It was a week of big announcements at our Annual Conference in Gladstone.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told delegates if re-elected she would make the highly successful Works for Queensland program permanent, Local Government Minister Mark Furner announced $60 million of projects under the Local Government Grants and Subsidies program and, of course, LGAQ President Mayor Mark Jamieson launched LG Sherlock.
As the person who thinks, dreams and designs the three days I'm so conscious how many moving parts there are to our $1 million Annual Conference and wanting to get the vibe right.
I guess what we really try to achieve in the sum of the many parts is a unique experience for every attendee as well as value for money. It's worth remembering that registrations only cover 40 percent of the actual cost of the conference. The rest of the bill is footed by trade exhibitors (90 of them in Gladstone) and sponsors.
There were so many amazing moments during the three days I couldn't do justice to every one of them. One highlight was the way Mayor Jamieson handled proceedings as chair with good humour and aplomb throughout. My personal magic moment was a presentation by Tammy Hickey, the Paroo Shire librarian on what innovation and success library staff had achieved in their remote outback community of Cunnamulla. Fantastic stuff.
We had the national spotlight on us, too, and for all the right reasons.
Delegates to this year’s conference were greeted with a special six page supplement on innovation in Queensland local government which appeared in The Australian newspaper right across the country this week. Have a look at the digital version here:
But it's back to work we all go, hopefully wiser and enriched by the experience.
Finally, a huge thanks to Gladstone Regional Council for hosting and my LGAQ staff who were simply amazing in their delivery of this year’s event - despite their boss!