As leaders of the North West Queensland communities, the mayors and council representatives of NWQROC play a key role in strategic planning and advocacy for the region. Below are just some of the initiatives undertaken by NWQROC as we aim to shape the future of our region.
Local government leaders from across North West Queensland have welcomed priority investment for flood recovery and resilience in the region as part of the State and Federal government’s $119 million funding package announced today.
NWQROC has welcomed the latest report from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office (QGSO) on part of the region’s resource industry workforce. The new report is a welcome first step to truly understand the number of people in our region and therefore the demand made on our services and infrastructure.
Leaders from across Queensland’s North West are calling on the State Government to go back to basics as it develops a Regional Transformation Strategy and Implementation Plan for the region.
NWQROC Executive Officer Greg Hoffman PSM represented the region at the Developing Northern Australia Conference 2023 (DNAC) in Darwin 23-26 July, talking enabling infrastructure for Queensland’s north west as part of Northern Australia.
Representatives from NWQROC and Southern Gulf NRM met with the Agriculture Minister and senior executives with the Department of Agriculture in Brisbane this week.
Leaders from across North West Queensland are calling on State and Federal governments to step up support for the flood-hit people, business and industry dealing with growing devastation in Queensland’s north west.
Representatives from NWQROC joined WQAC colleagues as part of delegations to State and Federal government in March 2023.
NWQROC Chair, Mayor Jack Bawden, attended the Queensland Housing Summit hosted in Brisbane on 20 October 2022.
Three candidates contesting the seat of Kennedy at the upcoming federal election participated in a Q&A session hosted by North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils in Mount Surprise yesterday.
“Out West Where the Stars are Brightest” was the theme of the 2022 Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) Assembly where a record 205 delegates, sponsors, government and industry participants convened at the Charleville Town Hall from Wednesday 9th to Friday 11th March.
More than 180 delegates including leaders from across Western Queensland and senior State and Federal government representatives are set to gather in Richmond from 17 – 19 May for the 2021 Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) Assembly.
Connecting via Zoom this morning, NWQROC held its monthly board meeting.
Local leaders from across the nine councils of NWQROC came together for our monthly board meeting.
It was a full house for our monthly Board meeting over the past two days in Julia Creek.
North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils board has re-elected Carpentaria Shire Mayor Jack Bawden as its Chair. Elected as Deputy Chair is Flinders Shire Mayor Jane McNamara.
Cr McNamara will also represent North West Queensland following her election as Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Policy Executive for 2020-2024.
Richmond Shire Mayor John Wharton AM, has been re-elected as the Chair of the North West Queensland Regional Roads and Transport Group.
Our first board meeting post-local government elections took place today with the board welcoming two new Mayors, Cr Philip Curr, McKinlay and Cr Danielle Slade, Mount Isa.
With COVID-19 bringing our plans to host the meeting in Mount Isa to a halt, we moved our meeting online to cover a full agenda of more than four hours.
With the Queensland local government election day only four days away, the organisation of the eight councils of North West Queensland has called for the current election to continue.
Executive Officer of the North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NWQROC), Greg Hoffman PSM said: “As the world moves to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever we need certainty in our local communities and local government leaders empowered to make the decisions and provide the support their residents need.“
“NWQROC urges the Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) to continue with the election – but it must ensure that the safety of its polling staff, electors and candidates is its top priority,” Mr Hoffman said.
Welcome to the latest edition of News for the North West as we wrap up 2019 and look forward to what we’ll be getting up to in 2020. There’s a lot that’s happened in 2019, now where to start?
It wouldn’t be a lie to say it’s been a busy and challenging year. With flood recovery, federal election campaigning and more. Read more about what we've been up to in 2019 and what's ahead in 2020.
Welcome to the latest edition of News for the North West.
We’ve covered some significant ground since our last newsletter. With our Federal Election campaign wrapping up in May, we continue to plan for the future and make progress in securing a fair regional deal.
The North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency (NQLIRA) held a series of stakeholder events across Northern Queensland throughout August and September. The sessions look to inform the development of a strategy for the long-term recovery and resilience of areas affected by the 2019 monsoon trough.
The Bush Councils Convention 2019 was held in Roma on 6 – 8 August by the Local Government Association of Queensland. It proved to be an impressive two days with a great event that highlighted the strengths of our regional councils and provided a valuable platform for productive conversations.
Our Mayors once again proudly represented our region, continuing their drive to deliver a fair regional deal for the North West.
NWQROC Regional Deal Campaign on path to State Election 2020
North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NWQROC) is continuing its drive for fair government investment in our region as it prepares to hit the campaign trail once again ahead of the State Election on 31 October 2020.
The development of a State-focussed strategy inline with our recent federal campaign got underway at the NWQROC board meeting in Julia Creek on 30-31 July 2019. The momentum gained from our federal campaign keeps pace as we continue to engage with relevant Commonwealth and State departmental officers about a Fair Regional Deal for the North West.
The nine mayors from North West Queensland would like to thank the people of Townsville for supporting their mates in the North West, as the two major and three cross-bench parties commit their support for North West Queensland and agree that a strong Townsville needs a strong region.
The mayors met in Townsville on 9-10 May and invited parties and candidates to take the final opportunity to formally respond to their request for a better regional deal before the Federal Election.
Nine mayors from North West Queensland have united to fight for a fair regional deal, bringing their campaign to the electorate of Herbert with a clear message for candidates - a strong Townsville, needs a strong North West Queensland.
The mayors chose to meet in Townsville (9-10 May) inviting parties and candidates to take a final opportunity to formally respond to their request for a better regional deal before the Federal Election.
The collective force of leaders from across flood-hit northern Queensland have made their mark in Canberra as they push for a united regional recovery response.
The delegation including Townsville Enterprise, the Regional Organisation of Councils from North and North West Queensland (NQROC and NWQROC) are joined by peak industry bodies at Parliament House. The two-day meeting schedule (Tuesday 19 February to Wednesday 20 February) with key Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack MP and opposition leader Bill Shorten MP.
Where we come from, we stick together, and neighbours help one another. That’s why we’re working with Townsville and wider North Queensland - we have a shared challenge and we should look to shared solutions for now and into the future.
Leaders from North West Queensland are in Canberra this week as part of a united Northern Queensland delegation meeting with our nation’s leaders to continue to push for recovery support following the devastating flooding events across the state’s north.
Burke Shire Mayor, Cr Ernie Camp, Mount Isa City Mayor, Cr Joyce McCulloch, and NWQ Regional Organisation of Councils Executive Officer, Greg Hoffman PSM, will join Townsville Enterprise, North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils and peak industry bodies.
The delegation will take a united message from the North to Parliament House seeking immediate action on the economic rebuild of communities across North Queensland and North West Queensland in the wake of one of the most devastating natural disasters we have seen in recent memory.
The leaders of North West Queensland have delivered a submission to the federal Treasurer ahead of the 2019-20 Budget as they continue their push to secure a fair deal for the region.
Each hardworking local in North West Queensland (NWQ) contributes $176,000 per capita to the national economy – nearly three times more than elsewhere in Queensland at only $66,000.
Despite this significant impact on our nation’s economy, we don’t see the return on investment we deserve.
Without fair investment from Canberra and Brisbane in infrastructure, communications and community our small, local communities can’t keep delivering this massive contribution that our whole nation benefits from.
The $5.1 billion region of North West Queensland was put firmly in the political spotlight as community leaders launched their first election campaign platform in Canberra on 26 November.
Chair of the North West Regional Organisation of Councils, Mayor Jack Bawden led the delegation representing a diverse, powerhouse of a region around the size of Tasmania and Victoria combined.
Cr Bawden said the leaders had come together to ensure a strategic, collective voice was heard on the national stage to make sure their communities and local businesses stay productive for the future.
Community leaders from North West Queensland will be taking their fight for a fairer regional deal to the voters of Australia following the launch of their first election campaign platform in Canberra today.
North West Queensland is part of Australia’s engine room pumping over $5billion in to the economy, with hard-working North West Queenslanders contributing nearly three times more per capita to the rest of the country - some $176,000 per capita to the national economy compared to $66,000 from elsewhere in Queensland. Yet these hard-working communities barely get the smell of an oily rag.
Leaders from the eight councils of North West Queensland are stepping into the national political arena and are on the road to Canberra and beyond to launch their first national campaign ahead of the next federal election.
North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NWQROC) will officially launch its campaign on Monday 26 November 2018 at Parliament House.
This federal election and beyond, the Mayors, Councils and our communities are asking political leaders to support this local vision to make North West Queensland a region attractive for people and businesses to live, work and invest – and actually develop and properly fund a regional plan.
Almost 60% of Queensland has united to call on the Federal Government to increase overall funding for local government and to put in place targeted funding programs for rural and remote councils.
The 21 councils ranging from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the New South Wales border, generate $9.35B of the State’s Gross Product from 1.3 per cent of the Queensland’s population.