April 8, 2019
The South Burnett – and society at large – will never be free of crime or drug problems, the Kingaroy Chamber Of Commerce and Industry was told last week.
That’s why it’s important the general community took a measure of responsibility for tackling crime, and why it’s even more important for police and the community to work together.
The KCCI’s six-weekly meet’n’greet was held at the new Kingaroy Police Station last Tuesday night and attracted about 65 local business people.
Kingaroy Officer-in-Charge Snr Sgt David Tierney was one of night’s guest speakers.
Snr Sgt Tierney said the 24-hour police station and watchhouse currently had 19 officers to cover 21 weekly shifts
As well as high priority incidents and unexpected emergencies such as car crashes, police also had to handle prisoner transports, court duties and reams of paperwork.
For example, the paperwork involved in a stolen car incident could chew up eight hours of police time.
Snr Sgt Tierney also explained the routine policing work carried out by station staff, and the chain-of-command in Kingaroy.
He was responsible for all uniformed officers, while Snr Sgt Scott Prendergast was responsible for the station’s CIB detectives.
Snr Sgt Tierney reminded KCCI members they should always ring Triple Zero for life-threatening emergencies but should call Police Link (13-14-44) for all other matters.
He gave interested audience members a guided tour of the police station, which was not hosting any watchhouse “guests” at the time.
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A business breakfast will be held at Kingaroy RSL on Wednesday, April 24.
The morning, sponsored by the KCCI and the South Burnett Regional Council, will follow a similar format to a business breakfast held in Nanango on January 30.
It will feature guest speakers Joe Prendergast from Dusty Hill at Moffatdale; Donna Ryan from Jamaica Blue in Kingaroy; and Matthew Mott from Matthew Mott Sports Fishing Charters.
Cost of the breakfast is $20.
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The Local Government Association Of Queensland (LGAQ) has rejected most of the State Government’s proposed reforms to Council elections, particularly the introduction of compulsory preferential voting.
Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff told the meet’n’greet she had just returned from a special meeting called by the LGAQ in Brisbane that day, where representatives from Queensland councils discussed the reforms.
Cr Duff said they had almost unanimously rejected the State Government’s proposals. She also believed the existing system of optional preferential voting (ie “just vote one”) was preferred by the overwhelming majority of voters.
On other matters, Cr Duff said Council was disappointed that its application to the Building Better Regions Fund for a $4 million contribution towards Kingaroy CBD’s revitalisation had been rejected, but said this would not stop work starting on the project after June.
The Council was also disappointed the KCCI’s own application to fund a CCTV system in Kingaroy similar to those installed, or soon to be installed, in Cherbourg, Murgon, Wondai and Nanango had been refused, but was pleased to hear the KCCI was reapplying.
She said if the KCCI was successful, she hoped they would use the same system as Nanango and Cherbourg, which had the capacity to be networked with similar CCTV systems in other towns.
Murgon’s system did not have that ability, Cr Duff said, and this was only discovered after it had been installed.
She understood Wondai was considering a similar system to Murgon’s, which would leave both towns isolated from a growing State-wide police CCTV network.
She also warned that maintenance costs were a factor any town planning on installing CCTV systems needed to take into consideration.
Cr Duff also noted the South Burnett had recently received new property valuations from the Valuer-General, and said there had been rises in some rural areas but these were not uniform.
These rises would pose challenges for Council when it came to allocating rates in the upcoming 2019-20 Budget, but she promised Councillors would work hard to ensure any rises were apportioned as fairly as possible.
Finally, Cr Duff reminded everyone that Kingaroy CIB’s OIC Snr Sgt Scott Prendergast was the South Burnett’s 2019 Citizen Of The Year.
This was an award he won for his unflagging involvement in community events over many years.
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The KCCI represents the interests of Kingaroy and district businesses, and it holds meet’n’greets throughout the year where members can receive updates on issues of local interest.
The six-weekly events are open to all South Burnett businesspeople – whether they’re KCCI members or not – and are held at a different local business each time.
A $10 meeting fee applies to cover the cost of drinks and nibbles.
Businesspeople who would like more information about the KCCI can visit the KCCI website or email KCCI secretary Paula Greenwood
