Another Year of Growth

Sustainable growth, investing in infrastructure, building organisational capacity, and community wellbeing and resilience have been captured in Tablelands Regional Council’s Annual Report, which was endorsed at today’s ordinary Council meeting.

Mayor Rod Marti said it had been a privilege to reflect on another year of hard work, progress and investment in community across our region.

‘Our extensive road network always represents one of our biggest ticket items with $12.4M of capital expenditure and $19.8M in operational expenditure, both figures inclusive of flood damage repairs.

‘Getting this delivered was particularly challenging given the prolonged six months of wet that followed TC Jasper.

‘We have worked hard and are well advanced on a major water upgrade at Ravenshoe and Millstream, as well as being seriously invested in water at Malanda.

‘These projects will provide reliable potable water in Ravenshoe and Millstream, as well as extend Malanda’s water supply beyond the town itself towards Davies Road.

‘These projects not only enhance the quality of life for residents, but also help prepare our region for future growth and increased demand.

‘Progress on TRC’s flagship project, the Priors Creek Parklands, is well and truly underway as we value-add prime town centre space.

‘Our budgeted commitment of $2.5M is now supported by $3.6M in Queensland and Australian government grants.

‘Despite early 2024 being extremely wet, we have completed much of the sites enabling work and are creating the plaza, building the link road and adjacent car parks.

‘It is an exciting transformational project for Atherton and the Tablelands.

‘In 2023–24 we were busy completing $36M in capital works and $75M in operational works for the year.

‘The operational component enabled the delivery of road and facility maintenance; the provision of water, waste and wastewater services; community events; local law management; emergency management; library and visitor information services; and environment and natural resources management.

‘General rates revenue increased by 4.6% while CPI hovered over 8% during the budget development period.

‘At the end of the year, borrowings reached $15.3M, with $11.0M of that for the important investments in water for Ravenshoe and Millstream.

‘We also made significant progress on our service level review and asset management plan development.

‘These initiatives provide the organisation with the evidence it needs to fully understand not only its services and their costs, but the community’s use of them.

‘The review is long overdue as Council faces difficult decisions to rationalise certain services and modify others.

‘For the organisation, and among other initiatives, formative work was done embedding a Project Management Office (PMO).

‘The PMO and the skills and disciplines within it are bringing more rigor, accountability and improvement to project delivery.

‘The PMO is a work in progress, building human skills and organisational capacity, and ultimately better outcomes for the community.

‘It will lift the organisation’s productivity and reputation in the sector.

‘We faced significant challenges as well, with bushfires in the Innot Hot Springs, Silver Valley and Mount Garnet areas — bushfires that destroyed hectares of grazing country and some properties.

‘These fires were closely followed by TC Jasper, which tested our resilience.

‘While we weren’t in the direct firing line of TC Jasper, we did endure six months of rain that wreaked havoc on our road network.

‘We responded as promptly and effectively as conditions would allow and, through our dedicated crews and the Tablelands Local Disaster Management Group, we were able to minimise damage and road closures, and supported recovery efforts to the best of our capacity.

‘Like last year, I’d like to acknowledge the contribution of volunteers to our community.

‘The role of volunteers in the many organisations that provide valuable services to our community is heart-warming.

‘Last year it was more than 36,000 hours of service and I’m personally certain that the level this year is there again or higher.

‘On behalf of this Council and the wider community, I sincerely thank volunteers for all their selfless work.

‘I’d also like to acknowledge the commitment of all Councilors, new and old, who worked through an incredibly busy year.

‘I’d especially like to thank the Councilors who have been elected for the first time — you have taken a lot on board in a short time including delivering your very first budget, and it’s no mean feat.

‘And by no means least, to all those very dedicated officers right across our organisation— you do an incredibly important job, that might seem unseen or feel thankless at times, but your Councillors and community are extremely grateful for all that you do.

‘As we look towards the future, I remain confident that together we will continue to build a resilient, strong and sustainable Tablelands,’ Mayor Marti said.

Acting CEO Hilary Jackson echoed Mayor Marti’s sentiments on the year of growth, adaption and resilience.

‘This report reflects the hard work of our staff and community partners as we continued to deliver on our commitments for our community.

‘Under the leadership of our former CEO Gary Rinehart, we have continued to focus on the strategic themes of our Corporate Plan (trc.qld.gov.au/corporate-plan) and improving operational efficiency.

‘Our Operational Plan and its quarterly reviews have focused on continued improvement across all our strategic areas of focus.

‘Commitments have been made to the delivery of customer-focused systems and processes improving our customer experiences.

‘Maintenance of our open spaces has supported healthy and active lifestyles and well-planned maintenance continues to improve our road network.

‘Our environment is valued and managed with sustainable practices and responsible resource management, and support continues for development that encourages growth of the region’s economy.

‘This year also saw a new Council elected.

‘We are grateful for the energy and enthusiasm of the new Councillors, and the experience and leadership of the returning members.

‘Together they provide strong strategic guidance and direction to the organisation.

‘I am also grateful for our capable and dedicated staff, and our positively engaged community.

‘Together we are focused on delivering the strategic goals of our Corporate Plan for the benefit of the whole community, now and into the future,’ Ms Jackson said.

Service Highlights

• $14,132,632 in grants across 19 applications.
• 2410km of roads surveyed.
• 300 properties visited to assist with weed management.
• 2907 dogs registered.
• 124 animals returned to owners.
• 104 animals rehomed.
• 30,870 trees grown from locally collected seeds for revegetation projects.
• 78km of bitumen resealed.
• 66km of gravel re-sheeted.
• 405,393 general waste bins and 131,973 recycling bins collected.
• 237 food licenses issued.
• 18,904 customer calls received.
• 13,196 customer requests resolved.
• 153,250 library loans completed.
• 16,006 visitors to libraries.
• 460 building approvals completed valued at over $80M.
• $193,082 in grants paid to 187 community groups, young achievers and artists.
• 24 ordinary Council meetings, seven planning meetings and five special meetings held.
• 184 volunteers appreciated.
• 65,861 visitors welcomed to our five information centres.
• 34,400 Facebook interactions.
• 7753 Youtube views.

$30.2M in rates collected from 13,529 properties.

Photo: CEO Hilary Jackson and Mayor Rod Marti.