The monthly Balonne Shire Council meeting was held at the St George Cultural Centreon Thursday, 20th August, 2020. Points of interest from the agenda items are:

Formation of South West Regional Organisation of Councils ratified

Councillors voted unanimously to form the new South West Regional Organisation of Councils, replacing the two former bodies of South West Queensland Local Government Association (SWQLGA) and South West Regional Economoiic Development (SWRED).

The new and improved organisation will bolster the influence of its six member Councils - Balonne, Bulloo, Maranoa, Murweh, Paroo, and Quilpie – ensuring our collective voice is heard, and responded to in a meaningful manner, when we lobby together for state and federal support.

Together as the SWROC, the six Councils are a more powerful advocate for residents, and are also better prepared to respond to issues which affect the entire region.

Balonne Shire Councillors look forward to working with their fellow member councils of SWROC, and fostering progress for the whole South West region.

Creation of CUC Balonne Ltd – Country Universities Centre

Councillors voted unanimously to establish CUC Balonne Ltd: the not-for-profit entity which will operate the Country Universities Centre training hubs for tertiary education at St George and Dirranbandi.

Council has already received a grant through the Department of Education, Skills and Emplopyment to the value of $737,082 over three years to establish the CUC.

For the project to proceed, Council will appoint Mayor Samantha O’Toole and Balonne Shire Council CEO Matthew Magin to the board of CUC Balonne Ltd, along with one other community representative.

Disaster recovery for local roads – update from Lonergan Project Services

Two projects under the Disaster Relief Funding Arrangement (DRFA) will break ground on Monday: repairs to Wyenbah Rd and Cubbie Rd.

They are the first of 16 approved road repair projects funded by the DRFA to the tune of $20 million, following major flooding of the Balonne Shire in February 2020.

Lonergan Project Services is managing the reconstruction of the damaged roads on behalf of Council, and have utilised 11 local contractors for the works. Lonergan will continue to utilise local contractors where possible for all disaster recovery projects.

Commitment to aviation project confirmed

Council has confirmed its financial commitment of $65,000 to the St George Aerodrome General Aviation Project in this financial year, as per the adopted budget for 2020/21.

When complete, the General Aviation Project will increase St George Aerodrome’s capacity to hold additional aircraft and hangars.

View the full minutes and agenda