December 7, 2022
Discussions about introducing a $10 bounty for wild pigs at Wednesday’s South Burnett Regional Council meeting had to be terminated after five Councillors declared they had a potential conflict of interest.
Cr Jane Erkens bowed out of the discussion early when she volunteered her husband occasionally went on pig-shooting expeditions.
Cr Scott Henschen said he owned a rural property and was a member of a pest control group in the Ironpot area, so he had to leave as well.
Cr Kathy Duff – who had moved the motion to introduce the bounty – said she laid pig baits on her family’s property at Boondooma and sometimes called in shooters for feral pig control, which meant she was probably ineligible to discuss or vote on the matter, too.
Cr Gavin Jones said he owned a rural property that could potentially attract feral pigs, and Cr Kirstie Schumacher said she was in the same position so she had to quit the debate as well.
This meant the remaining two Councillors – Mayor Brett Otto and Cr Danita Potter – were unable to form a quorum.
The matter has now been left on the table until the Council can get some clarification from the State Government about whether any of these potential conflicts would bar one or more Councillors from discussing and voting on the issue.
* * *
The Kingaroy Cricket and Sports Club will soon be the home of six different sporting teams after the South Burnett Regional Council approved the club’s request to offer sub-agreements to them.
The club will become the official headquarters of the South Burnett Saints AFC, Wooroolin Warriors Cricket Club, Kingaroy Croquet Club, Kingaroy Junior Cricket Association, South Burnett Thrashers Rugby Union Club and the South Burnett Cricket Association.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Councillors were told the club had requested Council’s approval to offer Licence to Occupy agreements to several local sporting groups so they could each seek grant funding to invest into the facility.
Officers said a majority of grant funders will not support facilities upgrades for sporting groups unless there was proof of a legal right to occupy a facility.
They said Council had provided support to the club by providing a template Licence to Occupy, and as part of the template it suggested the final agreements should contain clauses that supports conflict resolution.
The club has also been told that any sub-tenant must ensure the site continues to be used as a sporting facility and the land can continue to be used for this purpose in the future without interruption or obstruction.
Councillors approved the request unanimously.
* * *
Kingaroy’s Junior Soccer Club will soon be sharing its grounds and facilities with the Kingaroy Touch Association.
The change has come after the Council received a request to terminate the soccer club’s current lease over part of the Oliver Bond Street sports fields and issue a new lease with both groups acting as joint tenants.
The request was supported by a Memorandum of Understanding between the groups, which also noted the financial cost of the lease termination and the issue of a new joint lease would be borne by the Kingaroy Touch Association.
Councillors agreed to the request, and have left the final arrangements in the hands of Council’s CEO Mark Pitt PSM.
