Former federal candidate for Maranoa Brett Tunbridge has vowed to put accountability at the forefront of his campaign for Southern Downs Regional Council.
Mr Tunbridge ran as an Australian Federation Party candidate in the 2022 federal election and was one of several late nominations for council elections in March.
“For the last year I’ve been working towards providing a better future for my community in Pratten with the SDRC advisory committee dealing with future development within the region,” Mr Tunbridge said in a statement.
“From this experience, I see that there are many issues facing our Downs community including roads, development and waste amongst others.
“Large amounts of money are collected in rates and charges, yet there are some basic things that have remained the same year in, year out.”
Mr Tunbridge said a councillor’s duty is to ratepayers and pledged to focus on “the basics”.
“Large funding is given to pork barrel projects while our simple needs are overlooked due to cost,” he said.
“I propose a return to the basics, in a word infrastructure. Without adequate basic infrastructure our Downs will devolve into third world conditions with a few fancy showpieces.
“The keystone of my campaign will be accountability. [The] council’s obligation to its ratepayers is my primary concern.
“Financial and community responsibility and not just allegiance to the “few” is my goal and I will work with all involved to achieve this outcome.”
