As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, February 4

Former Brisbane City Council chief executive Colin Jensen has officially headed for the hills, taking up the top bureaucratic job at Toowoomba Regional Council.

Jensen, who resigned from BCC last year, will start as interim chief executive at TRC from Monday, February 24.

Toowoomba Mayor Geoff McDonald said Jensen’s appointment came as the council progressed its recruitment for a new, permanent CEO.

“Recruiting a new CEO is often a lengthy process and it’s important we take the necessary time to find the best possible person for this organisation and for this community,” he said.

“To ensure we’re well-placed during this transition, we’ve appointed Colin as an interim acting CEO and we’re confident someone of his calibre will continue to progress us in the right direction.”

McDonald said the next three months would be crucial for the Toowoomba council, as it prepares its 2025-26 budget.

“As the former CEO of the largest local government organisation in Australia, Colin has experience managing an annual budget of $4.3 billion, serving a population of 1.3 million,” he said.

For his part, Jensen said he hoped to leave a “meaningful mark” on his new organisation.

“This is a wonderful part of Australia and one that I’m quite familiar with,” he said.