In 1983 Cherry Carroll and some of her friends were concerned about youth unemployment in the South Burnett. With the help of John Quatermass and the then Mayor of Kingaroy, Warren Truss, they called for a public meeting, the outcome of which was the establishment of a Youth Unemployment Centre (YUC for short). The Carroll family made a room available in their building and donations of furniture and other items from the Lions club and other local organisations allowed the volunteers to conduct basic life and work skills training for young people.
By 1987 the group had obtained various grants from State Government and additional donations to become ever more “professional” and deliver more programs. A change of guard occurred at committee level and the organisation was incorporated as South Burnett CYSS Inc. CYSS stands for Community Youth Support Services and was a program funded by the Federal Government in many locations in Australia. South Burnett CYSS had a paid manager and several instructors and serviced Murgon/Cherbourg and Nanango as well as Kingaroy itself. It changed premises several times as it grew to include older long term unemployed people in its programs, before settling in the Artie Kerr Building in Kingaroy Street in 1989.
The Artie Kerr Building was owned by a State Government Department who leased it to Kingaroy Shire Council who in turn let CYSS use it rent free in return for managing the building for other community groups. All very convoluted but beneficial to all concerned. This became particularly important when the Federal Government replaced CYSS with SkillShare in 1989 and all SkillShares had to be able to prove that 15% of their income was derived from the community. Because of the changing focus and activities of the organisation and the demise of the CYSS name, it was decided to register a name change and South Burnett CTC Inc was re-incorporated on 23 May 1989. CTC stands for Community Training Centre, but the “long” name was never actually officially registered.
SkillShare was our main program for 7 years and it grew to have a metal and wood workshop in Pound Street, a Computer Room in Alford Street and about 500 participants in various courses in any year. We also had a ropes course for life skills training and acquired a 19 seater bus to take participants to various outdoor activities and to work experience sites. A multitude of programs from State and Federal Government was added to our activities over those years and saw us delivering lots of projects to community organisations, from aged care centres to building toilets in public parks. The crowning glory of these was the Town Common Hall (TCH) in Kingaroy which was constructed under a JobSkills project with funding from our reserves, the Department of Sport and Recreation and Jupiters Casino Community Benefit Fund. Our partners in this also included the Kingaroy Junior Soccer Club, Kingaroy Lions Club, South Burnett Vintage Car Club and Kingaroy Shire Council. CTC used its fantastic kitchen and bar for training courses and managed the hall for other users until 2005 when we asked the Council to take it over.
In 1996 the Federal Government instigated major reforms of labour market programs and SkillShare was abolished. We became a Job Network member and a provider of the Personal Support Program (PSP) for the South Burnett and Community Work Coordinator (CWC) for Work for the Dole for the South Burnett and Gympie area.
We didn’t really want to move outside of our traditional “home” area of the South Burnett but had no choice if we wanted to be a Work for the Dole provider. We co-located our office with Gympie Landcare for several years before establishing a separate office in Mary Street. The only backward step in our continual growth had to be taken in 2000 when despite very good performance we lost Intensive Assistance from our suite of programs in a new tender process that saw even more recruitment agencies established in the South Burnett. As it turned out this was probably a blessing in disguise as it freed us up to focus on non-employment related needs in the community and it also enabled us to accumulate greater financial resources as we were permitted to retain some of the income we had earned from IA. We continued recruitment services through Job Matching and later as a Job Placement Organisation.
From the mid 1990’s we were involved in the establishment of the South Burnett Enterprise Centre and in 1998 CTC started to manage that Centre at 6 Cornish Street on behalf of the Kingaroy Regional Enterprise Centre Association Inc and located our manager and accounts office within its administration building.
Throughout the rapid expansion of training and recruitment services for long term unemployed people, young people’s needs and issues remained as a major focus. Here too the number of programs expanded, particularly when we were asked to take on the auspice of the South Burnett Area Youth Service (SBAYS) and with it the crisis accommodation hostel in Kingaroy Street in 2001. (A new and custom built hostel was opened in 2008 in Markwell Street). Around the same time Kingaroy Shire Council was looking to establish a skate bowl and needed a partner to make that happen. The Peanut Company of Australia made a parcel of land on Somerset Street available to Council and CTC had the opportunity to purchase some demountable classrooms from SB Catholic College and establish them on that site. In lots of community working bees, with Work for the Dole and Community Jobs Plan projects we transformed these buildings and the site into what is now the Youth Park. Tarong Energy, Rio Tinto Tarong Mine and others made generous donations which together with our own resources allowed us to create a facility that is envied by many other towns and allows us to provide a comprehensive service to young people in the entire South Burnett. In 2004 the Connections Youth and Family Service came under our auspice and with it we established a site in Murgon. Increasingly we work with the Indigenous communities in Cherbourg and elsewhere from this base. While the Youth Park itself is open to everyone, the vast majority of our youth services are aimed at young people who face multiple and varied barriers to education, employment and full participation in the community.
During 2002/03 a group of parents of children with disabilities requested CTC’s assistance in obtaining a grant from Disability Services Queensland to establish a respite service. Community Respite Options South Burnett (CROSB) was born and with it came a respite house in Gladys Street. Again we used various projects to transform an ordinary house into a great facility for people with a disability of all ages and their carers.
During 2005 we started as a provider of long term Community Housing in association with Cooloola Community Housing Association in Murgon and Kingaroy. In 2007 we commenced leasing 6 flats in Fitzroy Street, Nanango from the Department of Housing for long term housing. In 2010 construction of a fully wheelchair accessible duplex was completed t in Thorn Street, Kingaroy on land donated by the former Kingaroy Shire Council and funded by a capital grant from the Department of Housing. At the same time we were able to build another duplex in cooperation with the family of a CROSB client, “Simmo’s Place” in Gladys Street. We acknowledge the generosity of the Simmons family who donated the land and who have made long term commitments to help us provide accommodation and services to people with disabilities.
In 2006 we became a provider of Foster Care Services called Partners in Foster Care and established premises in Wondai. We also began a stronger presence in Gympie through Job Network (yes, we did get Intensive Assistance back, though under a different name) and a collaboration with Cooloola Youth Services for a JPET youth program. Through LCP (Local Community Partnerships), a federally funded career and transitions program for school students we provided services in Monto, Gayndah and Gin Gin as well as Murgon and Nanango. In 2010 LCP was replaced by Youth Connections (YC) which also operates in the North and South Burnett.
During 2006 we were able to again purchase some demountable classrooms from St Mary’s which were refurbished for the Partners site in Wondai and for the new “HQ” at the Enterprise Centre. The latter allowed us to co-locate the finance section with HR, the CEO’s office and the board room – a move that greatly improved the ease of communication in these sections, not to mention the comfort and efficiency of office infrastructure.
In 2007 we bought and refurbished the former Christmas Shop in Lamb Street, Murgon with a major contribution from the Regional Partnerships Program. Our Reconnect youth service for young people at risk of homelessness and an ever increasing number of other programs focused on the indigenous people in the area are now accommodated in this Murgon Cherbourg Community Services Centre which was formally opened by Senator John Hogg in February 2008.
The Gumnut Place, an Australian Disability Enterprise for people with disabilities joined the CTC auspice in December 2007.The Gumnut Place was arguably our greatest challenge from a financial point of view but also potentially the jewel in our crown. Massive steps have been taken in turning it into a thriving, supportive and sustainable business where people with disabilities have a real stake in the economy and community of the South Burnett. The Gumnut Place operates a pallet making workshop, a trophy and engraving section, a commercial kitchen and catering service and since 2010 a laundry service. The latter was established with financial support from Tarong Energy and Thiess and its main customer is the mine at Tarong. Without the loyalty of our main customers Murgon Leather, IGA and Thiess we could not provide meaningful employment and development opportunities to our 20 supported employees and we are grateful for their ongoing custom as we continue to struggle to achieve “break even” point.
With the decision by the Queensland Government to introduce an Alcohol Management Plan (AMP) for the Cherbourg community came a raft of Diversionary programs in 2009. Just before they commenced we established a partnership with the Queensland Police Service to operate Barambah Community Support which assists people who are incarcerated in the Murgon watch house or at risk of this. Wondin dee counselling service for children and families affected by domestic violence and the Safe Haven program also started around this time. These programs required some additions to our Connections premises and the rental of more space at 76 Lamb Street.
One of the most dramatic growth phases for CTC occurred in mid 2009 when we were successful in obtaining a very large share of the local Job Services Australia (JSA) – the latest incarnation of Commonwealth employment services – in the Gympie and South Burnett area. With the addition of a raft of Queensland government funded work experience and job search services we had an explosion in our staff and accommodation requirements. New sites were established in Kingaroy, Murgon, Gympie and Tin Can Bay and more support staff commenced at HQ. After 21 years we said good bye to the Artie Kerr Building!
In 2009 we also commenced an out of school hours childcare service in Nanango, supported by the Department of Communities through provision and refurbishment of the former pre-school. This site is being further developed into a family services hub (thanks to a grant from Nanango Heritage Community Branch) and is now known as 'Community Kids'.
The tremendous growth and diversification of South Burnett CTC has been guided by the Board of Governance, still affectionately called the LMC (Local Management Committee) as it was in the SkillShare days – LMC sounds better than BOG don't you think! Many of the members of this committee have been with the organisation from the outset or since the very early days. In recognition of the outstanding contribution made by founding member and former chairman and deputy chairman, John Quatermass was made Patron in 2006. Howard Leisemann has been chairperson for over 18 years (23 years on the LMC) while the treasurer’s position currently held by Max Lehmann has had only three or four incumbents in the same period. Michael Carroll has served for 23 years, Geoff Hosking for 21, Jenny Walters for 12 years, while Eric Cross joined seven years ago, Graham Easterby in 2006. John Box and Keith Campbell are the latest recruits and were inducted at the AGM in 2008. Similarly, the organisation has had only three managers, with the current CEO Nina Temperton in that role since 1992. Her predecessor Janet Champney is still with CTC as her deputy and HR manager. The other members of the management team are Esther Ross (Manager - Financial Services), Cameron Bisley (Manager - Corporate Services), Barb O’Hanlon (Manager - Employment Services), Kirsten Firman (Manager - Youth Services), Susan Jerome (Manager - Foster Care Services) and Russell Flynn (Manager - Disability Services).
The stability of and strong leadership by the LMC has been appreciated by the staff which has grown to more than 180, mainly permanent employees, many of whom have also been with the organisation for years (or as long as their section has operated). This is pleasing evidence of CTC’s “employer of choice” status in an industry with usually very high staff turnover. Undoubtedly the shared commitment to the clients we deal with and services we deliver is a major reason for CTC’s continuing growth and success. The preparedness to collaborate with government and other non government agencies is another reason. Of equal importance is the fact that in all our years of operation we have met or exceeded accountability and transparency requirements and all legal obligations to the full satisfaction of our funding bodies and the Office of Fair Trading while meeting or exceeding outcome targets. Our excellent reputation in the community, with clients, amongst our NGO colleagues and with government departments is based on all of the above.
While diversifying in accordance with CTC’s objects and our vision and mission, the organisation has maintained a very strong focus on our clients and on our values. We are now a very professional, diverse and large organisation and long past our casual beginnings – but we have never wavered from providing a friendly, open environment in which all stakeholders can feel valued and respected.