Keith Campbell
South Burnett Councillors plan to embark on a “listening tour” later this month.
Councillors will attend public meetings throughout the region to hear concerns and discuss local issues first hand.
The meetings will held at a different location every week between late July and early October.
Mayor Keith Campbell said the listening tour had come in response to concerns raised during the March election that the Council communicated poorly.
He had promised to tackle the task of improving Council communications if elected, and said getting out with Councillors to chat with the public was one of the methods he planned to use.
Unlike normal public meetings the Council called from time to time to advise the community about projects it was considering or already undertaking, the listening tour meetings will allow the public to ask questions on any subject or raise any matters they wish.
The Mayor said he realised many people might not take advantage of the meetings, and those that did would probably have one or more grievances they wanted to air.
But he thought it was important residents felt all Councillors were approachable if they had problems.
He also thought it was good for Councillors – especially newer Councillors – to hear what issues were important to the region’s different communities at first hand.
He said this would help them reach better decisions.
The times and locations of meetings will be advertised once a schedule has been prepared.
Footnote: Listening tours are not a new thing in the South Burnett. Kingaroy Shire Council used to run them to gather feedback about how it was performing, or to test public sentiment on particular issues, during the 1990s and early 2000s.
