New office, new faces for 2018
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 123 No 1, 9 February 2018, p6
With growth in membership across the past two years taking our number of members above 45,000 for the first time in our history, the QTU has appointed an extra Regional Organiser and opened a new office.
The Trustees of the Union determined to open a new QTU office in Springwood from the beginning of 2018. The new office, situated on ground floor of Hotel Gloria, 14 Carol Avenue, Springwood, will be the working base for Logan Redlands Organiser Kelly Creedon and Metro South Organiser Ben Vercoe.
The new facility will enhance the QTU's capacity to engage with and train delegates locally across Metro South, Logan and the Redlands geographic area. It is also the first time a regional office has housed two regional organisers.
Kelly and Ben will be supported in the office with administrative assistance from Meryline Croker-Falani.
Last year State Council endorsed a proposal to appoint an additional Regional Organiser in South-East Queensland from the start of this year. This led to a major reshaping of regional boundaries after consultation with branch members, resulting in the creation of new Metro North, Metro Central and Metro West Logan regions, with adjustments also made to the regional boundaries of the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Logan Redlands and Wide Bay regions. These changes will result in a reduction in the number of members each Organiser supports, which will enhance our campaigning capacity across the state.
Lin Esders has transferred to the new Metro North role and Elissa Ferguson has transferred into the Metro West Logan role. This created a permanent vacancy in North Queensland that has been filled by Paul Waters. Paul was previously a Head of Department of Maths in the Wide Bay and has had significant statewide service with the department, including a number of years teaching in Mackay.
Natalie Meyer, who was previously the Brisbane North Organiser, has moved across to the new Metro Central role. Natalie will be accessing parental leave for the whole of the 2018 school year and will be replaced by Gillian Armit, a primary teacher from the North Coast region who has previously taught in the western suburbs of Brisbane and in Charters Towers. We welcome Paul and Gillian to their new roles.