Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Race To Be Mayor

Peter J Hood

1: Council can deal, in a limited way, with repercussions from increased financial stress. While we have lower house prices compared to many other areas in Queensland (and consequently lower interest repayments) we also have some of the highest rates and insurance premiums.

I’ve hammered home over the past couple of years Whitsunday rates can and should come down. As Mayor I would immediately Conduct my own audit of council spending (zero cost to residents for the audit) and look at the budget priorities we have.

I also believe we can reduce the hoops many buyers need to jump through to be able to build and buy locally.

2: If I weren’t running, I’d take a close look at each of the candidates. I’ve copped some criticism because some candidates believe you need to be a Councillor before you run for Mayor. I have to say that their performance to date as a Councillor hasn’t been spectacular enough to fill me with any sort of confidence.

One of the advantages of a by-election at this time is that no matter who you vote for you can get rid of them in two years. I have been dealing with the top-end of local, State and Federal governments as a Principal Accountant in Public Practice for 44+ years.

Working with state and federal governments, particularly around funding, requires a professional approach. There’s also a need to get the basics right before we waste money on things that are not essential.

3: I think we can make a good case for upgrading the Bruce Highway between Mackay and Townsville, floodproofing Goorganga and Hamilton Plains and developing a sealed road between Proserpine and Collinsville. Housing is obviously an area of need for our region. I’d argue that many essential medical services need incentives to encourage providers.

We also need to support our residents and to take the lead from them. We can’t tell people what they need, Council should be prepared to listen and act.

Julie Hall

1: The interest rate rises are going to place more and more pressure on the cost of living, and this will have a run-on affect to our community, businesses, and our tourism industry. People stop spending money on non-essentials when times are tough.

Advocating for more support from Federal and State Government for our businesses, tourism and our industries and ensuring Council is doing all it can do to protect the economic development of the region.

This is not a time to be placing more pressure on our locals with higher rates and we should be looking at where we can save money, especially wasted money, this I believe is an absolute must.

Listening to the needs of the community as we move through these times, so we have enough foresight and planning to adapt and change as required. This will require a leader who is willing to step outside the box and who is willing to bring new initiatives to the table.

Our local community groups are an essential part of supporting the people in our community that are doing it tough and as a community we can all do more to help and support. My vision is to pull together the Whitsunday region and stop the division of us and them. Together we will be stronger and more resilient and together we will get through these tough times.

2: I would give my vote to Phil Batty if I wasn’t running as he has similar values to me. He is genuine in his vision of doing what’s right and helping the community first and foremost.

3: I have already made many State and Federal government contacts since running in the last Federal Election and I will be leveraging on these contacts to advocate for our region to ensure we are not forgotten up here in the north and we receive our fair share of funding.  

Al Grundy

1: Council can support our community by being as effective and efficient as possible to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely. We are moving into a period that has not been experienced by a great majority of our community, with rising interest rates and rising costs of living, greater than wages growth. These recent economic pressures come on top of the housing shortage and challenges presented to businesses with staff shortages.

For the next few years, the most important role for the Mayor and the Councillors is to keep a close eye on expenditure to ensure that rates and utility charges are kept to an absolute minimum, while maintaining the services of Council at the best possible standards. The work of advocacy for the Mayor will also be very important, meeting with local, state and federal politicians and agencies to ensure the financial assistance from grants and programs is fairly and equitably distributed back to our community.

On financial management, another area I want our CEO to focus on is achieving the best possible returns from the commercial business units. By ensuring we are realising a return from the business units we can help reduce the pressures on the general rates from rising costs, such as wages, fuels, fleet and consumables.

2: If I was not running, I would want a candidate who had experience in local government and running a small to medium size business. One of the things that I have found since becoming a councillor in April 2020, is that it takes around a year to understand the legislative requirements and processes for conducting Council business.

3: I have over 10 years of experience advocating for this community, in particular during the period after Cyclone Debbie. I have represented this community in Canberra with politicians and bureaucrats on two occasions, and have hosted numerous politicians and agencies on local visits to the area. I have also presented papers to senate estimate hearings and been asked to represent the area on numerous committees. The most important advocacy is the with Financial Assistance Grants, where grants from the Federal Government are distributed back for Councils to work on programs, such as the local road network.

Mike Brunker

1: Cost of living pressures are always at the front of mind when you are a Councillor. Framing our budgets for the region, we are sure to make certain that, while all of our water and sewerage budgets should be self-funding, we balance that principle with the affordability of our rates each year.

That's why over the six years since Cyclone Debbie and the Covid outbreak, we have only raised the general rates twice, as well as still trying to provide the communities with a good standard of services that are expected today.

2: I obviously have voted for myself, as I believe I have the most experience as a Mayor to make sure we as a Whitsunday Regional Council still get our fair share of funding from State and Federal governments.

But, if I wasn't running for Mayor, I would probably vote for Al Grundy. Although he has not been on Council for long, I believe he has more – a lot more - credibility and integrity than the others. You cannot say one thing around the council chambers and a different thing out in the community. So, for me, it would be Al Grundy.

3: As I said: I have the experience of running a Council as a Mayor as I've spent 22 years in Local Government with 15 of those years as Mayor. So, I do know my way around, which is important when lobbying State and Federal Ministers for project funding or support for our communities.

It's crucial that after this election, whoever has the honour of leading the mighty Whitsunday Regional Council, that we get straight back to business and work as a united group without any hard feelings or backstabbing. It is a bare minimum that the voting public would expect.

So Just Vote 1 Michael Brunker - you don't have to fill in every square - and stick with experience.

Jan Clifford

1: As a councillor, I have no control over the interest rates.

2: I have no interest in voting for any other candidates.

3: As a long serving Councillor for many years, I have both formed professional friendships and strengthened others with both levels of governments on both sides of the political aisle. As a Director of Regional Development Australia for the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday region I become aware of funding opportunities in their early stages and am able to react quickly. I will, through my contacts, continue to push for additional funding such as the Works for Queensland State government initiative and ensure that these funds are shared equitably across the entire region.

Phil Batty

1: Council cannot control interest rates and inflation rates in any meaningful way, what council can do is not continually impose rates, fees and charges to the community which compound the global and national impacts.

Council can and must do better in terms of budgeting and wasteful spending, like every household it must very quickly adapt how business is done to get better value for every dollar spent thus minimising and holding the line on rate increases, charges and other income lines like parking fees and all other revenue lines from the public. This focus and prudence will relieve and assist the continual stresses caused by interest and inflation.

2: I can understand the dilemma currently presented to the resident in deciding who to vote for. Each of the candidates have different strengths and different political leanings. The difficulty as with any election is separating what you are told from what will be achieved. Whoever gets elected, and I am not going to pick one, I would hope has the vision to improve this region and the strength to lead and manage a council to make these things happen.

3: This is where my strengths will really bring results. Firstly, modelling and planning before approaching state and federal governments is mandatory. Fully costed clearly articulated proposals with ROI and risk profiles in place addressing the need and benefits to the current community and that of future generations must be completed before asking for support. Simply asking for money will never work in the current financial climate.

Then getting these proposals into the right hands, knocking on doors, knocking again and pressing the case. Having the answers to the obvious questions which will come back. Then sell the region and show that Council is ready and able to deliver on all their plans to compliment this investment. Do the work well to make the government’s decision to offer support easier and publicly acceptable.

I can and will lead this approach if elected as Mayor, the Mayor for all the people of this region.

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