October 20, 2020
If a second wave of COVID-19 strikes Queensland, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will be prepared – thanks to some handcrafted facemasks courtesy of the South Burnett Regional Council.
Mayor Brett Otto presented the Premier with the masks on Tuesday, the first day of the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) annual conference at the Gold Coast.
He is attending the conference with Deputy Mayor Gavin Jones and Council CEO Mark Pitt.
The masks feature Indigenous designs created by local artist Val McGrath.
It is Mayor Otto’s first LGAQ conference.
He said it was the perfect opportunity to remind the Premier of the South Burnett’s needs.
“The Premier was there for a very short time to make some announcements and on the back of my meeting with her a couple of months ago I seized the chance to reconnect whilst she is in election mode,” Mayor Otto said.
“I was very pleased with the Premier’s commitments around significant ongoing funding to rural councils through the Labor government’s highly successful Works for Queensland program, regional roads funding and a new allocation to rural councils for mental health.”
Hundreds of community leaders from across the State are attending the LGAQ conference.
“I see this not only as a chance to speak to some of my colleagues on collective issues, but to corner visiting politicians and dignitaries and raise our issues with them, including the Local Government Minister and the Premier,” Mayor Otto said.
“I make no apology for taking every chance I can get to advocate for the South Burnett.
“I also met with the LNP’s shadow minister for local government, Ann Leahy, last week and will be meeting with the Director General of Transport and Main Roads on some of our priority road issues, including the Mundubbera-Durong Road and Bunya Mountains Road.”
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