Isaac Regional Council, Banana Shire, Central Highlands Regional Council, Dalby Regional Council and Roma Regional Council met with state government and industry representatives to start talks under the Sustainable Resources Communities Agreement.

The agreement was announced in Blackwater this month, with $100 million to be released over three years starting in 2009-10.

Issues raised in yesterday’s meeting covered the skills shortage, health, education, soft and hard infrastructure, community services and house and land availability.

For Dalby mayor Ray Brown, the biggest issue in the emerging Surat Basin is planning for the boom.

“The main issue for us is to get the economic and social infrastructure in place for the sorts of social impacts that will be occurring. We’re also learning from what has happened in the Bowen Basin and trying to not make similar mistakes,” Brown told International Longwall News.

“The Premier and the state has acknowledged that we do have problems and we are trying to address them.

“It is a great start and exciting time in our region. We are a very new region in this burning economy and we have the potential not only for our region but for our state and country – particularly coal seam gas and underground coal gasification.”

He added there were community concerns in the Surat Basin over coal seam gas by-product – an area for which he would most likely seek funding.

Central Highlands mayor Peter Maguire told ABC News roads and social housing needs would be high on the list of priorities for his region, which covers the coal rich area surrounding the township of Emerald.

Three more meetings are planned for November in Dalby, Dysart and Mt Isa.