18/10/2026
NEWS DESK: TOOWOOMBA AERODROME — LOCAL BUSINESSES FORCED TO CALL ACCC
TOOWOOMBA — Toowoomba Regional Council has once again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to supporting local business, this time by creating so much uncertainty for aerodrome operators that they took their concerns to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Apparently, Council's Small Business Support Program now involves businesses seeking assistance from a federal competition regulator.
The trouble began when Council spent 2024 considering whether to retain, sell or eventually close the aerodrome.
For businesses operating aircraft maintenance facilities and employing local workers, this presented a minor planning difficulty: not knowing whether the airport would continue to exist.
Council eventually decided to keep it.
A tremendous relief for the aviation industry, which had apparently been operating under the unreasonable assumption that an airport would remain an airport.
By November 2024, operators Austrek and Jetfix were reporting lease-renewal delays exceeding two years.
Mayor Geoff “Ronald” McDonald explained Council's revolutionary approach to economic development.
“Businesses are always asking for certainty. We've provided absolute certainty that we haven't made a decision yet.”
With negotiations dragging on, tenants sought ACCC protection to bargain collectively for ten years.
Council, which regularly celebrates collaboration and supporting local enterprise, argued that two years would be sufficient.
It also maintained that it neither supported nor opposed the arrangement.
An extraordinary display of neutrality from an organisation requesting that eight years be removed from it.
The ACCC ultimately allowed the ten-year period.
Council had expected relevant lease negotiations to conclude by the end of 2025, subject to agreement. Yet in February 2026, the tenants' representative was still discussing getting agreements across the line.
Geoff welcomed the progress.
“We've successfully extended a two-year delay into a multi-year strategic engagement process. That's the sort of long-term planning this region deserves.”
Then, on 13 October, another lease-tenure matter went before Council's committee, with councillors spending 38 minutes behind closed doors before publicly supporting further negotiations and signing authority.
The Big Top understands councillors emerged extremely pleased with the outcome, having successfully completed another meeting about completing something.
Cr Becky Von Gloss reportedly described the confidential discussions as productive, although she was disappointed that confidentiality prevented her from photographing herself listening.
The aerodrome reportedly contributes more than $100 million annually to the regional economy, making it an important facility for local businesses and employment.
Naturally, Council's approach has been to ensure operators never become complacent by knowing whether their leases will be renewed.
After all, why give businesses security of tenure when you can give them character-building uncertainty?
The Big Top understands Council is now considering a new economic development slogan:
“TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL COUNCIL — OPEN FOR BUSINESS. LEASE SUBJECT TO FURTHER NEGOTIATIONS.”
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Disclaimer: The Big Top Bulletin is a satirical publication. Councillor dialogue and purported reactions are fictional. The article draws on reported lease delays, ACCC proceedings and Council meeting records. The ACCC authorisation concerned voluntary collective bargaining, not a ruling that Council acted unlawfully. The 13 October confidential discussion is not evidence of improper conduct.
