From the Mayor's Desk - 27 October 2020

This fortnight’s column comes during one of the most vital times of the year for many of our residents. While our farmers have been racing in the paddocks to get their crops off to beat the rain, Council has been campaigning behind the scenes on their behalf.

At Council’s suggestion, we have partnered with AgForce, Cotton Australia, Queensland Farmers’ Federation and other organisations to push for a whole-of-agriculture exemption to the Queensland border closures. The agricultural industry is not only the backbone of the Goondiwindi region’s economy, but it’s also an essential pillar in supporting the entire state throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery – and it needs more certainty in enabling cross-border movements to allow for long-term business decisions and workforce planning so it can operate smoothly, especially if we face another COVID-19 outbreak.

Currently, the movement of agricultural workers is governed by a Class Exemption for Farmers and Agribusiness Workers – a welcome improvement from the previous system, but still not good enough. I think many would agree that the nature of the current Class Exemption does not provide industry with enough confidence to plan for long-term, and also results in inconsistent interpretations of the requirements by Border Officers on the ground.

Instead, Council is working with Queensland’s Chief Health Officer to introduce an ‘Agricultural Border Pass’. The pass would be similar to the Freight and Logistics pass that is already in place, and would make use of existing online assessment technology for a streamlined application process. It is my belief that such a pass would alleviate business uncertainty and support ongoing agricultural productivity and workforce continuity - there is still work to do, and I will keep residents updated about our progress.

In other news, I was able to represent Council at a meeting with the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) about Inland Rail late last week and can give a brief report that we are making good progress regarding concerns about impact on water flows and other issues – more on this in the future. The week before, I attended the Texas Queensland Inc (TQI) AGM following the announcement that Council will construct a new $100,000 walkway to connect the town’s CBD to the popular Dumaresq River rest area. It’s a project for which TQI has lobbied for some time, and I’m pleased that Council was able to secure funding through the Australian Government's Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program grant to make it a reality.

Finally, the harvest has not been the only cause of a flurry of activity in our region these past few weeks. In Inglewood, a certain Johnathon Thurston caused quite a stir at the State School and St Maria Goretti Primary School. With the JT Academy, he spoke with students about mental health, resilience and well-being, with hundreds attending the community event later in the day. And lastly, our region was represented on-screen last week when the Today Show broadcast live from Goondiwindi on Thursday. It was a pleasure to see so many come out in support, and some great local businesses such as Goanna Ag, Human Bean Co and Brigalow Sourdough really had their moment in the spotlight. I think they certainly did us proud and showed thousands of households across the country what makes us Regional Australia at its Best.

Hon. Cr Lawrence Springborg AM
Mayor
Goondiwindi Regional Council