Move from Carnarvon best chance for a ‘fresh start’ for Cleo, says Shire president

Carnarvon will not be the same without little Cleo Smith dancing around and melting hearts, but Shire president Eddie Smith said the community respects the family’s decision to leave town. Parents Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon on Sunday gave their first interview since their four-year-old was rescued from the home of confessed-abductor Terence Kelly. During the television special, Ms Smith revealed the family looked forward to moving on from their ordeal and planned to relocate from Carnarvon after travelling around Australia in a caravan. “Hopefully we find somewhere that is pretty similar to what we love and what we do because we don’t want to let go of everything that we are and who we are, we want to still build our girls’ childhoods the way we wanted to with fishing and camping, we’re just going to do it on the road for a little bit and then find somewhere to settle down,” she said. “(The children) are going to have such an amazing life and we’re going to stay positive about that.” Shire of Carnarvon president Eddie Smith said the community would “absolutely” miss Cleo’s family if they decided to leave town, but none would question their decision. “Ellie and Jake, they need to move on and if they can’t move on in Carnarvon they must go somewhere else for a fresh start,” he said. “I can understand that (decision to move) because there’s probably too many nightmares left here. The town will understand.” Mr Smith opted not to tune into the “world-exclusive” interview, saying many in Carnarvon felt it was too soon to be revisiting what was a traumatic time for many. “My wife and I decided we didn’t really want to be reminded of it. It’s a time that is best left in the past,” he said. “The town needs time to heal. The entire town were behind the family and got involved — paid for helicopters, all sorts of things.” When asked if he was approached to be part of the 60 Minutes special, Mr Smith said he had been snubbed by the Nine Network after he criticised their coverage of Cleo’s story. “I lost favour with 60 Minutes because I was quite blunt with them. They were sensationalist in the reporting right from the word go and statements were being made that weren’t helping the town,” he said. “They made demands of myself and others to organise things that they wanted, and I didn’t do that so I lost favour.”