What Will The Winner Do? - southburnett.com.au

20160310-kingaroy1 — FLASHBACK: Mayoral candidates Damien Tessmann, Sheena Lindholm, Keith Campbell, Michael Brown and Grant Newson at a Candidates Forum held in Kingaroy on March 9

March 19, 2016

By 8:00pm on Saturday, South Burnett residents will probably know who their new Mayor will be.

But what will that new Mayor be planning to do to face the challenges of the future, after thoughts about immediate issues such as the road levy have long faded away?

And how will he or she go about implementing their agenda?

By now, most people have had multiple opportunities to meet the five candidates. They have spoken at forums in Kingaroy, Nanango, Blackbutt, Wondai and Murgon.

But southburnett.com.au wanted to put some questions that we thought had not been covered in these forums … questions that address fundamental parts of the Mayor’s role and their vision for the future.

The first two are about procedures: the portfolio system introduced by outgoing Mayor Wayne Kratzmann, and each candidate’s willingness to consult with fellow Councillors prior to giving any directions to the CEO (by law, the Mayor is the only councillor able to direct the CEO, who in turn directs the staff).

We also sought hard details about how the candidates intend to communicate with the region’s residents and what their vision was for the coming four-year term; and what their longer vision was for the region 20 years from now.

The reason for the last question is that the Tarong Power Stations and Meandu Mine are forecast to shut down by 2035.

If this occurs, one of our region’s major employers will disappear. The South Burnett economy will take a significant hit unless this looming problem has been addressed well beforehand.

We believe any forward-looking Mayor needs to start considering now how the Tarong-Meandu problem can be addressed.

Note: Answers are published in the order we received them, and are unedited (we set word limits on the final three questions).

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Keith Campbell

Do you intend to keep the Portfolio system for Councillors?
Yes, I believe the Portfolio system serves ratepayers very effectively. It provides development opportunities for councillors, and portfolios can be aligned to their strengths. My experience with portfolios has enabled me to be more informed about all Council activities, more actively involved in debates and the decision making processes of Council. My Portfolio – Finance – combined with my own financial management experience, has given me a comprehensive understanding of Council’s financial accounting processes. As a result, I understand Council’s finance systems intimately, as well as being better informed about all other Council portfolio areas that are important to the whole South Burnett.
Will you consult with Councillors before giving directions to the CEO?
The South Burnett Regional Council is a team made up of a Mayor, six Councillors, and the administration arm of Council. The relationship with the CEO is very important, as that role is the conduit to engaging the administration arm of Council. It would be a rare situation that the Mayor finds himself in a position of giving directions to the CEO without prior consultation or endorsement of Council. My proven management style is consultative, accountable and approachable, and I am confident that any “direction” that may need to be given to a CEO by the Mayor would only be undertaken with the support of elected Councillors.
How do you plan to communicate with South Burnett residents?
Residents use many communication channels to find information about Council, as well as to provide feedback that helps improve Council’s delivery of services. My plan is to ensure more two-way communication through as many channels as possible. Print and online news, radio, social media and the most powerful of them all “word of mouth”, are some of those available. Talking and listening to people has stood the test of time and is my commitment and strength. I would like to maximize technology as well as introduce ‘listening tours’ around the region where the Mayor and Councillors listen face to face with residents about matters of importance.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next four years?
I want to reduce the number of road maintenance complaints on Council roads and gather the support of State and Federal governments to improve non-council roads to better support existing services and businesses. I am committed to Council maintaining its strong support of existing agricultural, tourism, manufacturing and all businesses, as well as attracting new businesses to support our residents, whose priority is to maintain employment and maximize the South Burnett’s liveability. I am also committed to working with community organisations to achieve their goals, including the completion of town improvement projects to ensure our CBD’s are viable and relevant to the 21st century.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next 20 years?
To ensure long-term growth and liveability of the South Burnett. For organisations, businesses and individuals to be well equipped to take advantage ahead of any emerging opportunities and developments. To ensure internet and telecommunication technology is available to our region to support every aspect of why people live in the South Burnett. A focus will be on searching for replacement and new industries; improved water storage, water distribution and road infrastructure for the agricultural, manufacturing and tourism industries. I want to ensure our towns and regions retain relevance, and their unique community spirit is enhanced. That we be early up-takers of new technology relevant to health, business and commerce. That we be willing to embrace opportunities that supports and keeps residents connected to the well being of our great South Burnett.

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Grant Newson

Do you intend to keep the Portfolio system for Councillors?
The assigning of portfolios to an individual Councillor has its merits. It is a central system of reporting and overseeing the major areas Council has to maintain and are responsible for. Rather than each Divisional Councillor having to keep tabs on all infrastructure projects within their Division, it promotes a more specialised approach. Some elected Councillors may have an interest, expertise or past involvement in that particular field which would enable them to better oversee the progress being made and rectify any shortcomings in the works system. But the way in which Councillors currently report on their designated portfolio would be changed if I am elected. Instead of wasting valuable time just reading aloud a script during Council meetings, a copy would be supplied to the gallery and available to all via the web or a free copy provided upon request at customer service centres. If the majority of newly elected Councillors have a different opinion, preferred option or better system than the current assigned portfolio system, then that option would be investigated and certainly introduced if warranted.
Will you consult with Councillors before giving directions to the CEO?
Consultation and involvement with all Councillors on issues is imperative to constructing trust and openness within Council operations. There is absolutely no requirement for secrecy which allows for suspicion and misleading information being reported or wrongly circulated. The CEO is an important highly responsible position that should be given the respect and courtesy of openness, honesty and transparency in all cases – it is where the final buck stops if problems arise.
How do you plan to communicate with South Burnett residents?
Communication is an important and missing link from the current Council. The lack of community consultation on projects or updates on their progress has been an ongoing issue for many. Taking the Council meetings back around the Shire is one step in involving local communities again. This would give people the ability to meet and discuss local issues on a personal basis. I would also make myself available at other times/days around the Shire on a continual basis. Changing the entire layout of the Council website to enable simpler, quicker searching and retrieval of required documents/information would also happen.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next four years?
Begin the building blocks that will start giving small businesses and ratepayers some confidence back within the Shire. Endeavour to restore some dignity to the cost of living and re-gain some respect from ratepayers towards local councils at a grass roots level. See Coopers Gap wind farm operational – promoting jobs during construction and tourism when completed. Reduce Shire debt rather than keep borrowing and spending on projects that ratepayers didn’t want, need or were even consulted about. Established stability in rates, levies, and roads. Prioritised investment in youth, business and industry, instead of random follies and projects.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next 20 years?
By the year 2036 anything is possible and unlimited avenues of results hard to predict. I do know that unless we seriously change the bad habits and continual irresponsible spending of this local council, the future will not be as rosy as it could be. We can imagine that Stanwell may no longer be the major employer within the Shire and this is something that must be addressed sooner rather than later. I hope that within the next term, out of the five to get to 2036, to help guide the Shire forward and reward future Mayors and residents.

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Damien Tessmann

Do you intend to keep the Portfolio system for Councillors?
Yes, but I would like to see some changes. I would like to see the portfolio system better reflect the organisational structure of the Council to ensure that Councillors in a portfolio are working with just one General Manager and preferably no more than two Department Managers. For example, currently the Water & Wastewater portfolio is tied with in Sport & Recreation. It would make sense to me to move the sport portfolio in with communities to create a stronger portfolio direction. I also believe there needs to be greater responsibility given to portfolio councillors in the decision making processes within their relevant portfolio. The Mayor is the first among equals on the Council and therefore I think that delegating more responsibility to Councillors is an important part of the democratic process.
Will you consult with Councillors before giving directions to the CEO?
Having served as a Councillor for eight years I understand the frustration when Councillors are not adequately consulted on matters where a direction is given to the CEO. I will bring back weekly breakfast meetings of the Council where all Councillors can discuss things openly with the Mayor and CEO on any topic they have encountered over the preceding week. Such a meeting ensures that both the Mayor and CEO are aware of issues before they arise and can be acted upon swiftly with input from Councillors. It allows the ability for a strong team decision making process to become the norm where the CEO is involved in all of the discussions prior to a decision taking place, particularly relating to the operational side of Council. However, should consensus not be able to be reached between the operational (CEO & staff) wing and the strategic wing (Mayor & Councillors), then I have the strength required to issue a direction to the CEO, in accordance with the Local Government Act.
How do you plan to communicate with South Burnett residents?
There is a variety of ways in the technological age of communicating with a large and diverse region. The traditional methods of putting a message via established media is always going to have its place in the process. The embrace of social media both from the Council’s official page and the Mayor’s page is a way of getting a message out. During the campaign I have embraced Facebook as a means of communicating and using the advantages of direct messaging to relevant residents in the region. However there is no substitute for having a Mayor that is accessible, out and about within the region and available to be held account on the ground in the region.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next four years?
I think one of the biggest challenges we have over the next four years is ensuring that the South Burnett is ready for business and potential industry growth. My vision would be to lead the South Burnett in a reputation of being the most efficient Council in Queensland to deal with through a streamlined development application processes. We need to create a culture within the organisation that brings about a can-do attitude and the flexibility to ensure job creating industries can set up and provide the benefits of jobs and growth in our local economy. This will further develop our region as the choice region in regional Queensland to live where we have both the lifestyle opportunities as well as jobs to keep people here.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next 20 years?
To answer a question relating to such a long period of time I’d prefer to talk about the kind of things that I believe need to occur over that time to ensure the greatest benefit to the residents of the South Burnett. In addition to the much shorter term vision of creating a Council with the best efficient process for DA approvals, I would like to see that our region’s local economy has substantially grown through stronger and more diverse industries. I would like to see a more financially sustainable way of improving roads through the capital works program. That Council has much firmer grasp on technological advancements of the day to provide more efficient provisions of services.

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Michael Brown

Do you intend to keep the Portfolio system for Councillors?
I think the portfolio system is great, so I not only intend to keep it but I intend to match the councillor with their passion and skill base for the portfolio in order for the ratepayers to have the right people representing that element of core council business.
Will you consult with Councillors before giving directions to the CEO?
Yes – I believe that a council is a group of people working toward the improvement of services and core business for the people of a region and it needs to operate transparently, accountably and efficiently as a team in order for it to work well for the community to thrive.
How do you plan to communicate with South Burnett residents?
In addition to making interaction with council more open through taking the council meetings on the road to each division, I will improve communication through an app that shares information about the South Burnett with residents on road issues, weather warnings, upcoming events etc and lets them communicate with council by alerting us to road issues, drainage issues and anything else they see fit. I will also introduce more forums and opportunities for people to have their say so the need for interest and action groups becomes one of choice rather than necessity as they feel now.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next four years?
Over the next four years I want to introduce more economic development for the South Burnett because this has really fallen behind, and I want to let Queensland and Australia know that the South Burnett is open for business. Our region’s roads are a disgrace and I know firsthand the result of poor roads. We need our council to focus on fixing them before reaching out into industry that they are not experienced in, such as health. Our council-owned assets are being neglected and are in expensive disrepair they should be repaired or sold.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next 20 years?
I want this to be a thriving place where my children feel that they can stay and create a life and career based on whatever they want that to be – not be dictated by a lack of opportunity and feel that they have to go. There are so many people saying they want to leave the South Burnett that I want our hidden gems in tourism to be celebrated and visited, our industry to be thriving and growing and our options in health, services and liveability be second to none.

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Sheena Lindholm

Do you intend to keep the Portfolio system for Councillors?
Yes, I firmly believe portfolios are the way forward. The portfolio system complements the divisional structure of our council: each area receives the best representation possible, while also ensuring a strategic, whole-of-region approach to key services and infrastructure needs. It allows our Councillors to develop in-depth knowledge of their portfolio area, and to contribute more fully to the strategic goals of Council through this expert knowledge. Having a deeper understanding of a specific area allows Councillors to have a broader view, to think more creatively about solutions and to gain a better appreciation of true value for council money.
Will you consult with Councillors before giving directions to the CEO?
Yes. All strategic planning, policy and process issues will be discussed with the full council. I believe in and will foster a consultative and team-based approach as the way forward. My job will be to work with Councillors to form a strong vision for the region within a stable environment and with clear direction. I want to support Councillors in maintaining their passion for and impacting positively on their region, and to lead us to the best local government model possible.
How do you plan to communicate with South Burnett residents?
Two simple, achievable means of delivering communication already exist: our rates newsletters and Advice of Roadworks Notices. In addition to the current means of communications (print, social media, online and radio), our staff are important conduits of information, whether on the frontline in customer service, or furthering our economic development goals. I’ll ensure Council’s communication strategy is well defined, inclusive and reviewed regularly to ensure we are connecting with our residents. Empowering residents and stakeholders to communicate through shared goals in areas such as tourism could be achieved through a simple process or guide for established tourism operators and groups.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next four years?
An improved information flow from Council to its residents; strong, shared community values; a ratepayer-accessible roadworks database that includes Council’s priority list and details of funding sources; visible growth and expanded employment opportunities; pathways that support our young people to live and work in the region; industry development that complements existing strengths of our towns and districts; community-driven projects emerging from our towns with encouragement and support from Council; a collective approach in encouraging and developing an export market for agricultural product via Wellcamp Airport; measured outcomes in tourism, and a clear way forward to continued growth of the industry.
What is your vision for the South Burnett over the next 20 years?
I see the South Burnett of 2036 with a thriving secondary industry sector and more job prospects for the region. I see a generation of local students who can choose to live, study, work and play at home. In 2036 the South Burnett is known in south-east Queensland by name, as a unique region with specific qualities and attractions, and a thriving, buoyant real estate market that attracts new people and business. I see interesting, inviting community spaces with high community use, and a thriving rural community that supports industry and learning, and actively encourages new people, opportunities and ideas.

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