different areas, from the post office, the local shop, the fire brigade, SES, sporting grounds, tourist facilities, race club, football club, gun club, golf club, school and many others.

Yes, Mr Fraser, I do have a vested interst, but not the way you are implying...

There has been a lot said of late about the forced amalgamations of local councils, undemocratically imposed by the autocratic Queensland Premier.

Through several media, Beattie is not on an electoral winner with his want of dictating over local communities, possibly to push through unwanted and unnecessary developments.

As the last time the QLD Nationals won a state election in Queensland was under the leadership of the late Sir Joh, there is only one government who is responsible for the awful growing mess we are in.

With crises upon crises upon crises, be it education, health, lack of water infrastructure, Minister after Minister on criminal charges and more, it is my belief that the people must have the ability to vote to impeach their governments.

When people look at how state and federal governments work, all people see are over-grown children standing on either side of a broken toy pointing at each other accusing the other of committing the crime.

A crime of deliberately neglecting the ordinary person while appeasing big business and over zealous Green groups who have no true love of the environment but the politics of despair.

There is a working alternative though and one that power hungry politicians fear as it takes away their very increasing control that spreads like an untreated cancer.

This solution is to completely abolish the states so that only the single centralist government creates policies on the essentials such as health, education, transport, crime and so on.

However, the administration of these policies acted upon by local regions who the people vote for.

These regions would appoint those who manage the education facilities, essential infrastructure such as health and more.

By allowing the local people to implement the policy in the way best suited to their community, fairness would come forthwith.

This however, would only work should the local community work such democracy, as with all democracies.

After all, we are now witnessing politicians seizing power off the people, restricting us slice by slice until we blindly found ourselves just another self serving dictatorship.