Cr Dan Ballard
Email: crdan.ballard@mountisa.qld.gov.au
Register of Interest of Councillor
Portfolios: Finance & Customer Service
Councillor Bio
I am a born-and-raised Mount Isan. I began my apprenticeship as a jockey while completing Year 11 at Kalkadoon State High School. I moved to the Gold Coast after graduating and competed successfully in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I moved back to Mount Isa as soon as I finished my apprenticeship and started working for Graham and Lind Huddy at Huddy’s Plant Hire shortly after. I completed an auto electrical trade with Huddy’s before going to work for Remote Control Technologies as an electronics technician and I’m now the Mount Isa branch manager.
I played a lot of different sports when I was at school, but gravitated towards horse sports, horse racing, and rodeo as I got older.
I’ve been on the Mount Isa Race Club committee for the past seven years in a variety of positions and I’m a member of the St Joseph’s school board.
My parents have been in Mount Isa for nearly 50 years. Mount Isa has provided my family with many opportunities to thrive, both personally and professionally and I want to see future generations have that same opportunity.
I met my wife, Lacey, in town and we’ve been married for 10 years, and we have two children – Lilly, 8, and Tommy, 1. Lacey is an office manager at BNS refrigeration and Lilly is an avid dancer and loves to do gymnastics and ride her pony when time allows.
Some of the things I would like to see as a councillor include:
- I would like to see local development encouraged through the reduction of red tape and streamlined approvals processes
- Improved maintenance of our facilities
- Facilitate collaboration between clubs and community organisations to reduce volunteer workload
- Bring a corrections work camp to town
- Improve service delivery to Camooweal residents
- Develop opportunities for economic diversification
- Look at initiatives to attract GPs and other professions suffering from acute shortages locally
- Increase upskilling and tertiary education opportunities for locals.