Burnett’s 30 most powerful people: Counting down from 20 – 11
From police officers to real estate agents and mayors, here is the list of people who fill out positions 20 to 11 of the Burnett’s 30 most powerful people.
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The Burnett regions are changing at a rapid pace, but who are the personalities making the big decisions?
The South, Central and North Burnett Times is revealing its top 30 list of the region’s most powerful and influential people.
You can read the first instalment counting down positions 30-21 here.
Here is the second instalment, counting down from 20 to 11:
20. Don Auld
Arriving in the North Burnett at the end of 2019, this police officer was given a trial by fire with anti-drug Operation Valkyrie kicking off just three weeks into his new role.
Gayndah Police officer-in-charge Don Auld has spent nearly three decades on the police force, and says county policing was always his calling.
“Cities aren’t fun,” he said.
“Country people are nicer to talk to and on the whole more respectful. And that goes both ways.”
Senior Sergeant Auld headed up the region’s response and enforcement of Covid restrictions at the height of lockdown last year, all the while still tackling general crime in the region.
19. Elvie Sandow
Elvie Sandow made history last year as the first woman to be elected as mayor of Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council.
She has served her community in different roles at the council chambers for more than 22 years, and is determined to use her extensive knowledge to build on the work laid out by those before her.
The Gundoo Day Care Centre worker defeated incumbent mayor Arnold Murray and six other candidates in the race for the top seat, winning 32.08 per cent of the votes.
Cr Sandow previously served as the Deputy Mayor of Cherbourg from 2016 to 2020.
In her first few months in office, her leadership skills were put to the test during the height of the Covid lockdowns, with the council taking big steps to keep the community safe.
Now in 2021, Cr Sandow is leading the charge to get her community vaccinated.
18. Keith Campbell
He may no longer be mayor, but Keith Campbell is continuing to be an influential man in the region.
The former mayor began his council career before amalgamation, serving nine years with the former Kingaroy Shire Council.
When the region amalgamated he was the only councillor to stand unopposed in the 2008 elections for Division 4 of the South Burnett Regional Council.
Mr Campbell was Wayne Kratzmann’s deputy mayor from 2012 to 2016, before he was elected mayor in 2016, ahead of four other candidates.
But Mr Campbell lost out in the 2020 election to Brett Otto.
It didn’t spell the end of Campbell’s time in the spotlight, with the former mayor invited to become a project ambassador for the $13.9 million Kingaroy Transformation project.
“I am both honoured and grateful to have been considered,” he said.
“I wholeheartedly believe in this project and the outcomes it will create for Kingaroy, the broader South Burnett region and our communities.”
17. Jane Erkens
Anyone who’s a local to Nanango will almost certain know or have heard of Jane Erkens.
The local real estate agent and community campaigner is one of the most recognisable faces in town, and regularly fights for the community’s interests.
Most recently, Ms Erkens has been helping struggling renters hit by the region’s rental crisis, which she said has had a devastating effect on families.
“They have no plumbing, a portable toilet, and she has four children,” she said.
“When she used to rent from us a little while back she was quite a bubbly person, she’d always come in quite cheery. But when she sat in here the other day, she was like a shell.”
Ms Erkens also lead the charge against South Burnett Regional Council’s decision to increase prices on standpipe water – immortalising the fight in song.
16. Richard Van Breda
While he’s no longer Stanwell CEO, Richard Van Breda’s influence on the South Burnett will likely be felt for years to come.
Mr Van Breda sensationally announced earlier this year the company would shift towards renewable energy and storage in the coming years.
The comments sparked criticism and concern in the community, with the Tarong Power Station and Meandu mine, both Stanwell assets, being some of the largest employers in the region.
Mr Van Breda’s comments appeared to be walked back quickly, with the company saying the power stations wouldn’t be shutting early, and any move to renewables would take the current workforce along for the ride.
“All workers will continue to have permanent, stable, long-term employment. Their positions are safe,” a spokeswoman said.
But given the region’s reliance on the Tarong site for employment, it’s likely the decision to move to renewables will have wide ranging impacts for decades to come.
15. Trent Faunt
Young gun Trent Faunt can truly be described as a rags-to-riches success story in the Burnett.
From living in a tent, working two jobs and taking life changing risks at just 20 years old, the Kingaroy real estate agent was earlier this year nominated for a 7 NEWS Young Achiever Award after transforming his company into one of the regions leading real estate dealers.
Mr Faunt established his company in July, 2016 and at the time was working at the Carrollee bottle shop at night just to stay a float.
Now five years on, he and his partner Janelle Emmett run one of the region’s leading real estate companies that employ nine local staff.
Mr Faunt said while it had been an incredible journey, it was never easy.
“At times I wanted to give up, it was so overwhelming, especially in the real estate industry,” he said.
“When you start out when you are 20 and go out on your own at 21 or 22 it can be very daunting.”
14. Andrew Sinclair
Being a magistrate in a regional area is never easy, but add on the responsibility of overseeing four separate courts and the job gets even tougher.
Magistrate Andrew Sinclair has been tackling the challenge head on since being appointed to the role in 2020, replacing magistrate Louisa Pink who had managed the area for two years.
Mr Sinclair brought with him a wealth of experience in criminal, civil and environmental law with more than 30 years in the legal profession.
He was first admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1989 before being engaged on the Fitzgerald Inquiry and working as a crown prosecutor at the Special Prosecutors Office.
He also acted as junior counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Operation Trident, an controversial car-stealing scam from the early ‘90s.
Mr Sinclair spent 10 years in private practice in both Cairns and the Sunshine Coast.
Mr Sinclair was appointed to the Magistrates Court of Queensland in 2017 and has overseen courts in the Southport and Maroochydore regions.
13. Rachel Cooper
Growing up in regional South Australia on the Nullarbor Plain and just south of the Birdsville Track, North Burnett Regional Council CEO Rachel Cooper is innately aware that rural communities are all about people.
Ms Cooper‘s career has spanned federal, state and local government, various CEO positions including for the Institute for Public Administration (VIC) which is an organisation of 230,000 members, project management and economic development.
The top NBRC job hasn’t been an easy one to take on though, with Ms Cooper and Mayor Rachel Chamber having the difficult task of attempting to get the council’s finances in order.
Currently operating at a budget deficit of $7.8 million, Cr Chambers said if nothing changed the North Burnett will run out of money by 2025 due to a combination of factors that started with amalgamation in 2008.
How this crisis will be resolved will impact the face of the North Burnett for years to come.
12. Mark Pitt
He’s seen councillors and mayors come and go, but South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt has been in the top job for more than a decade now.
Mr Pitt has been working in local government for over two decades and hit the 10-year mark of work within the South Burnett region last year.
He has been heavily involved in community groups such as the Rotary Club and said it was the little moments that made his job worthwhile.
“Over many years of working with the community, I still love what I do,” Mr Pitt said.
“It’s one of those things where you can help people and make an impact on their life.”
Mr Pitt was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2019 for his decades of work.
With only 11 medals handed out in Queensland each year, Mr Pitt said he was humbled to have been nominated, let alone win the award.
“When my name was read out at the Queen’s day service, you could have knocked me over with a feather,” Mr Pitt said.
11. Dave Tierney
After moving to Kingaroy from Dalby and becoming OIC at Kingaroy Police, Dave Tierney has become one of the most recognisable police officers in the South Burnett.
While he’s well known in the community, regularly helping out at events and urging drivers to be safer on the roads, Senior Sergeant Tierney’s job was turned upside down during the Covid lockdowns last year.
Leading the region’s police response to the virus, Senior Sergeant Tierney regularly had to remind residents not to push the restrictions in place to keep the community safe.
This year he also revealed the horror job police officers were often faced with when dealing with the region’s suicide epidemic.
“Going to any deceased job it destroys a little bit of you every time, but when someone has taken their own life there is just no answer,” senior sergeant Tierney said.
“People tend to look to police for answers, hope we can reassure them, but with suicide no one knows what got them to that state.
“It‘s hard for police because our job is to go to something and find answers but in these cases it’s self-evident they took their own life but they’re not there to ask why.”
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