CTC’s Contributing To Community

August 1, 2024

South Burnett CTC explained how the not-for-profit group is “Contributing To Community” when it hosted the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s latest meet’n’greet.

The get-together of local businesspeople was held at CTC’s headquarters at the South Burnett Enterprise Centre on July 23.

Guest speakers included CTC CEO Jason Erbacher and The Gumnut Place business manager Liz Geppert.

The Gumnut Place, in Murgon, is an Australian Disability Enterprise which provides a range of services, including trophy and badge-making, document shredding, pallet construction and a commercial laundry.

They also run a popular commercial kitchen, which catered for the KCCI event.

Jason provided a summary of services delivered by the different arms of the organisation, from accommodation for youth and people with disabilities to support for foster carers and counselling linked to family and domestic violence.

CTC currently has 254 staff (and a wages bill of $20 million), 64 vehicles and 30 housing locations (including supported living houses, residential services for people with a disability, a youth hostel and houses for independent / transitional living).

It also provides support for more than 90 foster carers who look after more than 160 children in out-of-home care across the South Burnett.

The organisation has also recently taken over services at the Beemar Yumba children’s hostel in Cherbourg.

Jason said he was grateful that government funding to tackle the problem of family and domestic violence had increased in recent years, but unfortunately so had the problem.

“We have seen the (CTC family and domestic violence) team nearly triple over the last two years … and still not able to meet the demand just in the South Burnett region,” he said.

CTC will soon be launching a new services guide and a website to better explain its activities.

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South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff and Deputy Mayor Danita Potter also spoke at the meet’n’greet, expressing disappointment the South Burnett had missed out on funding for a university hub.

However, Cr Potter said the recent visit by Mayor Duff and two councillors to the Australian Local Government Association conference in Canberra had provided some hope.

They were told another round of funding would be coming up in the next couple of months.

“We found out that we weren’t quite shovel-ready enough,” Mayor Duff said.

She said the project needed more “buy-in” from local businesses, community and industry.

“They want a lot more examples of how we would use a hub, and what businesses might use it for training,” Mayor Duff said.

“What we want is letters of support (stating) how you would use a university hub … and examples of how people are now travelling (to university).”

A new application would also have to have a more regional focus, including Cherbourg and the North Burnett.

  Kingaroy