Local government campaigns underway in earnest as nominations close

Ray Brown is stepping down from 30 years of local government in the Western Downs region, as both a councillor and mayor, and he says it's more important than ever that voters choose representatives who will be able to keep state and federal politicians accountable as rural and regional Queensland copes with outcomes inflicted by years of natural disaster.

"You want candidates who are going to rattle the bars and not give up," he said.

"Roads, and water infrastructure will be a big burden for us for years to come.

"If we're to have a future, we've got to be on the front foot here."

Nominations for the 77 councils in Queensland closed on Tuesday afternoon.

While commenting that candidates would be judged on their ability to stand up for regional projects in the face of governments wanting to spend money on Olympic Games bids, Cr Brown said it was an uphill job to promote anything for communities west of the Great Divide.

"You need rural councillors that know their communities intimately," he said.

A greater investment in road funding was the target of a call by the 21 councils that cover the western 60 per cent of Queensland when it released its state budget request last week.

The councils of the North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, the Remote Planning and Development Board, and the South West Queensland Local Government Association, acting as the Western Queensland Alliance of Councils, has appealed to the state government to reverse the long-term trend of declining funding allocations to the region.

While the area covered by the alliance generates $9.35 billion of the state's gross product from 1.3 per cent of Queensland's population, or 2.2 times above the Queensland average, the state funding allocation is the lowest in the state.

According to the Local Government Association of Queensland's acting CEO Sarah Buckler, a recent Colmar Brunton survey found the key drivers of community satisfaction with local councils included a focus on infrastructure and economic development.

"They want a council that is transparent and gets on with the job of delivering the infrastructure and the services they need," Ms Buckler said. "These factors will no doubt be on the minds of voters as they cast their votes later this month."

The extra layers of accountability brought in by the state government in the wake of Crime and Corruption Commission investigations and laying of criminal charges would have been a restrictive factor for potential nominees, Cr Brown said.

"You want savvy business-minded people but a lot of those are associated with everything in a community.

"In this day and age you've got to declare an interest and leave the room.

"I know a wonderful person in Dalby who wanted to run but who would be out of the room the whole time on development discussions - he pulled the pin.

"I just wonder, will we only get people to stand who've got nothing to lose."

Read more: Retiring mayor takes a swipe at local government reform

Griffith University School of Humanities senior lecturer Paul Williams said the 2020 council elections would be like a line in the sand.

"With the extra layers of bureaucracy, councils will be on their best behaviour," he said. "Between now and the state election, there will be a lot of scrutiny on who funded candidates, for subterranean links."

As to the ability of hopeful regional candidates to fulfil promises made to address declining population trends, Dr Williams said that other than small incentive measures their only hope was to work hand in glove with state and federal governments to redirect funding.

"Declining populations have been a problem in regional Australia since the end of World War Two," he said.

"Australians got rich quick through wheat and wool and could invest in a lot more mechanisation.

"We haven't been able to solve the problem since then and I can't see incoming councils being any more successful."