11/03/2026
Is council punishing the last paper on the mountain?
Punished
AS any person running a business knows, there are swings and roundabouts ... and then there is Scenic Rim Regional Council cutting their advertising budget by 85 per cent and their print budget by two-thirds in their December budget review, passed at their February meeting.
Interestingly, this information was a 'late item' on the council's agenda, which I only noticed on the morning of the meeting - I've learned to check for these little gems prior to the council meeting because it seems to be a regular occurrence these days.
When did councillors receive these 113 pages of late items (including the Canungra Master Plan and December budget review)? Who knows? Did they have time to actually read all 113 pages prior to the meeting? I doubt it.
I get it, council is in a whole world of pain financially, you only have to read our papers to find that out - budget blow out on Gallery Walk, underpayment of about half their staff, the money has to be recouped from somewhere.
But that’s where it gets interesting.
The decision to decimate those budgets looks to me like targeted punishment for running ‘negative’ articles about council - I may be wrong, but I don’t think so.
I don’t particularly like running negative articles about anything, council or otherwise, but it is part of our job to hold those in power to account.
If they make poor decisions or display childish behaviour in a council meeting, they can expect it to be reported - let's face it, it's not like they don't know the council meetings are livestreamed and everything they do and say is on camera and in the public domain.
As a business absolutely the reduction in advertising hurts, but as a member of the community, it is even worse.
In the March edition we have an advertisement advising people that the community consultation for the Canungra masterplan is open. Getting this ad required an email from me pushing to ensure the people of Canungra are informed.
Council has chosen social media to advise people the masterplan is open for community consultation, and while that should be part of any business marketing plan, it should not be the entire plan.
They have essentially chosen to support a multi-national organisation in place of a local small business that delivers directly to the door of people in their target market.
This is not a game. In this region local newspapers are an essential part of the communication mix between council and the community.
Do I think all of the councillors are complicit in this action? No. Do I think the administration sees it as a strategy to stop us from biting the hand that feeds us? Absolutely.
Well good luck with that strategy. We have the support of local businesses, it is our main income and how we have survived for the past 20 years. This won't break us, but I might provide incentive to dig a little deeper.
Maybe I’m overreacting, maybe I’m wrong - maybe it is a financial decision only, but feels like retribution.
What do you think?
