Council swearing in ceremony impacted by COVID-19 restrictions

Following the official declaration of election results the swearing in ceremony for the newly elected members of the Balonne Shire Council will take place at 9am on Tuesday 14 April at the St George Cultural Centre.

Balonne Shire Council Chief Executive Officer Matthew Magin said COVID-19 social distancing rules would be observed throughout the proceedings.

“This is an incredibly important milestone event in our community calendar as we witness seven local people taking the oath of office and starting their four year journey of service to our community," he said.

The swearing in ceremony is a statutory requirement that enables the newly elected members to take office and form a functioning and stable Council.

Mr Magin said unprecedented precautions are being taken to ensure the ceremony can be conducted as safely as possible. 

“Normally the community would be welcome at the swearing in ceremony, however, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Council is not actively encouraging public attendance at this time,” he said.

"It is fortunate that residents in the Balonne Shire are acting responsibly and doing the right thing, and to date, there are no cases of COVID-19 in our region."

Making their oath of office will be new Balonne Shire Mayor Samantha O’Toole, re-elected Councillors Scott Scriven, Robyn Fuhrmeister and Ian Todd, and new Councillors Rod Avery, Bill Winks and Richard Lomman.

He congratulated all new Balonne Shire Councillors on their election.

“It is a significant commitment of time, effort and energy by each of the new Councillors and they have some big challenges ahead of them, none more so than dealing with COVID -19 and guiding our community through the health and economic issues as a result.”