January 14, 2016
Maidenwell Hotel publican – and fourth generation local – Gavin Jones has put up his hand to stand for Division 2 at the March South Burnett Regional Council elections.
Division 2 covers the Blackbutt / South Nanango / Maidenwell areas and is currently held by Cr Deb Palmer who has indicated she will not be re-standing.
Mr Jones said he had been thinking about running for Council for years. His grandfather, Wally Richardson, had served on Nanango Shire Council.
However, he believed the time was now right after being president of the Maidenwell Community Group for the past 3½ years.
“I have been dealing with Council, I have already broken down some of the barriers,” he said.
Mr Jones has owned the Maidenwell Hotel since 2006, and before that owned the Cooyar Hotel however he is also well-known in rugby league circles.
He began his rugby league career with the Blackbutt Timbertowners and played for both them and the Nanango Stags before heading off to Brisbane where he played A Grade with Norths Devils, then the Ipswich Jets.
This year he has been appointed coach of the Nanango Stags’ A Grade team, which he promised will put on a strong performance in this year’s South Burnett competition.
Mr Jones’ sporting involvement also extends to cricket. He is currently coaching the Nanango Scorpions’ B Grade team to help “give the kids something to do”.
Before he bought the Cooyar Hotel in 2004, Mr Jones worked as a contract plant operator and then as a full-time supervisor for Energex in Brisbane.
If elected, he would be the first Councillor from the Maidenwell area since Neil Johnson served on Nanango Shire Council in the 1990s.
Mr Jones was born at Ringsfield in Nanango and lived for the first 15 years of his life at Taromeo.
He worked as an apprentice mechanic at Nanango Motors before his rugby league career took off.
Since taking over the Maidenwell Hotel he has helped to run the twice-yearly folk festivals at the pub, as well as hosting fundraisers for individuals, community groups and the Tanduringie State School.
“I honestly think I can make a difference or I wouldn’t be standing,” he said.
“I have a background in roadwork; I have a background in business. I do understand that if elected I am working for the people not for my self-benefit.”
Mr Jones said the issues that concerned him were rates – they are “exceedingly high” – and the road levy but he was not going to make rash promises.
However, he believed savings could be made by cutting spending on major jobs.
“The guarantee that I will make is that if someone comes to me with a legitimate cause that’s worth fighting for, I will fight like hell for them to get some sort of answer or the problem solved,” he said.
Mr Jones invited Division 2 residents to come along to the Blackbutt Golf Club at 7:00pm on January 28 to have a chat with him and raise any issues they would like to discuss.
Where is your contact number?
Gavin Jones can be contacted at the Maidenwell Hotel