Members of the Mount Isa Camp Draft Association attended the full council meeting yesterday where they voiced their views that if the camp draft was to exist then it would be ideally suited in Lagoon Park.

The motion that council has received the development application for the material change of use of the park located in Croft Road was brought to the council chamber.

Committee member of the association, Rowena Murphy, told councillors the Mount Isa’s camp draft existed until 2007, which is when the Kalkadoon showground was replaced with Buchanan Park. 

The association tried to run the event in Camooweal, but it was too far away for most of the association’s members. 

Buchanan Park was not suited because it did not have the facilities to secure up to 1200 cattle, and was in a bad position for the amount of trucks that would need to travel on main Mount Isa roads.

The facility’s ground was also not suited to a camp draft and money would be needed to fix it, according to the association. 

Councillors Kim Coghlan and Anne Seymour moved the proposal after expressing their support for the need of the camp draft in Mount Isa. There was room for camping at the park and most of the needed infrastructure already set-up, they said. 

The next draft could be held in July next year, a week before the Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge.

Cr George Fortune believed not enough had been done to make Buchanan Park suitable for a camp draft, and he spoke against the motion. The location was dismissed too quickly, he said. 

He also questioned why the motion was not discussed in a closed council meeting. 

Chief executive Emilio Cianetti said that matters discussed in closed council would be limited to business discussion, in accordance with the Local Government Regulation 2012. 

Mayor Tony McGrady now wanted council decisions to be discussed more openly to indicate transparency and accountability, Mr Cianetti said.