Andy Camm
As a real estate agent, do you think people will consider your role as Councillor to be a conflict of interest?
That is my biggest concern that I am an agent, and the public will see that as being a problem. At Council meetings, if something is brought up about development, I have to leave the room, and I like that policy because then there is no conflict. I can still give my opinion, but I’ve got to leave the room when they make decisions about planning.
Also, no-one can take any donation from a developer, it’s the number one thing on the ‘no-no’ list and I was happy when I read that because I have had a property person come to me and say they wanted to back me and I told them they couldn’t. That’s just how it is.
Your cousin Amanda Camm is the current state member for Whitsunday, do you think this gives you an edge over the other candidates?
I’ve always had an interest in politics, last year when Andrew Willcox ran for Dawson, it was thrown at me to put my name in for Mayor and I said no – that’s a full-time role and I can’t do it. But Amanda has always said – at least have a go at local government – she’s always been an advocate for that. Amanda has done a lot with local government before she went to state, so I will absolutely lean on her for advice.
Can you confirm where you live? If not in Cannonvale, how do you expect to serve the people in that zone?
I live in Conway at the moment, but you don’t have to be living in your seat to run, you only have to be living in the Whitsunday region. Having said that, I do believe the candidate should live in the area they are representing. In fact, I’ve got a block of land under contract at Whitsunday Lakes which is in Division 2. In addition, since 1998 my wife and I have owned six properties in Cannonvale. My postal address is Proserpine at the moment though.
We have recently published articles about local councillors working full time in another industry while receiving 70K p/year to work as a Councillor part-time. Given people in our community are working 40 + hours per week on a minimum wage, where do you sit on this?
Really good question. I’ve already spoken to the other Councillors to find out what sort of hours they are doing and it ranges anywhere from 10 to 30 a week. I am lucky because real estate is a very flexible job, if I was to become the new Councillor for Division 2, I’ve just got to be better with time management and I’ve got to work more hours. If I need to work seven days a week I will. I don’t want people to think this is a part time role, because it is not going to be.
As Tourism is one of our largest industries, what knowledge do you have of our local reef, its current condition and what is being done to help it?
It is critical that the natural beauty of the Whitsundays is managed properly. As the town has grown there doesn’t seem to be much management and planning. I would like to see us get people out of this district to see how other towns have been managed – Noosa is a good example.
Chris Harvey
As Tourism is one of our largest industries, what experience of that sector do you have? What knowledge do you have of our local the reef, its current condition and what is being done to help it?
Tourism is the main industry in both Division 2 and 1, I’d be keen to learn more about it for sure and where I can help. I have volunteered before with the Great Barrier Reef Festival and other events down here. I’ve also run on Whitehaven Beach with a Hamilton Island event. If we can get more people in to see the beauty of the reef, the islands, and the location then I’m all for it. It brings in extra money and extra jobs.
Can you confirm where you live? If not in Cannonvale, how do you expect to serve the people of Cannonvale and understand the issues in that zone?
I live in Proserpine, but I’ve always had a tie to Airlie Beach, my family is fourth generation from the area. My mum had shops in town when I was growing up and this is just an extension of Proserpine to me. It’s just another township that I’ve come to three or four times a week, running along the boardwalk, things like that.
Working in the trades industry, how does any experience you have relate to the business of politics? How do you think you will manage to have a voice in the local government?
With all the volunteering organisations I am part of, I feel like I’ve got a good basis of ground support where I can hear problems and ideas from the community. I am not just isolated to one organisation. I am part of the SES, Ambulance Committee, and others. There are so many good resources here in the electorate that I’ve got great ties with.
We have recently published articles about local councillors working full time in another industry while receiving 70K p/year to work as a Councillor part-time. Given people in our community are working 40 + hours per week on a minimum wage, where do you sit with this?
Financially, where I sit right now, I need to keep working. I’ve always worked two jobs; I am an auxiliary firefighter too. Being a Councillor would enable me to free up more time away from my full-time job to attend meetings and see people in the community. Instead of a seven-day roster, I’ll do a three day roster a fortnight so I get more hours in the day to be a Councillor. I would love to do it full-time but financially at the moment I can’t.
You mentioned in your last Q&A that you would like to see more footpaths and electric car charging points? Given the rental/living crisis our entire region is facing, do you think focusing on this issue is as important?
It kind of goes hand in hand, there’s a lot of people who can’t afford things like fuel in their car to travel. If you give them another means of travelling that doesn’t cost them anything, like riding a pushbike on a footpath. That’s one way they could save a lot of money to afford to live a good lifestyle. This makes the environment cleaner and it makes people healthier and live longer.
Clay Bauman
Where do you live, and do you believe it’s important for a Councillor to live within their electorate?
I live at Eshelby Drive in Cannonvale and Division 2 starts at the roundabout at the end of Eshelby Drive. So I am in Division 1. It is still a boundary but I live in Cannonvale, I am right there every day and I would have to live with the consequences of the decisions I make.
As Tourism is one of our largest industries, what knowledge do you have of our local reef, its current condition and what is being done to help it?
When I first came here, I did a lot of work on the Maxi Ragamuffin – when we went into Mackerel Bay for the first time, I started picking up rubbish. Then by the end of it, all the guests were picking up rubbish too. We took about 14 large bags of rubbish off! That was the sentiment of the tourists who used to come here.
In the 2017 Economic Development Plan we were promised a report on how many people can live in the area, and we need the same to happen out there too. We need to know when we are going to reach full development and then start planning from there back.
We need to spread the load, have other spots to take the tourists to. You cannot overload what’s out there and think you’ll be able to keep the quality up.
We have recently published articles about local councillors working full time in another industry while receiving 70K p/year to work as a Councillor part-time. Given people in our community are working 40 + hours per week on a minimum wage, where do you sit on this?
I already put at least 30 hours a week commitment into volunteering for the community and I already go to Council meetings regularly in my own time. It is very much a commitment that I already have that, if elected, I would be building upon. I do freelance video work, but I’ve always been lifestyle balanced. I also manage private sailing boats to get away from the computer, but I’ve already started to thin those out and delegate some away. As a freelancer I can choose to take on what I want to and being a Councillor would become my primary gig.
For many years you have been fighting against Council on causes that often dominate Council meetings. How do you think you can change your mindset so you can work effectively as a team member with the rest of the Councillors and Mayor so as not to get bogged down in the detail?
I’ve always gone in there with the intention to improve the quality of the information that is being given to the Councillors to make their decisions. I’ve always been in accordance with the local government act working for them to try and improve themselves.
I will go in and confront them when I think a recommendation has been made that I find hard to agree with. I’ve stood by my guns, but I’ve always been polite and respectful no matter how long I’ve been drawn out trying to get responses from Council. I’ve always accepted it’s just patience and commitment, it’s not about getting angry and demanding a response.
Dan Popovich
You are the only candidate that lives in the Division 2 electorate, how important do you think it is to be living within your electorate?
I think it is very important and very relevant standing as a Councillor that you are from the very Division that you intend to represent. I think it shows you have commitment and ‘skin in the game’. That doesn’t mean to say that candidates that don’t live in the Division do not have some value and worth, but I do absolutely think being a resident within the Division itself is very important.
We have recently published articles about local councillors working full time in another industry while receiving 70K p/year to work as a Councillor part-time. Given people in our community are working 40 + hours per week on a minimum wage, where do you sit with this?
I am going to be allocating half my time to my day job and half my time during the week to the Councillor role. If face-to-face meetings are required we will have a couple of days a week where they can be facilitated and if there are other things over the weekend I will be available for those also.
When Julie Hall was voted in as Mayor, you donated to her campaign. How did that unfold and was that influential in your decision to run for Councillor?
I contributed to Julie Hall’s campaign because we thought she would be a fresh face within the shire. I don’t feel there is any conflict of interest in that. The fact that we supported Julie and her campaign is just part of the process and we are pleased that she got elected.
I think it shows there is a change in our community, maybe a bit of a changing of the guard, and if that’s the case then I am a similar sort of person to bring some change in the community and represent the new views as well.
Given that you donated to Julie’s election campaign, what can you say to those who may think you would be a yes-man to anything she votes for in council meetings?
I will absolutely be my own man and I am there on behalf of the rate payers in my Division. Ethics and professionalism is what I do in my daily job and it’s the sort of thing that would carry through to my role as Councillor.
During COVID you were vocal about not getting vaccinated, to the point where you turned away clients who had been vaccinated. Can you please explain?
I was not anti-vax, I am pro-choice. It’s important that we have bodily autonomy and that’s something that is enshrined in international law and Federal law that we cannot be coerced or blackmailed, even in times of national emergency, to undergo a medical procedure that we do not consent to.
The issue about treating people who have been vaccinated is a clinical decision based on State and federal health information and guidance which indicates that there is a risk, albeit a rare risk, that vaccinations can cause micro-clots in the body and therefore manual therapy could dislodge a micro-clot and have some consequence that we wouldn’t like to be responsible for.
It was a very hard decision to make because we had been treating many people for years, but we felt it was best practice and best interest for the patient and the practitioner.
