BURDEKIN Mayor Lyn McLaughlin has been named as the new chair of the North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NQROC), taking over from Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill.
Cr McLaughlin said she was looking forward to her role with the group, which was formed so local council’s could provide a united front when fight for the North’s fair share.
The five member councils, which includes Townsville, Burdekin, Charters Towers, Hinchinbrook and Palm Island, were part of a delegation that travelled to Canberra this week to present their wish list ahead of the next Federal election.
“This week we meet with Prime Minister Turnbull and we will be ensuring that everybody from the Prime Minister down knows what’s important to us here in North Queensland,” Cr McLaughlin said.
She said the delegation was updated on the Agricultural Supply Study for North Queensland, being undertaken by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA).
“This study will help to identify and maximise local production opportunities to ensure we can meet future agricultural demand,” she said.
“Our goal is to ensure our region can take full advantage of the economic benefits our agricultural sector offers, both now and into the future.”
Cr McLaughlin said she was looking forward to building on the good work of the organisation in the coming year.
“There is already great cooperation between the five member councils. We have a real opportunity to build on these strong partnerships to achieve some great wins for our region in the year ahead,” Cr McLaughlin said.
She said NQROC had recently appointed its first executive officer to work with the mayors to drive their regional agenda further.
Cr Hill, the outgoing chair, said she would support Cr McLaughlin in her push to ensure the organisation becomes an ever more unified force for the region.
“It’s been a great honour to Chair NQROC and we have had a number of important wins for our region,” Cr Hill said.
“It’s important that we continue to hunt as a pack for our region and ensure that governments in Brisbane and Canberra sit up and take notice of what is needed here in North Queensland.
“I know Lyn, she’s a fierce advocate for our region and will fight to realise the economic opportunities here in the North.”
Cr McLaughlin thanked Cr Hill for her strong support and stewardship of NQROC over the past twelve months.
“Jenny is passionate about getting results for Townsville and for the North Queensland region. I want to thank Jenny for her leadership over the past twelve months and I look forward to building on her great work,” she said.
