By Dominique Tassell
Southern Downs Regional Council has defended its work on roads across the region, stating it is doing the best it can.
Chief executive Dave Burges that “people don’t know the background“ and that staff “get in there and do what (they) can”.
He said the staff were facing difficult circumstances such as wet weather.
Mr Burges said the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) had its “hands tied” by the federal government and national audit office.
The QRA is protecting the council by being stringent, he said.
Southern Downs Mayor Vic Pennisi said money was not the issue, but the volume of work to be done.
“We’re not going to fix everything in a day.“
Mayor Pennisi said currently contractors were only available at a premium, and wet weather is hindering progress.
He said when they got more rain they got more damage and their claims had to be reviewed.
He said that he raised the possibility of receiving help from the army with Major General Jake Ellwood when he was in town, “but they can’t be everywhere“.
“I’m sure if it could have happened it would have.“
Mayor Pennisi said council is currently looking at a number of options for dealing with roads, including working with producers who have equipment they could use.
There are other places facing worse damage, he said.
Mr Burges said that everyone was trying and doing the best they can.
He said that if the council had better funding, it could better maintain roads and upgrade water systems.
The funding system is “fundamentally broken“, he said.
“If we had more resources we could do more“
Local councils are the most cost-effective of the levels of government, he said, so with more funding they could achieve far more.
Both Mayor Pennisi and Mr Burges raised “cost shifting” from other levels of government to local government.
Mayor Pennisi raised the housing crisis and their need to act and said health has become somewhat their issue now too.
“Cure the cause, not the effect,“ the mayor said.
He said you could take away all nine councillors and their salaries away and it wouldn’t help.
The council’s costs are going up 10 times more than their income, he said.
