If the crowd at last weekend’s EcoFest was any guide, the Gladstone community is extremely interested in environmental issues and sustainable development.

I was amazed at the variety, quality and number of the EcoFest displays. They were a testament to the community spirit of the Gladstone region. So if you didn’t make it this year, I would strongly recommend making a point of going next year because I’m sure that it will be even better.

EcoFest was a fantastic chance for me to meet Gladstone residents face to face in a relaxed setting and openly discuss any of their concerns about industry.

While I spent much of the day enjoying the delighted looks on children’s faces as I gave away balloons, there was also a serious part of the day. I would like to thank all those people who gave me some of their time to talk about water and air quality, community involvement in decision making, employment opportunities, the social impacts of industrial development and how industry can better communicate with the community.

I would also like to thank the GILG Directors, who are the most senior managers located at each of GILG’s member sites, for so generously giving their time to be a part of the GILG stall. As well as giving community members a chance to meet them, I know that they very much valued the opportunity to talk with community members about their industry related concerns.

On a lighter note, as you may know EcoFest has a competition to complete an EcoFest passport which contains questions about the various displays. Our question was, “What does GILG stand for?” It was a rather obvious question but I had one very amusing response from a pre-teen who in typical SMS-speak said that the answer was “God I Look Good”.

While I heartily laughed at this tongue-in-cheek answer, upon reflection it also re-emphasised to me that no matter how well I may think I understand a topic, there is always another way to look at the issue. So to that young lady, I say thank-you for this timely reminder.

If you would like to give me any feedback on EcoFest or like to share your perspective on an issue, please go to our forum topic at www.gilg.com.au.

If you would like to have your say online and don't know how, please click on this link which shows you how to register and make a comment, anonymously if you wish

I look forward to hearing from you soon, cheers, Kurt.

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