President
Councillor Paul Bell AM
- President, Australian Local Government Association
- President, Local Government Association of Queensland
- Councillor, Emerald Shire Council, Queensland
- Mayor, Emerald Shire Council, 1991-2000
Paul Bell has had a long and extensive involvement with local government at a senior level.
He qualified as an electrical fitter/mechanic and worked in the railways and the mines in central Queensland.
In 1985, Cr Bell was elected to the Emerald Shire Council (located half way between Rockhampton and Longreach in central Queensland) and has served the council continuously since then.
He was elected as the Mayor of Emerald in 1991, a position he held for nine years.
In 2000, Cr Bell joined the executive of both the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) and ALGA. In 2002, was elected as an ALGA Vice President.
He was elected President of LGAQ in August 2004 and, in December 2004, was elected ALGA President.
Cr Bell also chairs Australian Local Government Training Limited, a national industry training advisory board, and is Deputy Chair of Queensland Rail and a Director of the Ergon Energy Corporation of Queensland, a government owned corporation.
Cr Bell was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in January 2005 for service to local government, particularly through the Queensland and Australian Local Government Associations, to regional development and tourism, to vocational education and training, and to the community.
He was awarded an Honorary Bachelor of Business Administration degree by the University of Central Queensland in February 2005.
