From the Mayor's Desk - 1 August 2022

Council advocates around timely, reliable BoM flood data
This past fortnight, Council was pleased to host a visit from representatives from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) to Texas and Goondiwindi to address concerns about access to accurate and timely information during flood events.
During a workshop in Texas, residents were able to give their feedback to the BoM and look for opportunities to improve local flood gauging, modelling, and warnings. We had landholders attend from both sides of the border, who had been concerned about insufficient communication of flood warnings following major flooding in the Texas area and upstream in March 2021.
Council also met with the BoM to raise some of the learnings from the Inglewood November 2021 flood event: beyond local observation - which proved to be correct – the official warnings about the volume of water flowing into Coolmunda were limited, which hindered the official community response to the flood. Council advocated to the BoM for a number of issues across the region, including:

• Texas - improved automatic gauges that are more appropriately placed, especially on the New South Wales side of the Border Rivers catchment
• Inglewood - at least two additional gauges in the tributaries upstream of the dam, and an additional gauge further upstream in the Mosquito Creek / Canning Creek catchment area
• Goondiwindi - improved flood modelling for the Macintyre River, especially upstream of Goondiwindi. We need further refinement to bring it into closer alignment with what’s actually observed during a flood – the BoM has agreed to work with us and use local knowledge to enhance that modelling
• Across the region - improved consistency in river height/volume gauges, and a single point where residents can quickly and reliably access that information (preferably via the BoM website).

Timely, accurate information during a flood event is absolutely essential: the better information we have, the better prepared we can be, and hopefully the better outcomes we can achieve in terms of future flood safety and protection of property.

Collective collaboration: Goondiwindi to host Queensland Bush Councils Convention
Last week, some of my fellow councillors and I travelled up to Barcaldine in central west Queensland to attend the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ)’s Bush Councils Convention. The event is a wonderful opportunity for 45 of the state’s local governments to come together and work through various successes and learnings across a range of big issues facing rural and regional councils, such as roads, water security, economic development, workforce challenges and infrastructure.
Cr Kelly gave an excellent presentation to the group about Council’s innovative Bluetooth ‘e-gate’ solution, which enabled residents to cross the Queensland/New South Wales border for essential purposes during border closures and which last year won the Butch Lenton Memorial Bush Council Innovation Award.
I am now delighted to be able to announce that Goondiwindi has been selected by the LGAQ to host the 2023 Bush Councils Convention. We can expect more than 100 delegates of mayors, councillors and officers from across the state to travel to Goondiwindi next year, working collectively and collaboratively to achieve more for our communities. The three-day
convention is also great news for our local motel, cafes, pubs, restaurants, and shops. It is also a wonderful opportunity to showcase our region.

Inglewood aged care update
Together with Council, the Inglewood Aged Care Committee has settled on a final design for the former ‘Casa Mia’ aged care facility to convert the building into independent or assisted living units. A quantity surveyor has been engaged to provide an estimate of the likely cost of redevelopment, which will now be discussed by Council and then the Inglewood Aged Care Committee.

Apex Changeover
It was my pleasure to recently attend the Apex Club of Goondiwindi changeover dinner. The evening brought a range of people to town, with Apexians and other visitors coming to Goondiwindi from as far away as the Lockyer Valley and Roma. I’d like to thank and congratulate our local Apex club for all that they do for our community - they’re one of our outstanding local service clubs across the region who are committed to advancing our community, whether through countless volunteer hours or generous financial support of good causes.

Scam alert
Finally, a reminder to all residents to be extremely wary of providing any personal or financial details over the phone or online. Council has recently been made aware of a scam in neighbouring regions, in which a person poses as a council employee and requests personal information. Please remember: Council will never initiate a phone call asking you to pay any rates or Council charges by credit card. (Residents ARE able to pay fees and charges over the phone by credit card - but Council will not initiate the phone call.) If you are at all in doubt, hang up and contact Council through formal channels: 07 4671 7400 or mail@grc.qld.gov.au
If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately. I would also encourage you to report any suspected scams to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC): https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam