April 11, 2023
South Burnett Regional Council is conducting an online survey to determine what the Murgon community would like to see done with the town’s Visitor Information Centre (VIC).
The VIC currently operates from a building located at the centre of QEII Park in Murgon’s CBD.
In March, Councillors learned a shortage of volunteers meant the VIC will be unable to retain its Tourism Queensland accreditation when it comes up for renewal later this year.
Under current rules, Tourism Queensland require all accredited VICs operate at least 42 hours per week.
However, CEO Mark Pitt advised last month’s General Meeting the centre has only been able to operate for 20 hours per week in recent times, and this seems likely to drop to as few as 12 hours per week in future.
Councillors were told that loss of accreditation would mean that the centre would no longer appear on Tourism Queensland’s VIC network.
However, there would be few other real-world impacts and as long as at least one of the South Burnett’s five VICs retained accreditation, all the other advantages of accredited VIC status would flow to them all.
Cr Kathy Duff said the Murgon VIC had been built by the town’s business community and she believed CBD traders deserved to be consulted about the centre’s future, along with other community groups.
She also noted that the town’s Dairy and Heritage Museum, Yallakool Tourist Park and soon-to-be-opened Ancient Songbird Centre also provided tourism information to visitors.
Cr Duff moved the Council consult with the community about the centre’s future.
Her motion was seconded by Cr Danita Potter and carried unanimously.
The results of the community consultations are expected to be debated at the Council’s Liveability Standing Committee meeting on June 14.
- External link: Murgon VIC Community Survey
We would like to see it stay open for the benefit of the tourists
If other facilities are to give information and if QE11 Park is to exist as a park, then conversion to a tea room might be advantageous, but I doubt the town’s other cafes would be pleased.
I would have liked to see more hedging to both cut some noise and act as a barrier to children who are in danger of running into traffic.
The other new park, Veterans Park, has yet to have a single person in it from what I see and I pass it a number of times every day.
I have the horrible feeling that the answer to the future of the visitor centre and the park is the old line of “I wouldn’t start from here” with Murgon’s selection of small “parks” not really being parks but just strips of grass to keep traffic apart.
The new park developments should not have been started without the future of the VIC and its building having been settled.
I would love to keep it, but alas all the volunteers are retiring
I am a volunteer at Murgon & love doing it. As well as the great tourists you meet, we work alongside really lovely people. Always look forward to my turn. It’s also very good to meet up with volunteers from the other centres when the Council takes us on Famil Tours in the district. I can say it’s very beneficial for one’s mental health as well. Please come & join our happy band, 3 or 4 new volunteers would be great.
Upon advice from professional marketing companies and the CEO of our South Burnett Regional Council that stand-alone Visitor Info Centres cannot survive, we have forwarded to council a amended commercial proposition for the visitor information centre and have given about 10 different uses for the visitor information centre building should it close.
Alas we have never received a reply to our latest proposal.
– Leo Geraghty OAM, Secretary Creative Country Assoc Inc, the owners of the new Murgon Ancient Songbird Centre. So much for community consultation!
Put your suggestions in using the online survey. The results of these will be reported to a future Council meeting.
Rod mate, the survey is a total dud the way it is put forward! Rather silly it is!
If Leo cannot get a response then what is the use of a survey such as this?
The locals that have experience re the VIC SHOULD be consulted PROPERLY.
Leo’s response could be in the mail for all we know but my understanding is that the aim of broadening the consultation process outward was to encourage views from a wider diversity of the community and not just accept the views of the Murgon Business and Development Association.
The MBDA probably only get 15 to 20 people to their meetings but Murgon has about 2800 residents. I imagine many may hold different views on a wide range of local topics but aren’t getting their views listened to because they don’t have an easy way to do it.
So good on Council, or at least Jane Erkens, for trying to get them heard on this topic.