A Year in Review

by Jessica Jones, Business Development Director

When I reflect upon the last 12 months, I would have to say… wow, what a year! 

One of the best parts of my role is the engagement with you; there is nothing I like more than being out and about, meeting with the wonderful people who work in Queensland councils. This has taken a bit of a hit over recent months, and I am very much looking forward to getting on the road again and catching up with as many of you as possible. 

As I travel around the state – from the southeast corner to some of our most remote communities – I am lucky to witness just how passionate and motivated our local government family is. The LGAQ’s ‘Proud to be Your Council’ campaign speaks volumes in terms of highlighting the role local government plays in helping shape and improve our communities by creating liveable and accessible places that are thriving economically. 

It is not an easy task, between disasters such as drought, cyclones, fire and flood – and throw a bit of COVID into the mix – we have ourselves a significant challenge, let alone the day-to-day delivery of our operations and managing aging and critical infrastructure with stretched budgets so that we can continue to fulfil community expectations.  

Councils are increasingly becoming, in effect, businesses and being seen to lead our communities as one of the main local economic drivers. Lucky we are such incredibly resilient bunch in Queensland and set about getting the job done with positivity and motivation, recognising the important role we play. 

Reflecting on this, we at Peak are fortunate enough to be in the position to help councils with these challenges. Over the last 12 months, our team has been spread far and wide, covering so much ground and supporting many councils: from Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cooktown in the north, to Winton in the west and down to Thargomindah in the southwest, as well as across to coastal communities like Rockhampton and Gladstone. You name it and (at least) one of us has been there.  

Whether it’s supporting project delivery or an industrial relations matter, assisting councils with their renewable energy business cases to answering calls on behalf of Queensland communities, building capability through training staff and elected members, to helping councils with their waste and assets, we are working in one way or another with just about every council in Queensland.  

What does this mean for you? The numbers speak volumes. Over the last 12 months, Peak has: 

• handled more than 1,200 HR/IR related calls through the IR help desk 
• supported 35 EB agreements this year 
• trained almost 3,700 council staff through 344 training days 
• provided 43,000 hours of advisory services 
• answered in excess of 143,000 phone calls on behalf of your communities 
• saved nearly $10 million in annual energy costs  
• secured to date more than $50 million in grant funding. 

The Peak Services team is, in effect, your team. We are an extension of Queensland local government, owned by Queensland councils and put in place to support you in delivering value for your communities.  

We look forward to the next 12 months, getting some dust on our boots again and catching up with you soon. Along with the delivery of services, our team will be out and about supporting the rollout of the upcoming Elected Member Update (EMU) program with the LGAQ, the HR Seminars that will occur between September and November throughout the state, and a number of vital community events that we are supporting, such as the ‘Long Drive for Drought’.  

It’s going to be another busy year and I say, ‘bring it on’!