Mayor Julie Boyd, Mackay City Council, Qld
Q. How long have you been on Council?
I have spent 16 years in Local Government, 11 of which I have been Mayor. I was first elected in 1988 and was on Mackay City Council for two years before resigning. After Mackay was amalgamated with Pioneer Shire in 1994, I stood again as a Councillor and then in 1997, 2000 and 2004 as Mayor. I was successful in each of these elections.
Q. Why did you become involved in Local Government?
I moved to Mackay in 1986 with my husband and three very young children. Although the Mackay community was welcoming and friendly, I thought that the community was missing opportunities. I also had an issue with a local school access way that seemed to be a Council matter, but no one was interested in taking it forward.
Q. Tell us about your Local Government area.
Mackay City Council covers an area of 2,800 square kilometres and currently has a population of approximately 90,000 people. The rural area is mostly under sugar cane cultivation, with cattle being grazed in those areas not suitable for cane. Mackay has seen enormous growth in the last three to five years, with the average growth rate being between 3.2 per cent and 3.5 per cent. Mackay is the service centre of the northern Bowen basin, which has seen unprecedented increases in coal production and has had a flow on effect in growth in the industrial area. Skill shortages are being felt in all sectors of industry and business and the cost of housing has risen sharply. However, Mackay has a great future as a significant regional city with great economic diversity and potential to grow.
Q. What are the key challenges facing you and your Council?
Mackay, like most Councils in Queensland, is about to be amalgamated with the two smaller Shires, Sarina and Mirani, and will become the Mackay Regional Council as of 15 March. Having been involved in a previous amalgamation, I understand all too well the sort of issues and constraints that will be placed on the new Council. The challenge of bringing together about 900 staff, upgrading communications and combining finance, information technology, geographical information systems and data systems has already commenced. However, in the first 18 months of the new Council, the focus will still be on these issues and the need to keep essential infrastructure projects on target, while keeping the identity of smaller communities intact. While I have decided not to seek
re-election, I strongly believe that there are wonderful opportunities for the new Council and the community as long as the amalgamation is handled sensitively and cooperatively.
Q. What innovative projects is your Council working on?
Council is currently constructing a new sewerage treatment plant and effluent reuse project. This project is jointly funded by the Queensland Government, the Federal Government via the National Water Initiative, and Council. About 85 per cent of the effluent will be reused for cane irrigation in a farming area. This area currently does not have access to a reliable water supply, as the groundwater bores have been heavily constrained due to years of reduced rainfall.
Council is also involved in an alliance project that will hasten the provision of essential infrastructure. Due to increasing construction costs with growth in the mining sector, Council has had difficulty in completing construction projects in a cost effective way.
Q. What are the key aspects of being a good Councillor?
You need to be passionate about your community and prepared to work hard to achieve results, even if at times it seems to take an inordinate amount of time to complete them. You must have the ability to listen and to respond to residents’ concerns, disseminate information, think outside the square and be committed to the long term future – not just to the next election.
Councillor John Campbell, Brisbane City Council, Qld
Q. How long have you been on Council?
I have been a member of Brisbane City Council for 25 years and am now the most experienced Councillor in the City. At
53 years of age, I look forward to quite a few more years yet.
Q. Why did you become involved in Local Government?
I became particularly interested after doing a course in Local Government as part of my Arts Degree at university. I was intrigued with Brisbane City Council, given its wider range of functions and responsibilities compared to other Australian Councils. Unlike any other Council, Brisbane runs a bus service on a major metropolitan scale. Until very recently, it also had a responsibility for water supply and distribution. While being involved in the local community and representing their interests, Brisbane City Council had the additional challenge of large scale service delivery – this particularly appealed to me.
Q. Tell us about your Local Government area.
Brisbane City Council is the largest Council in population in Australia, with approximately one million residents. My Ward of Doboy is one of 26 Wards, with 26,887 voters and their families. My Ward covers a large slice of middle suburban residential areas, but also includes a significant industrial area and is impacted by the rapidly expanding port precinct – Australia TradeCoast.
Q. What are the key challenges facing you and your Council?
The most important recent challenge has been securing the water supply for Brisbane. We have carried out a strong program of education to encourage reductions in household and industry water consumption. Brisbane and the whole of South East Queensland are currently on Level 6 restrictions, which has resulted in a 55 per cent reduction in residential water consumption and 35 per cent in industrial use. When the dam storage in South East Queensland started to approach the 40 per cent level, I urged immediate action to introduce water restrictions, while others said we should wait until 35 per cent. In hindsight, my decision to introduce water restrictions at 40 per cent of total dam storage was prudent. I felt it very important not to play the blame game in the drought and worked hard to ensure cooperative regional arrangements between Council and the State Government so we could get through it. The drought still remains a major issue in South East Queensland, even though the total dam storage has risen to 28 per cent from a low of 17 per cent in October 2007.
Q. What innovative projects is your Council working on?
As Chairperson of the Water and City Businesses Committee,
I have been actively involved in a $75 million program to source 20 megalitres of new water per day from underground (aquifer) water sources. We are also moving to purchase green power for Council operations. The City Business Division of my portfolio has recently moved to Green Square South Tower, which is the first commercial building in Queensland to be awarded a Five Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.
Q. Tell us about your experience with ALGA.
I was very fortunate to have been able to receive support from Local Government across Australia to be elected ALGA President for three successive annual terms (constitutional limit). What I remember most is the support I received from Councillors and other Local Government representatives across Australia, regardless of their politics or where they hailed from. As a Councillor from the largest metropolitan Council in Australia, I had a steep learning curve in understanding the trials and tribulations of rural and regional Councils. I also realised that rural and regional media were far more interested in Local Government, and it meant more to those communities than I was accustomed to. The biggest lesson I learnt was that unless Local Government is united in its stand with other levels of government, it cannot get the best outcomes for constituents. I found that where we could get a national position and there was goodwill from all the State organisations, we were quite effective and the Federal Government listened.
Q. What are the key aspects of being a good Councillor?
Patience and preparedness to listen to the community before making a final decision. An ability to seek out rational experts on issues and, very importantly, an ability to delegate and not try to do everything yourself. It is also very important not to listen to the loudest voices in the community, but to seek the greatest good for the greatest number. You also need the ability to look over the horizon to see what challenges are coming, rather than simply reacting to current issues, such as acting on climate change locally.
