General Business - August 27 Ordinary Meeting

Published on 28 August 2025

Councillor Dan Ballard

I want to acknowledge the incredible success of this month’s events – the Isa Street Parade, the Mailman Express, and the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo.

Mount Isa was a hive of activity and the energy was infectious. It was wonderful to see so many locals and visitors enjoying themselves.

These events brought our community together and offered something for everyone. Huge crowds turned out and the week was an overwhelming success.

We should be incredibly proud of the rodeo week – not just the events, but as a symbol of our identity. The support shown by the community was outstanding and well and truly marked that Mount Isa is alive and well and our community spirit is strong.

A big congratulations to all the organisers, volunteers, and supporters. All your efforts are what made it possible.

And September is shaping up as yet another month for vibrant events in our community, with standouts such as the Spring Cup and Multicultural Festival on the horizon. If you haven’t already made plans, I encourage you to come along, show your support for the organisers, and take full advantage of the beautiful weather before our warmer months set in.

On another note, I’d like to highlight that Council was recently named as a finalist in the Far North Queensland GIS Awards, in the category of Geospatial Award for Environmental Impact.

The nominated project – our Mount Isa home recycling launch – used an interactive GIS tool to help residents easily find their new bin days during the rollout of yellow-lidded recycling bins.

We didn’t take home the award, but it was a credit to our Community Services team that Mount Isa City Council was recognised among the leading geospatial projects in the region. And it’s a great example of how we’re using technology to improve services and support sustainability.

Councillor John Doyle

I just wanted to reiterate that about the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo – it was amazing. The committee did a great job. It was good to see it community driven and for our community. I really enjoyed it, and my kids and my whole family enjoyed it. So thanks to those guys.

The Isa Street Parade was great. It’s good to see we had extra lollies this time. We could still get more, but that was really good.

And it’s good to see the public turn out and see who we are and also all the schools and everybody else and their floats. I really enjoy it, and so do my kids.

We’ve had a couple of kids going away for athletics. Talking about our community and the talent that we have here, we have so much natural talent here, right across all sports. It’s really, really awesome to see the amount of skill and talent that we have across here.

I really wish we could just get somebody from all over the coast and down south to come here and really just pick these people and give them as much as they can to progress even more and develop even more.

We’ve had kids going away for athletics. We’ve had men and women going away. We’ve had the Isa Warriors boys doing rugby union and rugby league. We’ve got the schools footy coming up this week, starting Thursday 28 August.

The boys in the football as well, and the girls are starting to do tackle. So we’ve got a lot of things happening within our sporting community, and it’s good to see it thriving. I really enjoy our talent that we have out here.

Councillor Travis Crowther

The rodeo was a great success, and well done to the board for bringing that out.

The Isa Street Festival, we had a great time on the Council float, and we managed to get to the end of the line with still a couple of lollies left in hand. I think that’s because Councillor Tully was tied up and wasn’t on lolly throwing.

It was a great success, and the vibe of the Street Festival – our aim was to get it back to the old-school feel, where it’s just a bit of a party in the street. And obviously, we did that on a lot less budget and still got that same [positive community] feedback, which was great to see.

Councillor Doyle mentioned the athletics. I travelled with my son and we went to Longreach to compete with all the other kids and even the Masters at the Outback Sunset Carnival. Mount Isa represented with pride, sportsmanship, and some great results.

I think in the Masters there was a new record set, which was great to see, and the Masters that were competing there – Jacob and Sunny – they were unreal to see. They were getting in there and showing the young guys how the older guys can still get some results there, which was good to see.

Just a quick shoutout to all the police officers who received their service medals and commendations at the 2025 District Awards Ceremony. There were some outstanding service achievements. I think there was a 35-year medal awarded. They’re doing their best to keep our community safe and it’s deeply appreciated.

Thank you to Maria and Jen from MITEZ with their work in bringing the EU Delegation to Mount Isa recently. It gave us a great opportunity to showcase what our region has to offer and build some important relationships, which can open the door for future opportunities.

Councillor John Tully

I’d just like to thank the Council especially for the support they’ve given the Mount Isa Rodeo board this year. Through their efforts, and all you fellas here, and also the townspeople, the ratepayers of Mount Isa – their support was overwhelming, it was just unbelievable.

The Today Show, we had negative people towards us, but I think the positive side – they showed Mount Isa to be a place to live, an opportunity to come with a young family and live here. So I think they did an exceptional job and well supported after the event, more so than before the event.

The Isa Street Festival, the feedback that I’m getting is going back to the old way of having that whole street there. I think we can grow off that next year. I think it was really well respected and people really enjoyed it compared to past years.

I’d just like to read something that someone sent: “I write from the Southern Highlands of New South Wales to congratulate you all on an incredible Mount Isa Rodeo 2025. I hope you find your way to the event managers and the board. I attended this year with my family, having been visiting in Townsville. We saw the media stories in Townsville and extended our stay for four days as a bucket-list experience. I worked for a considerable time with Tourism New South Wales and understand the value of major events to a region and a state. I also know what it takes to put them on and to gather the support needed. What you have done, the board, is fantastic. Bringing this event back from the brink and not only resuscitating it but making it shine so brightly in just six months is truly remarkable. Yes, people are talking about it, even in New South Wales. The Indigenous Rodeo was wonderful to experience. Congratulations also on having a leader like Sam Thaiday on board. I have a special congratulation to whoever ran your media. The stories I read, watched and listened to in New South Wales and Victoria, all about people and people of rodeo, especially the women, kids and family behind the rodeo, and the stars rising up. There was even a story about Elvis. The Today Show was something most events dream about. Well done to having a crew there and also the stories told and the stories that were organised throughout the program. What a great job. Well done. Media coverage was everywhere and was all positive and very, very good. I don’t know how hard this is to generate. So whatever you have, keep them up. The whole PR program was a master class in experience and passion. Another callout to the management and your leadership committee. I’m friends with two of the State Government ministers who attended. Both raved about their experiences, how there was no pomp or ceremony, no scheduling them from the action. They just loved it. One more – your website is great. It’s easy to navigate. It works. So many don’t. You have a great formula. We are coming again next year and we’ll make sure I meet you all and shake hands. We need our leaders to operate like you all in New South Wales for our regional and rural events. I don’t suppose you’d all come down south?”

So that’s just one of the ones that stuck out to me. I thought it was pretty good.

Councillor James Coghlan

I’d like to say that I think the Executive Management Team, Tim, and the directors have been doing a good job. I think you’re certainly making up lost ground, or ground that has been lost by the Council. So well done for that.

However, last week I wrote to the Premier’s Office and Minister for Local Government asking for a review of the legislation, because I think it’s corrected itself too far and I think it’s limiting the input of council as to strategy only, which is not a good thing.

I look around here and I see people who have coached teams and we’ve got strategies and philosophies in place, but it means nothing if people take the field and they don’t follow it.

And I can only speak for myself, but I look around here and there’s 265 years’ worth of experience in Mount Isa sitting here, 300 years’ worth of experience in North West Queensland sitting here in this chamber. And I don’t think we take advantage of that enough.

I look around and I see a majority of us who are still going to be here in 5, 10, 15, 20 years’ time. So I think our input into decisions is important.

We’re the voice of Mount Isa. We don’t need analysis and surveys and consultants in a lot of cases, because the reason we’re here is to give the voice to the people of Mount Isa. If they don’t like it, the decisions that are made, then we’re going to get turfed out in two-and-a-half years. And if we’re going to get turfed out, I want it to be for decisions that I’m involved in. I’m okay with that.

We need to listen to locals. The rodeo is the best example I’ve seen. The previous administration ignored the locals and they paid the price. This year it was a roaring success because you gave the locals what they want.

I was disappointed in the presentation of the CBD. If anybody here remembers, and we may be talking nostalgia and all that, but you used to walk down West Street and Miles Street and it was just covered.

We put up a couple of coloured bunting two days before the street parade. That’s not good enough for the people of this town.

There were no banners highlighting the rodeo action. There was no banner across the street. There was no music. And in fact, there were more signs advertising the Cloncurry Merry Muster than our own rodeo.

If we want people to be proud of our town and put in, then we need to lead the way.

It used to be every business in town – if you didn’t get dressed up for rodeo, you were the exception. Well, now it’s turned around, and I can only think of one business I went into that was dressed up. So, we need to lead the way if we want the businesses in our town to come together.

I’ve already made my feelings about the auction known, but I’d like to talk about the Lions Youth Camp. It’s called the Lions Youth Camp. That was the original reason that it was put up – for the youth of this city.

I went on Facebook because I saw people were criticising things, and every time they said something, they were directed to fill out the survey. And people said to me, “No it’s just that biased.” So I went to the survey and I did it and all I kept seeing was “short-stay accommodation”.

That Lions Youth Camp, if it goes to short-stay accommodation, it’s going to serve people who come to this town for one week in their life. It needs to be used for the schools, and the young people of this town need to use that place and that should be it.

We don’t need a survey for that. You’ve got seven people here who can make those decisions and that’s our job – to make those decisions.

I don’t think that the decisions come to us before we seek funding and so forth. I think we need more consultation before we start engaging in things.

I’d like to congratulate two young men, Syd McKeown and Blake Chiauzzi. Syd’s mother works here. They’ve been selected to tour America for soccer and it goes to [Cr Doyle’s] point about the talent here.

I mean, you don’t have to leave here until you get to that bit older age, but congratulations to them. They’re busy fundraising. And it shows how isolation can be overcome with dedication.

We’d like to wish the best to the Mount Isa Touch who hold their grand finals tonight and Friday [August 27 and 29], and also netball and soccer which are coming up. It’s a great time of year, August and September.

A big congratulations to your rodeo committee. It was fantastic. And also the Mailman Express was just unbelievable, it really came back strong this year. So good on you.

And I’d also like to reiterate what the Mayor said about those who were involved in organising the Today Show. It was well worth the time, effort, and money. And there was criticism, but I think that that decision, this chamber got right. And I think you should be congratulated for that.

We’re starting to get back on track and I think there’s a lot of hard work going in. And it shows we’re starting to get back on track, because I see the Queensland Government is stealing our “City of Opportunity” and is now calling Queensland the “land of opportunity”. So it’s a case of the country leading the city.

Councillor Kim Coghlan

We’re doing a lot of work mulching the riverbeds and cleaning out the drains and all that.

I’d like to thank Bob Jakeman and Pat Breen who have donated some items that are going to be given to the historical department at the library. Bob has got a history of Mount Isa Rugby League. He’s got a lot of old paperwork, old records and that that he’d like donated to the historical room.

And Pat Breen has given us the 1973 flood reports that, when we had the bad flood in ’73, all the written reports that were worked on by, like, our local disaster management group. It was probably the same thing all those years back. So I’ll organise with the director next week to have them presented to the library.

I would like to reiterate what Councillor Coghlan said about best of luck to all the sporting groups that are playing their finals. Congratulations to Lake Nash, who downed the Buffaloes last Saturday.

And a very proud mother moment – my son won the NBL1 Basketball Championships in Brisbane and it was a great success story for Mount Isa, for not just that reason. He left Mount Isa because he had a little bit of a dream. He did get to his dream, but he succeeded it and he actually won the championships.

He was coached by another Mount Isa kid in Peter Crawford, an Olympian who played for the Brisbane Bullets, went up to Townsville, and then even further back, he went to Brisbane and did his training with the Brian Kerle Academy, which he’s still at. And Brian Kerle has ties to Mount Isa as well. So, it was really great to see.

I couldn’t get down there for both games, but in our wonderful world of technology, I know a lot of people were on Kayo watching the game, and the Southern District Spartans should be congratulated on what they’ve done there – 19 years it’s taken them to get that other award.

It was really good that the commentators and even Peter in the speeches kept sneaking the little Mount Isa in there.

It’s all free publicity really, but just congratulations to my son, to Peter, to Brian Kerle as well and Toby his son, and all the management at the Kerle Basketball Academy for the work they do down there.