General News
1 July, 2026
Council wins two state awards
MAREEBA Shire Council has been recognised as the best in the state with two separate awards for its small business-friendly practices and community resilience-building.
Announced in May, the first award was the Local Government Managers Australia Award for Excellence in Community Shaping for the project, Together We Recover – Building Community Resilience.
In response to the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Jasper on the Mareeba Shire, the council coordinated the “Stories of Jasper” documentary series, capturing the experiences of local residents affected by the devastating event.
Mareeba Mayor Angela Toppin said she was incredibly proud of the council and staff for producing the powerful video series in collaboration with Zoe Maree Media.
“The impacts of TC Jasper and the flooding that followed were significant and widespread. The purpose of the project was to capture those experiences and demonstrate the importance of preparedness for our community,” she said.
“Stories of Jasper is a tool for the future to show our community and new people moving to the area what can happen during these significant weather events.”
A follow-up series is being created to capture the long-term impacts and recovery journey which will be showcased at a free community movie night in October.
A second award, the Small Business Friendly Member of the Year Award (for councils with a population under 50,000) was presented by the Queensland Small Business Commissioner, who recognised the council’s “strong support through workshops, mentoring, and industry development initiatives”.
“Mareeba Shire Council works hard to be a small business-friendly council, and it is fantastic to have these efforts recognised by the Queensland Government,” Mayor Toppin said.
Council provides regular monthly workshops for small business with industry professionals, from computer literacy to website building and understanding AI.
It also provides mentoring opportunities and supports industry growth through the Mareeba Industrial Precinct and the Mareeba Airport and works closely with Mareeba Shire Tourism to facilitate tourism marketing for the shire.
“To be recognised by two major awards in the same week is a great achievement,” Mayor Toppin said.
Councillors celebrated the wins during its ordinary meeting last month and also acknowledged the hard work of the teams behind the workshops, particularly Tourism and Economic Development Officer Jessica Fealy, Senior Executive Support Officer, Kate Bertola, and Corporate Communications Officer Rochelle Harding.
“There’s been so many free workshops, there’s been so many people that have spoken to me about how important us offering these things to support small businesses have been, and we’ve been acknowledged for that,” Cr Wyatt said.
