Mayor Delivers Six Month Report Card
South Burnett Regional Council Mayor Kathy Duff has addressed the General Meeting of Council outlining the highlights of the first six months of the new Council term.
Mayor Duff said “I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received from the community, the Councillors, the CEO and the entire Council team since I have been elected as Mayor.”
In her speech Mayor Duff talked about the back to basics focus and the change to a Council with more emphasis on the divisions ensuring a fair distribution of the Works for Queensland (W4Q) funding across every division.
Mayor Duff said “the Councillors all know their communities and this was an opportunity for each Councillor to put forward projects that were unique and specific to their community needs.”
This first six months has seen an increased focus on potholes and maintenance and as a team, through the budget process, the Council has delivered one of the largest reseal programs in Council’s history.
The new term has also seen improvements to Council’s phone system to allow redirection of calls to local area offices. A red and green tape reduction working group has been established with a focus on delivering more streamlined processes and efficiencies.
“The streamlining and call for more efficiencies has flowed through to an increased emphasis on growing and supporting the Council workforce rather than engaging outside consultants. We want to grow and empower our own local workforce”, Mayor Duff said.
Water quality has been high on the agenda, with Council funding air scouring for the Kingaroy pipes to improve the current situation. There are long term plans to look at reverse osmosis and other upgrades to the regions’ water treatment plants to further improve water quality.
Other priority areas for Council have been housing, reducing youth crime and increasing the GPs in the region. Council has adopted a Housing Action Plan and has partnered with Regional Housing to deliver two units, with plans for further projects.
Youth crime has also been flagged with a recent forum held to identify and address any gaps where action is needed. Council is partnering with key stakeholders including the new hospital developers to apply for a Country University Hub with a view to growing and training our own nurses and potentially doctors into the future. Council has also funded a series of videos with interviews of local doctors that are being sent out for trainee doctor’s viewing to further try to attract GPs to our region.
Our Council has funded and partnered with both BIEDO and Visit South Burnett to provide support for both economic development and tourism for our region.
Mayor Duff said, “this Council is backing our own locals who have skin in the game to help to drive our region forward with tourism and business growth.”
The State Election results will be a call to action from our Council to our local member and the new Government to ensure that we have strong representation and a strong regional voice to deliver on our priorities that we have put together in an Advocacy Document for our region.
Mayor Duff said “it is wonderful to be part of this new team in this new term. I am grateful for the support of my fellow Councillors, the CEO, Senior Staff and the whole Council workforce. I am humbled and honoured to continue to serve this beautiful region as your Mayor.”
