WQAC meets in St George
Published on 22 August 2025
WQAC meets in St George
Blackall-Tambo Regional Council’s Mayor, Cr Andrew Martin, Deputy Mayor, Cr David Hardie and Director of Lifestyle and Communities, Ms Jaimee-Lee Prow attended the Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) Assembly, in St George recently.
Present was the Honourable Jarrod Bleijie MP, Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Industrial Relations who made some key funding announcements around initiatives which will boost regional housing solutions and economic development within the BTRC shire and beyond.
Host Mayor was Balonne Shire Council’s Cr Samantha O’Toole who was recently in Blackall for the signing of the updated Rural and Remote Councils Compact, a document which is designed to support better alignment between state and local government decision-making.
Cr Martin said of all the announcements made at the assembly, “They are all very, very welcome and prove that the bush is being looked after, something which hasn’t been seen for a while.”
For BTRC, the announcements started last week on opening night of the Better in Blackall Festival with the Honourable Ann Leahy MP, Minister for Local Government and Water and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers announcing funding of $4.5m for a wastewater treatment plant for Blackall to replace the aging and environmentally obsolete one in place now.
“It is very, very welcome,” Mayor Martin said, “And long overdue as ours is no longer compliant according to today’s environmental standards.”
The Deputy Premier also announced increases in funding to the Country Roads Connect Program along with the injection of $41.8 million to the Residential Activation Fund.
The Residential Activation Fund has been described as a game-changer for Central Western communities as it will unlock critical infrastructure like roads, sewerage, water and power and pave the way for new homes to be built.
“Tambo will benefit in particular from this announcement of which our share is $300,000,” Cr Martin said adding that Council had land surveyed and put aside there, it just needed to get the services to the blocks.
He said, “The funding will go a long way to continuing the fight to fixing the housing crisis in the region, by opening up more housing blocks.”
The flow of funding to Western Queensland is set to continue with the Deputy Premier announcing the Crisafulli Government’s intention to continue to not only support but also increase funding to Queensland’s Remote Areas Boards (RABs).
These Boards in Western Queensland align with the footprint of both the Central Western Queensland Remote Area Planning and Development Board (RAPAD) and the Southwest Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils.
On top of these vital funding streams the Assembly also heard about other State Government policy and regulatory reforms relating to red tape reduction, planning, water security and depreciation.
BTRC’s Mayor, Deputy Mayor and CEO all met with the Minister for Transport and Main Roads the Honorable Mr Brent Mickelberg MP on the Freight Subsidy issue and are pleased to announce that the report has been completed.
“Over the next couple of weeks, we will get to look at what has been discovered. We are well on the road to fixing the disparaties in freight subsidies to our region (for e.g. Quilpie pays approx $170 per pallet to unload but Tambo is closer to $500 per pallet). Hopefully gone will be the days when Tambo residents pay $10 for an avocado.” said Cr Martin.