February 27, 2024
A forum held at Blackbutt Memorial Hall on Monday night provided the first opportunity in the lead-up to the March 16 Council elections for the audience to ask questions of the candidates.
About 50 people attended the event, along with all four Mayoral candidates and the three aspirants standing for the position of Division 2 Councillor.
The evening was organised by candidate Linda Little and compered by well-known Blackbutt Medical Centre director Jeff Connor.
The night began with each speaker giving a brief five-minute summary of their background, reasons for standing and the main things they hoped to achieve if elected (audio files, below).
After each candidate had spoken, the audience was invited to ask questions and each candidate was given a few minutes to answer.
These ranged from the best way to train new councillors to the attitudes of candidates towards renewable energy projects and nuclear power.
All seemed to agree that the process of approving renewable energy projects could be improved.
Candidates were also asked their views on climate change and what cost-cutting measures they thought Council should investigate.
One question which seemed to puzzle nearly everyone on stage was what their views were on “smart cities” or “15-minute cities”.
However, Division 2 candidate Wendy Hazelton explained that “geofencing” and security cameras were things everyone should be concerned about.
The next South Burnett candidates forum will be held on Sunday (March 3) at Nanango’s Taras Hall from 3:00pm, organised by the Nanango Business Alliance.
All Mayoral and Divisional candidates have been invited to attend.
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Goomeri residents have been invited to attend a candidates’ forum this Thursday night (February 29) at the Hall of Memory from 6:00pm to meet the Mayoral and Gympie Division 6 candidates.
The Yarraman Progress Association will also be running a forum at the Yarraman Bowls Club this Saturday (March 2) from 5:00pm to 7:30pm to give Yarraman and Cooyar residents the chance to meet candidates standing for Toowoomba Regional Council.
[UPDATED with correction. All Divisional candidates have been invited to Sunday’s Nanango forum, not just Division 1 candidates.)
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Mayoral Candidates
In the order they spoke:
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Division 2 Candidates
In the order they spoke:
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Questions From The Floor
Moderated by Jeff Connor:
