Candidates Front Up In Kingaroy ... Again

20160309 Kingaroy Candidates Forum — Mayoral candidates at Wednesday’s Kingaroy forum: Cr Damien Tessmann, Sheena Lindholm, Cr Keith Campbell, Michael Brown and Grant Newson

March 10, 2016

by Dafyd Martindale

About 150 people attended St John’s Lutheran School Hall in Kingaroy on Wednesday night to hear candidates in the upcoming Council elections outline their credentials.

The forum was the fourth held in the region, and followed similar meetings arranged by the Kingaroy Chamber Of Commerce (February 8); the Nanango Tourism and Development Association (February 25); the Wondai branch of the South Burnett Residents Action Group (March 3); and the Blackbutt-Benarkin Community Council (March 8).

Wednesday night’s meeting was for Division 3, 4 and 6 candidates, along with all five Mayoral candidates.

Division 3 lies to the south of Kingaroy and has been held for the last eight years by Cr Damien Tessmann, while Division 4 lies to the north of Kingaroy, and has been held for the last 17 years by Deputy Mayor Cr Keith Campbell.

Both men are vacating their Divisions to contest the Mayoralty.

Division 6, the largest division in the region, lies to the north and west of Kingaroy and covers Wooroolin, Tingoora, Wondai and areas west of these to Durong. It is currently held by Cr Ros Heit.

Five people – Deb Dennien, Abigail Andersson, Danita Potter, Stan Corbett and Ace Bleney – have nominated for Division 3, while Terry Fleischfresser and Andrew Saal have nominated for Division 4.

Ros Heit and Uwe (Tom) Nowack are contesting Division 6, while a further five people – Keith Campbell, Damien Tessmann, Sheena Lindholm, Michael Brown and Grant Newson – have thrown their hat in the ring for the Mayor’s job.

While most of the Mayoral candidates are now fairly well known, many of the Divisional candidates were unknown to most of the audience.

So the evening provided an opportunity to get to know the candidates better, and hear where each one stood on particular “hot button” issues.

*** * ***

The night began with the compere explaining the format and rules:

Speaking order was determined by drawing positions out of a hat

Each candidate were given two minutes to outline who they were and anything else they thought relevant

All candidates were asked a short series of questions about hot button issues

Finally, there was a 15-minute session to allow questions from the floor

*** * ***

The Mayoral candidates led off …

Grant Newson said he should be Mayor because he had been active in anti-CSG and pro-wind farm protests; had attended Council meetings; and had been involved in mental health issues over the past two years.

Sheena Lindholm said she thought Council should do its business differently, and said if she was elected she intended to improve Council’s communication with residents. She also said she wanted to see the local economy stimulated, and thought roads were a top issue and would examine all aspects of road maintenance.

Cr Keith Campbell said the Council’s finances were now in the best shape they’d ever been in, and this was supported by Queensland Treasury assessments. He said he would bring experience, energy and “a steady pair of hands” to the job of Mayor, and if elected he planned to strengthen the region’s foundations during his next term in office.

Cr Damien Tessmann said he came from a fifth generation South Burnett farming family and his eight years on Council had given him a great deal of insight into regional problems. If elected, his five areas of focus would be roads, rates, economic development, natural resource management and building a 21st Century council. One thing he particularly wanted to look was sealing high-traffic, high maintenance dirt roads to reduce costs.

Michael Brown said he thought Council was a business and should be run like one. He thought voters were “sick of politicians” and wanted real people to represent them. He said the region needed economic development, better communications services, and a reversal of its current brain drain. If elected, he pledged to provide strategic direction and growth.

*** * ***

Division 3 candidates followed …

Deb Dennien said she had lived in the area for 33 years and her four children had been born here. She had been involved in many community organisations during that time, and also ran a small business. She recognised the region’s road network was enormous and felt the South Burnett needed a strong Council with the vision to grow the region sustainably. She also thought the tourism industry had a lot of potential and should be grown.

Stan Corbett said he had lived in the region for 10 years, and his wife’s family had lived in the South Burnett since early last century. He felt the region had an ageing population, so he supported the Council taking over the operation of the private hospital providing this was done at no cost to ratepayers. He was opposed to a new coal mine near Kingaroy, but thought the Road Levy should either be eliminated or, if that were not possible, reduced. He also thought new businesses needed to be encouraged to set up in the region, and that there was potential for value-adding rural products.

Abigail Andersson said she had three children, her husband was a well-known local businessman, and she had wide involvements with community organisations. If elected, she promised to be accessible and approachable to residents who wanted problems looked at, and said her vision was for the region to be united and happy. She also thought new technologies were exciting and offered lots of potential for growing the South Burnett’s economy.

Danita Potter said her involvement in several organisations had given her experience in securing grants, as well as administrative experience. She would like to see the Council encourage new businesses to set up in the area, and also assist existing businesses to expand. She believed the Council should be run like a business; was opposed to a new coal mine; and would like to see the Road Levy go, although she thought it might not be immediately possible to do so.

Ace Bleney said he currently worked at PCA and was also a farmer and a proud father. He said he was concerned about Council debt, and said if he was elected he would examine budgets closely and cut Council spending wherever possible.

*** * ***

Then Division 4 …

Terry Fleischfresser said he had left school at a young age, gained qualifications at night school, then gone on to run a successful business for 40 years. He had also served two terms on Kingaroy Shire Council, and for the past four years represented the South Burnett on the Darling Downs Health and Hospital Board. He believed a new Kingaroy Hospital was essential for the area, and thought it would be built “in the foreseeable future”.

Andrew Saal said he came to the region 20 years ago and had worked in the public service for the last 10 years. He is also now half-way towards a post-graduate law degree, which he is studying part-time. If elected, he wanted to build business confidence and felt the region should take advantage of its proximity to Ipswich and Toowoomba to look for growth opportunities. He wanted to see “downward pressure” applied to rates and thought Kingaroy “needed a facelift”, but agreed a new Kingaroy Hospital was a top priority.

*** * ***

And then Division 6 …

Uwe (Tom) Nowack said he was upset that Council “owed $62 million” and said he thought this was because it was spending on “big ticket items” instead of putting the money into roads. He said the Council had already budgeted for extra borrowings over the coming four years which would expand debt, and he was concerned about that.

Cr Ros Heit said she had lived in the South Burnett for 32 years, had her three children here, and had been a Councillor for two years after winning a by-election in September 2013. If re-elected, she said her three biggest issues would be road maintenance, improving Council communications with residents and boosting the local economy. She noted that the Road Levy currently pays for half the Council’s annual road maintenance and said she didn’t like rate rises, but said rates had risen in all of rural Queensland over the last few years because of government funding cutbacks, and she thought this was unfair.

*** * ***

After the candidates’ speeches, everyone was asked to respond individually to questions about “hot button” issues, beginning with the Road Levy.

Michael Brown said he wanted the Road Levy gone and was confident he could find the necessary $3.2 million it raised by getting the Council back to “core business”. He said he believed using FAGs grants for road maintenance instead of capital works like replacing bridges would be one way to make up the funds. He also thought there were “lot of efficiencies” to be had, but said he drew the line at job cuts.

Cr Damien Tessmann said the Road Levy was a necessary evil and while all Councillors wanted it gone, too, the levy had restored road maintenance funding to its proper level.

Cr Keith Campbell said when the SBRC was formed, Council only raised 60 per cent of its own revenues. But now, thanks to government cuts, it was forced to raise 80 per cent. he said the idea of putting FAGs grants towards maintenance wouldn’t work because they had to be spent on capital improvements and cannot be used for maintenance. He said any removal of the Road Levy would lead to a reduction in services, but if elected he would review all charges to see if any further efficiencies could be found.

Grant Newson said the Council had lost $1.2 million in grants but the Road Levy generated $3.1 million, and accused the Council of making a profit from it. He said money had been wasted on the Rail Trail and Nanango’s streetscape and questioned the cost of the effort to keep the private hospital. He called on the Council to be audited, but said if elected he would not sack anybody or force staff to become contractors. Instead “redundancies and natural attrition will do it”.

Sheena Lindholm said part of the angst about the Road Levy was that many people did not know where it was spent, and thought better communication with ratepayers – particularly about road maintenance schedules – would improve this. If elected, she pledged to continue lobbying efforts with government to have proper funding restored. She said she supported the Road Levy if it offered value for money, but said she could work with “an anti-Levy Council”.

Divisional candidates:

Ros Heit: Keeping or axing the Road Levy is a vote by the majority of Councillors, not just one or two

Deb Dennien: Get more Federal or State funding, then axe the Levy; but until then, it will probably have to stay

Andrew Saal: Want to see rates minimised and against the Road Levy, but opposed to any reduction in services

Danita Potter: Don’t like the Levy and think it can be reduced with efficiencies, but it may not be possible to eliminate it entirely

Abigail Andersson: Don’t want to see bad or dangerous roads and uncertain the Levy can be removed; but in favour of finding efficiencies

Terry Fleischfresser: Opposed to the Road Levy and believes it can be removed through efficiencies; would fight for a 2.5 per cent cut in all Council outlays coupled with a 2.5 per cent productivity increase to fund its removal

Uwe (Tom) Nowack: Agreed with Terry

Stan Corbett: Thinks the Road Levy will need to stay for now, but agrees efficiencies should be investigated

Ace Bleney: Upset the Road Levy still exists, and wants to see it gone.

*** * ***

On the question of whether the Council should run the Lady Bjelke-Petersen Community Hospital, opinion was more sharply divided.

Sheena Lindholm and Cr Keith Campbell both supported the decision providing it could be run at no cost to ratepayers, while Cr Damien Tessmann said he had voted against it because he was worried it might expose ratepayers to costs. However, in light of Gina Rinehart’s recent $600,000 pledge towards the project, he was prepared to wait for a new business plan for the hospital to be tabled.

Grant Newson criticised the $300,000 annual maintenance spend on the hospital building.

Divisional candidates:

Ace Bleney: Believes a revived private hospital is standing in the way of Kingaroy Hospital being upgraded

Uwe (Tom) Nowack: Against the private hospital and worried it will lead to a Private Hospital Levy in future

Stan Corbett: Kingaroy Hospital will be upgraded long-term, so he thinks the private hospital should be converted to a day surgery model

Terry Fleischfresser: The facility will become a day specialist medical centre, not a hospital, and may also offer palliative care and day respite services, so is in favour of it

Abigail Andersson: Believes it’s ridiculous for Council to try to fund the project

Danita Potter: Keen to keep the service open, but not at a cost to ratepayers

Andrew Saal: Agree with a business plan being drawn up, and should proceed if it shows the facility can run at no cost to ratepayers

Den Dennien: If the advice is that it can run profitably at no cost to ratepayers, then yes

Ros Heit: Voted against it alongside Damien Tessmann for similar reasons, but willing to wait for the business plan and believe it will wind up as a day surgery.