Toowoomba councillor unit led by mayor Geoff McDonald challenged as region braces for difficult term

The Toowoomba council’s leaders have asserted the boardroom is working as a team, but that has been challenged by insiders as the organisation prepares for a difficult period ahead.

The Toowoomba region’s newly re-elected leadership team has declared the council is a united team working for a common goal — but not all inside and outside the organisation are convinced.

Mayor Geoff McDonald and deputy Rebecca Vonhoff have repeatedly stressed the need for a unified message from the region’s 11 elected officials as the council prepares to deal with one of the most difficult terms since amalgamation.

Issues include delays on a slate of key projects like the Cressbrook Dam safety upgrades, a looming financial crunch that could send debt levels to $300m and criticism of the work culture within council that has continued despite reforms.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald with the 2024-2028 councillors outside City Hall.

When asked about his intent for the council, Mr McDonald said he believed the boardroom was working toward a common goal.

“It’s a new term, and I’m very pleased with how things are progressing — the community is going to see councillors a lot more in this term than what they have since 2008,” he said.

“We’re committed to looking at things differently.”

Ms Vonhoff was even more emphatic in her assessment of the team’s make-up – which now includes nine incumbents from the previous term as well as two new councillors, Gary Gardner and Trevor Manteufel – arguing the council will be more “productive” over the next four years.

“The composition of the council is one of a lot of different people — that all comes to (the) fore, some have been there for many terms, some have been there for two months,” she said.

“That’s what a community wants, does unity mean unified opinions all the time?

“No, unity means you can agree on different perspectives and bring that to the table and do so in a way that is productive.”

Toowoomba deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff and mayor Geoff McDonald discuss the council's request for $90m from both the state and federal governments to help pay for the Cressbrook Dam safety upgrades.

A council insider spoke about the image portrayed to the community about a united council on social media, however they said fractures were growing within the council over a multitude of unaddressed issues.

“‘We’re all united’ – that’s rubbish. How can we have a united council if some councillors are treated well and some aren’t,” they said.

Some councillors said they were optimistic about the feeling coming out of the boardroom, while some noted it was still early days.

“When the s--- hits the fan, that’s when we find out how united we are,” one said.

“We’ve got our priorities now and we’re working towards funding of the dam wall upgrade, so time will tell when we’ve got some tricky things to decide,” another added.

There was also mixed opinions among the TRC’s stakeholders, with some remarking there had been a distinct shift in the message councillors were saying.

“All I’ve observed is a degree of unification in the dialogue,” one person of influence said.

But others believed the rhetoric from leadership was about “controlling the narrative”.

“I know they’re still trying to control the narrative — it’s the same issue, it’s the transparency and the accountability attached,” they said.

“It’s a front and it will be torn apart.”