Gympie Mayor reveals shocking forecast for council’s financial future

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig is calling for the federal government to step up and help regional Queensland councils, with ratepayers likely to foot the bill if multimillion-dollar losses continue.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig is calling for the federal government to “open the chequebook” and help Queensland councils, with the region facing a $7.5m operating deficit in its new budget.

Mr Hartwig has joined a growing chorus of local government members calling for more financial help from higher levels of government amid ongoing sustainability concerns across the sector.

These concerns have come under the spotlight amid Queensland Audit Office reports saying a growing number of the state’s councils were struggling financially.

These included councils like the North Burnett’s, which in early July slugged ratepayers with a rates hike of about 25 per cent following almost a decade of operating losses.

The decision sparked intense backlash from ratepayers, with calls for the council to reverse the hike and councillors to quit.

Gympie Regional Council’s new budget not only forecasts a $7.5m operating deficit in 2026, but not return to surplus until 2029.

Speaking after Wednesday’s budget, Mr Hartwig said the federal government needed to raise the amount it provided through its assistance grants to “about one per cent, and indexed (with CPI)” as regional councils were struggling to stay afloat.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig is calling for the federal government (Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right) to “open the chequebook” and help Queensland councils with the region’s facing a $7.5 million operating deficit in its new budget.

“It’s time they opened the chequebook,” Mr Hartwig said.

“There needs to be a look at local government right across the board... if you’re a council that has a small area and a high dense residential base... your ability to be financially sustainable and provide the gold class services to your residents is at a much easier level than it is for people in regions like Gympie, South Burnett, North Burnett, and the rest of the Wide Bay,” Mr Hartwig said.

Gympie Regional Council’s 2025 budget not only forecasts a $7.5 million operating deficit in 2026, but not return to surplus until 2029.

The state’s council peak body, the Local Government Association of Queensland, has been calling for the increase for several years.

It has claimed Queensland councils only receive three cents out of every dollar raised by the federal government through tax.

When the grants were first launched the rate was on par with the one per cent Mr Hartwig called for, but that had shrunk over time as tax revenue grew.

The federal government has said the total funding through the program has never dropped, and it is indexed to CPI and population growth.

North Burnett Regional Council CEO Craig Matheson and Mayor Les Hotz have also called for more federal help with their ratepayers slugged with a rates hike of about 25 per cent following almost a decade of operating losses by the council.

Mr Hartwig said funding opportunities “seem to be based around the number of voters, not around the value they bring to our region, our state, or our country”.

“It’s time regional councils were recognised for the value they bring to the nation and that funding was targeted specifically for them,” Mr Hartwig said.

“We have 7000sq km of land to look after, we have 1000km of bitumen, and 1000km of gravel roads... and a small rate base to do that.
“If you compare us with Noosa, more ratepayers in Noosa, their region is the size of a postage stamp in comparison to us.

“We actually have to be very, very efficient and targeted.

“It’s a problem for regional councils.”

Originally published as Gympie Mayor reveals shocking forecast for council’s financial future