ON AUSTRALIA Day, one of Jim Madden’s last official duties as Member for Ipswich West, was at the Rosewood Australia Day awards.

That day, he handed in his immediate resignation from Parliament and later announced he would run as a Division 4 candidate in the Ipswich City Council election.

A by-election for the seat of Ipswich West will be held in tandem with the council election on March 16 with Labor endorsing Wendy Bourne as their candidate for the seat.

“When I announced my resignation [in April last year], I thought I would retire from politics, but I have been overwhelmed by people asking me had I considered running as an independent member to council.

“I think I’ve got something to offer. I think I’ve got the skills that Ipswich City Council needs.

“In my entire political career, I’ve been just focused on being the most effective Member as I could, both as a councillor [on Somerset Regional Council] and as an MP. I’ve tried to have good communication skills, and tried to explain things to people and I’ll continue to do that.”

Mr Madden said he had concerns about Ipswich City Council’s debt levels and a lack of transparency, particularly with spending on the city cinema and other projects in the Nicholas Street redevelopment.

Most of the debt was created under the State Government-appointed administrator to progress the redevelopment of Nicholas Street, however Mr Madden pointed to the escalating costs of the project and a lack of transparency on financial outlooks for the project and to repay the debt.

“I’m not casting blame about who accrued the debt. I just want to know how the debt is going to be repaid.

“I am concerned about the lack of transparency with the Ipswich City Council, particularly with regard to costs associated with the continued development of Nicholas Street … the cinema complex and other projects in the mall.

“I want a council that is much more transparent about what it intends to do and what it is going to cost ratepayers.”

Mr Madden said he wanted to see progress accelerated with major projects in Division 4, such as the redevelopment of the North Ipswich Reserve and the construction of Norman Street Bridge.

“I have become increasingly concerned about the direction of Ipswich City Council. I have had firsthand experience not just as the Member for Ipswich West but also as a member of the State Development and Rural Industries Committee,” he said.

“What I’ve seen over the last few years, are situations where the State Government has allocated grants to Division 4, and those monies have ultimately been moved and used in other divisions.”

He cited $4.5 million funding for the new transfer station at Rosewood being re-allocated by council to Riverview Recycling Centre and playgrounds at Cameron Park at Booval and Richardson Park at Goodna and funding last year for an upgrade of traffic lights at Wulkuraka Connection Rd and Keswick Road being delayed to next year.

“I want to be part of the decision making processes with the council to cope with the expected increase in population of the city of Ipswich to over half a million people by 2041.”