Mayor Joyce McCulloch and her deputy Phil Barwick launched a spirited defence of the current Mount Isa City Council.
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Speaking at Saturday’s Northern Outback Business Awards Cr McCulloch said her council was doing the job it was elected to do.
“That means dealing with the difficult issues and not sweeping them under the carpet as what was done in the past,” Cr McCulloch said.
Cr McCulloch said their strategic direction was promote opportunity and innovation to ensure the longevity of the city.
“Most importantly to ensure that our city is capitalising and building on liveability,” she said.
Cr McCulloch told the awards night her council was business-friendly.
“Most of (the councillors) own and operate businesses so when times are tough we get that because we too are part of those tough times,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Phil Barwick said council was “moving in the right direction” and wanted to assist business and bring investment into the region.
“We want to take an advantage of new opportunities and diversify our future,” he said.
“This year the Mayor was invited to be part of the 2030 federal Resource Taskforce – the only local government to be on the taskforce.”
Cr Barwick said they had also addressed a Geosciences Australia conference in Adelaide about resource driven development of northern Australia last month.
“The Mayor also addressed the Mineral Council of Australia on the subject of responsible mining and community agreement,” he said.
“So what does this mean for Mount Isa? It means that our business and our strategy set down by council is working and has positioned us as a major player in Australia and internationally.”
Cr Barwick said their economic development plan was continuing to develop and diversify the local economy beyond minerals and energy exploration to cattle production, tourism, gas and solar power generation.
“We believe Mount Isa’s success is important to the nation,” he said.
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