Dan Ballard – Independent candidate for Mount Isa City Council

Long time Mount Isa resident and well-known country jockey, Dan Ballard, has announced he has thrown his hat in the ring as an independent candidate for his local council.

Mr Ballard, who was born and raised in Mount Isa, said the time was right for him to give back to the community that had been so good to him.

“Mount Isa has provided me with so many opportunities over the years, both personal and professional, and I want those same opportunities to exist when my children get older,” Mr Ballard said.

Mr Ballard and his wife, Lacey, have two children, eight-year-old Lilly and one-year-old Tommy.

Both Dan and Lacey’s families have long histories in regional Queensland.

Mr Ballard’s father Keith was born and raised in Longreach and is now Australia’s oldest jockey aged 71. Dan’s mother Denise was born in Winton and was one of the first female jockeys allowed to compete against male riders.

Lacey was raised on a cattle property near Mount Garnett in Far North Queensland.

“My family’s long history in Western Queensland has given me a love of the bush and a desire to see regional communities thrive.” Mr Ballard said.

As an independent candidate, Mr Ballard said if elected to Mount Isa City Council, he would “make an unwavering commitment to work constructively with whomever else is on council with me, without being a rubber stamp”.

“I believe that council should be focused on enabling businesses, community groups, and individuals. Whether that’s through encouraging and facilitating resource sharing, removing red-tape and levies to attract new businesses or overhauling building approvals processes. Council should get out of people’s way,” he said.

Mr Ballard is the Mount Isa branch manager of RCT, a technology company that specialises in automation, safety, and control systems for mining machinery.

He has carried on the family tradition of being a jockey, still regularly riding himself.

He was president of the Mount Isa Race Club for two years and has been credited with revitalising the club. He continues to serve as a committee member. He is also a member of the Saint Joseph’s Catholic School board.