Sheryl Windle’s re-election commitment to Southern Downs community

After eight years at Southern Downs Regional Council, councillor Sheryl Windle remains committed to finding solutions to the regions major issues. See what she’s prepared to bring to the table here.

It's going to be a tight race for both Southern Downs and Goondiwindi Region local government elections.

The previous eight years at Southern Downs Regional Council have been rewarding for Sheryl Windle, who’s faced many challenges as a local government advocate for the community.

Mrs Windle has decided she’s not ready to give up her seat on council and is committed to finding solutions to some of the major issues the region is facing.

“I’m prepared to continue my strong commitment to represent the community as a whole and to continue to collaborate with state and federal governments, and their service agencies to find a suitable solution for the lack of affordable housing in this region,” she said.

Alongside her bid to lobby for affordable housing, Mrs Windle said tourism and water security were also high priorities.

Southern Downs councillor Sheryl Windle is committed to finding solutions for the major issues faced by the community if re-elected in 2024.

“(I will) continue to advocate to the state government to prioritise funding to repair the five rail bridges between Stanthorpe and Wallangarra, which were destroyed in the bushfires,” she said.

“This is important for tourism, the people of Wallangarra and also for the Defence Force to access their stores in case of emergency.”

The Southern Downs saw a hefty rate increase in the 2023 budget, but Mrs Windle was confident council would work as a collective to ensure any increases were minimal.

“Council always does their utmost to spend wisely, however there have been times that projects have seen major increases in costs due to the increases across the construction industry which have been impossible to avoid,” she said.

Mrs Windle said in the past eight years council managed to significantly decrease their debt and she was confident it would continue to do so into the future.

Nominations for the 2024 local government election closed at noon on February 13 and has seen a number of contenders put their hands up to represent the Southern Downs region.

Polling will officially open to the public on March 16.