With the unique background of having served on two councils based in the Lockyer region, returning councillor David Neuendorf, a third-generation primary producer and business owner, offers invaluable expertise and understanding of rural living demands.
Cr Neuendorf returns to the Lockyer Valley Regional Council team after serving as a councillor on the Gatton Shire and Lockyer Valley Regional Councils from 2000 to 2012.
Born and raised in Lilydale, Helidon, where he resides today, Cr Neuendorf said his strong personal ties to the region and its farming sector drive his passion for ensuring the community gets representation across the board.
“I’m back after 12 years of being on the council where I focused on operating my farming business, 9Dorf Farms, until one of my sons was old enough to take over the reins,” he said.
“When I initially ran for the election, there were no farmers in council, and that’s what our economy is,”
“I think farmers need an ear, another full-like person to talk to if they have issues.
“They work seven days a week, and they’ve got a lot to contend with and just want to ensure they’re getting fairly represented around the region.”
Cr Neuendorf said one of the stepping stones to achieving fair representation across the Lockyer is for each area to have its own regional council representative.
“Once upon a time we had divisions, and I’m hearing that all the time from residents about complaints about representation, I’m so thankful this time we’re evenly represented with councillors,” he said
“But I still believe in representation in divisions, that doesn’t mean that as councillors we don’t represent the whole region, its just that those people in that area that run in that division do the voting because they know whether you’re effective or not.
“Because if their road’s not getting serviced the way they should be, they can get onto their divisional council and chase it up.”
Cr Neuendorf said the region has great potential in the agritourism sector and would like council to implement better career pathways for school leavers interested in working in agriculture and construction.
“It’s a beautiful place to live, we’re among the top ten fertile areas in the world, we’ve just got everything here and are the jewel in the crown providing produce to cities on either side,” he said.
“I’d like to see more tourism come into the valley as well, especially agritourism, I think we’ve got a big opportunity for agritourism.
“I’d also like to see a training program where school leavers who might want to get into Earthmoving but don’t know where to start have a traineeship opportunity through the council.”
