AN AWKWARD situation with a visiting state politician is what sparked Maranoa councillor Cameron O'Neil to change the rules to allow councillors to be reimbursed for expenses associated with alcohol on council business.

When Assistant Minister for State Development Julieanne Gilbert visited Roma to open the flood mitigation projects and the airport runway resurfacing on March 23, the council extended an invitation for the MP to have dinner with the elected representatives on her arrival the night before.

However, the visiting MP soon offered to buy her own bottle of wine when the council's reimbursement policy restricted hospitality expenses for visiting dignitaries only to the position of mayor, who was not present.

At the general council meeting on March 27, deputy mayor Jan Chambers moved that the council adopt the revised Expenses Reimbursement Policy, which included the amended meals and beverages clause that states:

"Notwithstanding this clause, in instances where an elected member is hosting a dignitary/ dignitaries at the invitation of council, hospitality may include the purchase of alcoholic beverages by either direct payment by council or reimbursement to the councillor.”

The motion was carried 8-1 and as of March 27, councillors can now buy visiting MPs wine and alcoholic beverages.

Councillor O'Neil ended up footing the bill on the night but said the wine wasn't the issue, instead calling it a wasted opportunity to advocate for the region.

"Our region is very large in geography but relatively small in population, so it's important that we capture every opportunity to advocate for infrastructure investment,” Cr O'Neil said.

"This was an important opportunity for council to showcase our region and advocate for key projects and investment opportunities.

"A key topic at the function was water and sewerage infrastructure and the need for State Government partnership to address our ageing infrastructure.”