DOUGLAS DECIDES 24': 'I want to bring things back to basics - Cr Abigail Noli

As Newsport reported earlier today a number of candiates have confirmed their intentions ahead of March's local government elections. One of those is current sitting Councillor Abigail Noli, who is seeking re-election.

Cr Noli provided this statement to Newsport just moments ago.

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I am excited to formally announce I am running for Councillor again in 2024.  I consider being a Councillor a privilege and I would like to continue working for my home shire for another four years. This is my home shire, I wish to keep it as valuable to our future generations as it has been for me.

This is our Douglas, our paradise and I love living in such a special, unique and beautiful part of the world. During my time in Council I have done my best to not diminish any of these traits.  

My priority is to continue all that is good about Douglas but still move forward together to meet, and then thrive in spite of challenges that we encounter.

In my terms, I have led by democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement.  I have a strong sense of shared purpose and commitment and understand the needs and desires of the community.

I understand the views of the people, and I try to provide information to the community about the policies and decisions of Council. Equivalently, I relay the desires, concerns, and opinions of the people to Council for future decisions. Together we are shaping our shire democratically.

I do this by being active in Douglas.  I attend meetings of local organisations, I attend many charitable and community fundraising events, I am available and respond to residents who wish to raise issues or concerns, I attend events arranged by Council, I run my own Facebook page, I am a board member of Mossman Support services and I have other jobs which allow enormous public interaction as I am both a school teacher and auxiliary firefighter.  I keep in touch with our residents.

This is our Douglas, our Paradise let’s continue to move forward together over the next four years. Choose a balanced, experienced and proven advocate in Douglas to keep us sustainable, on track and forward together.

Newsport sent some questions to Cr Noli a short time ago. Here are her following responses:

NEWSPORT: What drives and motivates you to again want to do another four year term Councillor term?

Ms Noli: Answered in above statement. This is my home shire, I wish to keep it as valuable to our future generations as it has been for me.

NEWSPORT: How as a Councillor would you, do you, intend to fix Douglas Shire's broken water system? 

Ms Noli: Cyclone Jasper and the subsequent floods can be viewed as a blessing in disguise.  Water and waste water are ongoing concerns for every Council and now that Douglas has the eyes of Ministers, D.Gs and even the Premier, we can utilise this forward momentum to seek previously unprecedented funding to truly secure sustainability.  We have the opportunity to build back better and get on top of an expensive problem.

NEWSPORT: What would be your main, key priorities in your next term?

Ms Noli: Water obviously as discussed and we can work through the same process for roads. I have wanted to ‘disaster proof’ the roads as much as possible for some time and now we can really concentrate on that.

I really want to bring things back to basics and concentrate on having our rates work for the beauty of the Shire and increasing services. Councillors need to scrutinise every cent spent as the next term will be tough and a challenging one.

NEWSPORT: The Douglas Shire is broken... debate  

Ms Noli: Not even close.

NEWSPORT: This Council was divided, fragmented - how can you ensure Councillors work together for the betterment of the Shire from March?  

Ms Noli: Debate and disagreement can actually be beneficial to arriving at the best possible decision and overall betterment. 

What is not pleasant nor beneficial is when Council decisions are not respected, when there is non-compliance with policies and procedures and if information is withheld to achieve a desired outcome. When there is no proper regard for other elected members' obligations then an unhealthy situation will arise.