General News
3 March, 2026
TRC to dispose of land parcels
FIFTEEN parcels of land will be disposed of and another 48 investigated for “divestment” as Tablelands Regional Council continues with its plan to reduce costs and lift revenue to pay for other much-needed infrastructure.
The council voted unanimously to offload the 15 parcels of land which are located in Atherton, Ravenshoe, Millaa Millaa, and Barrine and include Mills Street Park in Atherton and even the land that accommodates the TRC building and associated staff car parking in Mabel Street.
Three lots near Priors Creek Parklands are also on the initial list for disposal as well as car park areas on the corner of Mabel and Vernon Streets.
The list only provides the lot number and street, but an officer told the council that residents could look up the lots on the Queensland Globe website (https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/).
Cr Kevin Cardew took the time to explain why the council had chosen to go down the path of offloading community buildings and land and, in doing so, revealed that a new civic building “of some kind” would have to be built to accommodate council staff before the Mabel Street headquarters and the land could be disposed of.
He said the shire offices were old, it was a “rabbit warren and leaks like a sieve”.
“It’s time we look into the future to relocate – one of the things we have talked about is some sort of civic complex on this site here where the old school is,” Cr Cardew said.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to knock it down or sell it tomorrow, we have got to have a home to go to – we would have to enter into negotiations with an interested party to look at what we could do on this site.”
Cr Cardew said while he agreed with the divestment of ageing assets and land that was underutilised, he was not happy with the way the decision had been conveyed to the public.
“Are we in the position to be sustainable in maintaining all these assets? Well, no we’re not. It’s as plain and simple as that,” he told council.
“Do I agree with the process and messaging that’s been put out to date? Well, no I don’t.
“I’m a born and bred local and have worked in local government for a long time and I have never seen the community as upset over a matter such as this in my entire working career.”
Cr Cardew explained why it was in the council’s and the community’s interests to dispose of the assets identified for divestment.
He said once a final decision was made to offload specific buildings and land parcels, they would be taken off the council’s assets register, meaning depreciation would no longer have to be accounted for.
“And we would no longer have to carry out major maintenance etc, and it also allows us to do other things and gives us the opportunity to explore other avenues,” Cr Cardew said.
“It’s not about slashing and burning, selling and taking things away from the community – it’s not about shutting down sporting clubs – it’s about giving the not-for-profit organisations the opportunity to take these assets on and maintain them and run them as they see fit, so that’s the name of the game.
“When the consultation starts, it may be that some of these groups we approach, may not be able to be in a financial position to take these things on, so the status quo will remain.
“We’re giving the community organisations an opportunity to take these things on themselves, a lot of them have built this infrastructure themselves.”
Cr Maree Baade said the council should be careful in its approach and stressed that once assets were sold, they would “be lost forever”.
Mayor Rod Marti acknowledged the move to dispose of assets would trigger a “lot of emotion” but it was important that the council stayed strong in its position.
Cr Dave Bilney agreed, saying for the council to be responsible and sustainable, “we need to go down this path”.
“There have been many councils in the past that haven’t been bold enough to make a decision to investigate what the future of those assets may look like – this council has made that decision,” he said.
Land to be disposed of:
1RP710031 – Mabel St, Atherton
5RP726673 – Vernon St, Atherton
81RP748108 – Vance Cl, Barrine
60CP884914 – Beta St, Ravenshoe
3SP346747 – Kelly St, Atherton
820NR7480 – Mills St, Atherton
15M70917 – Coral St, Millaa Millaa
1RP716775 – Mabel St, Atherton
1RP725723 – Mabel St, Atherton
518SP265028 – Mabel St, Atherton
2NR7968 – Mabel St, Atherton
8K103779 – Glen Dhu Rd, Minnamoolka
1SP346001 – Mabi Way, Atherton
2SP346001 – Mabi Way, Atherton
4SP346001 – Mabi Way, Atherton
