Gympie’s most influential: Glen Hartwig shares his vision

Building on the needs and power of sport, industrial growth and preserving what should be preserved are all part of the future vision of the region’s most influential person of 2022.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig has taken out the top spot in the 2022 Power 30 list of the region’s most influential people, and shared his vision for the region to become Australia’s preferred “lifestyle destination”.

Power 30: #20-11 of Gympie’s most influential people of 2022

Mr Hartwig said his goal was to “make the region the place that people choose to live in, not have to live in” and to preserve the “country feel and warm, caring atmosphere” without deterring growth and development.

Power 30: #30-21 of Gympie’s most influential people of 2022

Talking from Town Hall on Tuesday, the first term Mayor said he aimed to work with the state government to roll out “new and innovative” industrial growth that “works in harmony with nature”.

The Gympie Regional Council has been revising its planning scheme, water allocation and asset management to look towards a future that supports business and tourism, he said.

Mr Hartwig said the council had started its term with no money in the bank, having to launch the process of a financial rebuild while focusing on road maintenance.

“All the good work done by staff in that area has been significantly hindered or damaged by the floods that we’ve faced in the past 12 months,” he said.

“There was no money to buy yourself out of trouble. We’ve had to work hard and rely on good staff to get us through.”

With “lack of planning around waste management, water allocation and industrial growth”, Mr Hartwig said when the council took over it was “behind the eight ball”.

Glen Hartwig has been ranked the Gympie region’s #1 most influential person of 2022.

Sport, as a major part of the Gympie region lifestyle, will be a big focus for the council in the future, after little investment in the sector in recent history, Mr Hartwig said.

“We have the bones of wonderful sporting facilities,” he said.

Gympie needs an indoor stadium to house growing clubs, with the sporting sector a high priority over the next six years.

“Rugby league, rugby union, touch football all need improvements to their facilities as well, to deal with (our) growing population.”

Transforming Gympie’s sporting facilities into a destination for “mum and dad events” will drive the region’s economy, he said.

With Section D of the Cooroy to Curra Bypass due to be completed by mid 2024, the city’s noise levels are expected to dramatically reduce and with the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project to flow on after that, the region was in a “good position” to fulfil Mr Hartwig’s vision.