Toowoomba council election 2024: Residents list new dams, cost of living, local roads among key issues

A new survey has revealed a serious divide between urban and rural voters at the upcoming Toowoomba council elections, including key priorities and their satisfaction levels with the TRC. Read the results here:

Toowoomba region residents overwhelmingly support divisions, want a new dam but no large rate rises in the next term of council.

That’s according to a new survey just days from the 2024 local government elections, with the results revealing the key issues for voters heading into the next four years.

The Chronicle-led non-scientific survey, completed by more than 200 residents from across the region, also highlighted the stark viewpoints between respondents living in urban and rural areas.

Overall, respondents put rate rises and the cost of living as their top priority for the election, with a whopping 20.3 per cent placing it among their three major issues.

Water security (13 per cent), the state of local roads (12.6 per cent), the culture of council (7.25 per cent) and housing (6.4 per cent) rounded out the top five for residents.

However, locals in regional areas outside Toowoomba and Highfields placed the condition of local roads as a top priority, with over a quarter putting it in their top three.

While it is a project that could lead the council into financial strife, the $270m Cressbrook Dam spillway did not place highly with key issues for residents (2.17 per cent).

The survey also revealed an overwhelming majority of respondents were in favour of wards or divisions, with 66.3 per cent expressing support for the next council exploring it.

This support grew to 90 per cent among residents located outside the Toowoomba urban area, with regional representation often cited as an argument for wards.

Residents also want council to explore building a new dam, with the proposal earning 70 per cent support.

Just 22 per cent of respondents said they were happy with the level of development across the region, with nearly half (47 per cent) saying there needed to be more.

Conversely, 84 per cent of residents said a significant rate rise at the upcoming budget was likely to have some level of impact on their family’s budget, with half saying it would be either “quite a lot” or “significant”.

This sentiment was reflected on the subject of the Cressbrook Dam upgrades, which must be completed by late 2025 and currently have no external support from the state or federal governments.

Just 11 per cent of respondents said the council should increase rates to pay for it, with 46 per cent calling for delays in major projects or cuts to services and 42 per cent want the TRC to increase debt.

That third group might get their wish, with the council indicating it would likely hit its debt borrowing limit with the Queensland Treasury Corporation (reportedly $300m) to help pay for it.

On the performance of the council as a whole, just over half of respondents were some level of unsatisfied (either somewhat or very), with “somewhat satisfied” enjoying a plurality lead of 38 per cent out of the four options.

Just six per cent of people said they were “very satisfied”.

But the survey also revealed extraordinary dissatisfaction (80 per cent) with council among regional residents.

The answers will form part of the questions to candidates for the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce’s Toowoomba Decides forum on Thursday night, with the event exclusively live-streamed on The Chronicle’s website.