Townsville Show launches broadside against the council over dumping fees
Incensed by a lack of support from Townsville City Council, organisers of the Townsville Show have launched a scathing attack. Find out why.
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Townsville City Council has copped a stunning broadside from the Townsville Show’s organisers after it rejected a request to waive dumping fees, who described the move as “institutional apathy disguised as fiscal responsibility”.
Faced with a challenging financial situation and future outlook, the council recently moved to slash funding available for events from $50,000 to $25,000, raising questions about how some major community events would continue.
Now Townsville Show, which is run by the not-for-profit Townsville Pastoral Agricultural and Industrial Association, has penned a lengthy article in the recently published 2025 show guide.
The missive claims council’s Director of Infrastructure and Operations, Matthew Richardson, rejected their request for a “simple gesture of support”.
“It was simply to waive dump fees, a modest ask that had been granted in previous years. The Show, run entirely by volunteers, had already committed to handling all waste transport,” the Show said.
“All they needed was a small gesture of goodwill: to be able to dispose of rubbish without being penalised for serving the very city Mr Richardson claims to ‘grow’.
“Instead, the Show’s team received a cold, bureaucratic refusal. In a series of delayed, dismissive responses, Richardson repeatedly cited ‘financial sustainability’ and ‘fairness’ as excuses. He even had the audacity to suggest that forcing a volunteer-run event to absorb dump fees somehow delivers ‘value to the ratepayer’.”
The Show said it wasn’t just tone-deaf leadership, but a “failure of civic responsibility”.
“Worse still, repeated attempts by the Show’s organisers to contact Mr Richardson were ignored. Voicemails went unanswered. Emails sat idle,” they said.
“Only after persistent follow-ups did a response finally arrive, void of empathy and full of corporate jargon.”
In his foreword to the Show Guide, the Show’s manager of 22 years, Chris Condon, revealed that last year’s show had an “incredible turnout”, recording the highest ride ticket sales of any registered show in Australia.
“We’re confident that this year will be our best yet, featuring all-new entertainment and an ever growing crowd of enthusiastic attendees,” he said.
When contacted to elaborate further on the dispute with council and the message included in their show guide, Mr Condon declined to comment.
A Townsville City Council spokeswoman responded saying that the Townsville Show did not apply for a Townsville City Council grant or partnership in 2025.
“Council has supported the Townsville Show in 2025 by voting to approve a public holiday on July 7 this year, in line with previous years. Townsville City Council’s 2025/26 Budget includes a number of concessions for the Townsville Showgrounds, including 50 per cent reduction of wastewater charges and a concession of 73 per cent off water use up to a maximum water concession of $100,000,” the spokeswoman said.
“The Showgrounds are also exempt from paying general rates. Concessions for water and wastewater charges for the Townsville Showgrounds have been in place since the 2015/16 financial year.
“Townsville Showgrounds has been exempt from paying general rates since before the 2015/16 financial year.”
The Townsville Show will run between July 4-7.
For more information, visit: www.townsvilleshow.com.au.
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