Maranoa Regional Council attends SWQROC Meeting in Canberra

Maranoa Regional Council was part of the delegation from the South West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (SWROC) that recently concluded a two-day visit to Canberra.

Mayor Tyson Golder and CEO Edwina Marks met with key Ministers to discuss critical issues facing the region.  

Mayor Tyson Golder found the visit highly productive: “We had many great discussions throughout the two-day meeting including funding for Country University Centres, the social license around carbon farming and net zero as well as the Murray Darling water buybacks, and our current housing crisis” said Mayor Tyson Golder. 

The delegation met with key Queensland Senators to raise support for our local issues such as rising insurance premiums, our current carbon farming study and the Murray Darling buybacks. We also met with Brendan Moon, CEO of the National Emergency Management Agency to discuss disaster management as well as the National Finance and Investment Corp to discuss potential solutions to the housing crisis in Western Queensland.

A discussion took place with Minister Plibersek regarding the Government's commitment to carry out the Murray Darling Basin Plan, with a focus on advocating for effective engagement and compensation for communities affected by the plans economic and social impacts.  

The visit included a dinner meeting with Liz de Chastel, Interim CEO of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and Kim Houghton, Chief Economist for the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) to discuss advocacy goals in the lead up to the Federal Budget and the new National Alliance for Regionalisation.  

Maranoa Regional Council’s participation in the South West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (SWROC) visit to Canberra continues to provide a strong platform to discuss a wide range of critical issues facing our region.