General News
19 November, 2019
Cr Pedersen to call it a day at next election
MAREEBA Shire Council Deputy Mayor Alan Pedersen has announced that he will be stepping down from council at the next Local Government Elections in March.
MAREEBA Shire Council Deputy Mayor Alan Pedersen has announced that he will be stepping down from council at the next Local Government Elections in March.
Cr Pedersen has been an integral member of the Tablelands Regional Council (prior to de-amalgamation) and the Mareeba Shire Council, having served the community in the roles of councillor and deputy mayor for the past 15 years.
Cr Pedersen spoke about the reasoning behind his decision to step down from the Mareeba Shire Council.
“I’ve got a cattle station, mining and earthmoving operation which ensures I work almost 365 days a year, so I think it’s time to cut it back so I can enjoy a day off every now and then,” he said.
Cr Pedersen said his time on council was extremely rewarding.
“I loved the opportunity to serve the people who elected me – it certainly is a great privilege,” he said.
“From council’s perspective, our aim was to keep rates down to an affordable level and delivering capital works, particularly the big projects such as roads, bridges and the upgrade of the airport etc.
“So having the staff that has been able to carry out such projects has been great.
“I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by competent and knowledgeable staff, especially in the past six years.
“I have enjoyed sitting beside colleagues who have the same attitude and sense of responsibility, which is to ensure we act in the best interests of the community as that is what we’re elected to do.
“We were expected to fail since de-amalgamation; however in 2017 we were the most financially sustainable shire in Queensland so we’ve definitely proved the critics wrong.”
Cr Pedersen has been an integral member of the Mareeba and Tablelands community for a number of years, and his commitment to the betterment of the region is one that will be looked back on fondly.
