March 5, 2020
The Nanango Tourism and Development Association (NaTDA) will hold a candidates forum in Nanango next Tuesday night so voters can meet candidates for the March 28 council elections.
The forum will invite South Burnett Mayoral candidates to outline who they are, why they’re standing and what they hope to achieve if elected.
Division 1 Cr Roz Frohloff and Division 2 Cr Gavin Jones, who have both been re-elected unopposed, will also be invited to explain what goals they hope to achieve during their next term in office.
The decision to hold the forum was made at NaTDA’s January meeting, and the format of the event was finalised at the group’s monthly meeting on Tuesday night.
President Gloria Kirkness said a similar NaTDA forum held prior to the 2016 council elections had drawn a large crowd and very positive feedback.
The 2020 election forum will be held in Tara’s Hall on Tuesday, March 10, at 6:00pm (for a 6:30pm start).
“As Nanango’s Chamber of Commerce, we are the most appropriate body to organise a local candidates forum,” Gloria said.
“In addition to general business and tourism, we also represent the interests of the broader Nanango community.
“So we deal with Council a lot, and we have local Councillors as members.”
The forum will be compered and moderated by former Division 1 Councillor Barry Green and NaTDA secretary Jane Erkens will act as timekeeper.
Each of the four Mayoral candidates – Keith Campbell, Abigail Andersson, Brett Otto and Toni Ralph – will be given three minutes to outline who they are and their plans if elected.
Mayoral candidates will wait their turn to speak in a separate room so they have no opportunity to hear what the other candidates say.
After this, the floor will be thrown open to questions from the audience and all candidates will have a minute to reply.
“This should keep the forum moving along very briskly and give the public a good idea of what each candidate is really like,” Jane said.
“But if anyone talks over the time limit, we’ll ring a bell to cut them off.”
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