March 13, 2016
Division 6 candidate Ros Heit loves the South Burnett, but she’s keen to have the opportunity to make it an even better place to live, work and raise a family.
Mrs Heit, who lives at Wooroolin, was elected at a by-election in 2013 following the resignation of Cr Cheryl Dalton who is now CEO at SBcare in Kingaroy.
“I have now served over two years on the Council and I now have a much better idea about the area,” Mrs Heit said.
“I have travelled at least 70,000km over the past two years in my car, getting to know all the small communities in my Division, and getting to know their residents’ issues.”
Mrs Heit said she felt a great sense of satisfaction when she tackled a problem and changed things for the better, for example, the issue with the location of the Tingoora NBN tower.
“I am always willing to advocate for this area,” she said.
Mrs Heit lives on a 100 acre property with her husband Kerry, who works at Kingaroy State High School as a science and maths teacher.
The couple, who met in the South Burnett and married 30 years ago, raised their three children at Wooroolin.
Before she was elected to Council, Mrs Heit was Area Manager for Uniting Care, and before that a Team Leader at CTC Youth Services.
“Most of my career has been spent working for community organisations, advocating for and finding solutions for people,” she said.
Mrs Heit said she was not a member of any political party.
Her main concern for Division 6 is roads, but she also voted against Council taking over the South Burnett Private Hospital.
“Because my Division is so large – it is about half the South Burnett – maintenance of rural roads is a huge issue for me,” she said.
She supports the Road Levy but only because she believes that without it, the quality of roads in her Division would deteriorate.
“We can’t get rid of it without the quality of our roads deteriorating drastically, unless we can find another source of finance,” she said.
She said she had a sentimental attachment to the Private Hospital because she had her three children there.
“But I voted against the Private Hospital because of my concern that so many large health providers had looked at it and hadn’t taken it on,” she said.
“But if Council can run it cost-neutral to ratepayers, let’s do it.”
Mrs Heit said she gave Division 6 residents three commitments:
1. That she would work with residents’ issues for a just and equitable outcome.
2. That she would work diligently to ensure every decision she made at Council meetings was well-researched and well-informed
3. Everything she did in Council would be for the benefit of South Burnett residents and the community.
She said she was delighted to be able to say she was fully fit and full of enthusiasm to be elected to serve another term as a South Burnett councillor.
Mrs Heit is also a Board member of CROW-FM, a Meals On Wheels volunteer in Wondai and a volunteer with the Wondai Hospital Auxiliary.
