General News
10 February, 2026
TRC unrest inundates MP’s office
DISGRUNTLED people complaining about Tablelands Regional Council have been inundating Member for Hill Shane Knuth’s office.
Mr Knuth says he has had a “constant barrage of resident complaints at a level not experienced in 22 years serving as a State MP” about the council.
He says he is “devastated” by the council’s decision to shed at least 44 buildings from its 700 public asset list in a bid to reduce council’s annual maintenance costs, “despite exorbitant rates”.
“Councils are there to serve the community, not destroy it,” Mr Knuth said.
“The latest news of 44 buildings on their hit list is perplexing and extremely concerning – we have a thriving community on the Tablelands, built on a strong and proud history – not a corporate city business.
“Our region does not have trains and buses running on frequent schedules, or gigantic sports stadiums and massive shopping complexes.
“We rely heavily on our bustling community service groups, recreational activities, sporting and volunteer organisations, and tourism that relies on amenities.
“In previous councils, we lobbied together to source funding for our community assets, especially if an issue poses a threat to the fabric, structure and foundation of our community.”
Mr Knuth said his office deals with a lot of complaints regarding council, more than he’s experienced before.
“Apart from my office receiving a large level of complaints, I spend a lot of time in the community – a majority of which is taken up by disgruntled constituents discussing problems related to council issues,” he said.
“I’ve always experienced this to a small degree, but never at this rate in my 22 years serving.”
Tablelands Mayor Rod Marti and chief executive officer Nikola Stepanov have made it clear that the council needs to improve its financial position to be able to undertake hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to its sewerage and water networks.
That has driven the decision to get rid of at least 44 of its 700 public assets.
In a statement earlier this month, the council asserted that many of its 700 community assets across the Tablelands region including land, buildings and other facilities were “underutilised, not fit-for-purpose, close to end of life and not sustainable”.
“Councillors recognise divestment action for these ageing facilities is long overdue,” Mayor Marti said after the decision was made behind closed doors at the January council meeting.
“These challenges have existed and grown since the 2008 amalgamation of three councils. While previous TRC administrations have attempted to commence a divestment process, none have stayed the difficult journey through to meaningful and decisive action.
“This council is making the hard decisions which must be made. We only have a small ratepayer base of around 13,500 and our ratepayers simply can’t afford the cost of maintaining so many buildings.
“We have to do the right thing for the benefit of our community and to achieve a level of service our ratepayers can sustain while ensuring the facilities we have meet community needs. It’s a rebalancing challenge that simply must be done.”
