2021 Rockhampton mayoral by-election
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The 2021 Rockhampton mayoral by-election was held on 23 January 2021 to elect a new mayor of the Rockhampton Region in Queensland, Australia.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of long-serving mayor Margaret Strelow, who resigned on 9 November 2020 after the Councillor Conduct Tribunal found that she had engaged in misconduct.[1]
Her resignation came just seven months after she had been re-elected as mayor of Rockhampton Regional Council at the 2020 Queensland local elections, where she was elected with 68.85% of the vote ahead of her only competitor, anti-mining environmentalist Chris "Pineapple" Hooper who achieved 31.15% of the vote.[2]
With a record field of 17 candidates, the by-election attracted considerable media interest.[3]
Background[edit]
Following the 2020 local elections, it came to light that the Queensland Government had passed an Electoral and Other Legislation Bill which effectively changed local government legislation so that in the event a mayor should resign or become incapacitated within twelve months following an election, a by-election would not be required. It meant that the person with the second highest votes at the preceding mayoral election would instead become the mayor by default.
Strelow strongly objected to this change, as did Gladstone Region mayor Matt Burnett and Shadow Minister for Local Government, Ann Leahy.[4][5] Leahy said that a runner-up filling the vacancy after an election was a "significant departure from the existing legislation" and pondered how appointing a runner-up could be a reflection of the electorate's wishes if, hypothetically, they had won just 11% of the vote but the departing mayor had managed to win with 80% of the vote.[5]
In defence of the bill, Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the changes were to discourage newly elected mayors and councillors from leaving office to which they had just been elected to, particularly when local and state elections were held just seven months apart every four years, and was also in response to concerns raised by councils about the expense of by-elections.[5]
Prior to her resignation, Strelow attracted media attention after she posted a video of herself covered in bubble wrap on Facebook to illustrate how cautious she was being, fearing that something may happen to her which could see Hooper become mayor.[6]
Councillor Conduct Tribunal findings[edit]
In November 2020, the Councillor Conduct Tribunal found Strelow to have engaged in misconduct after she had failed to update her Register of Interests to include a hospitality benefit from mining company Adani following an official trip to India with other dignitaries including Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and other mayors from Queensland in 2017.[1]
Adani had paid for flights and for a dinner, totalling $1,670 per person.[1]
The Department of Local Government wrote to Rockhampton Regional Council's chief executive officer in June 2018, advising that the hospitality provided by Adani needed to be listed on Strelow's Register of Interests, which Strelow failed to do despite updating the register with other items three times after the CEO received the letter.[7]
The Office of Independent Assessments wrote to the council's CEO again in June 2019 requesting action be taken.[7] But after Strelow failed to mention Adani's hospitality from the India trip, they handed down a decision on 2 June 2020, finding Strelow to have engaged to misconduct, ordering her to apologise, make the necessary changes to her Register of Interests and then undergo training.[7]
Strelow's resignation[edit]
Strelow announced her resignation on 9 November 2020.[8]
In an address on her Facebook page, Strelow said her refusal to agree that she had been compromised by the visit to India was a matter of personal integrity and said she could not agree that a reasonable person would have believed she had been compromised.[8] She also added that she had acted in accordance with her own conscience and on the advice of senior legal practitioners and officers from the Department of Local Government.[8]
Her resignation prompted a series of tributes from local Central Queensland community and business leaders including from the Capricornia Chamber of Commerce, Regional Development Australia, SMW Group and Bravus.[9]
Despite deputy mayor Neil Fisher being appointed as the acting mayor of Rockhampton Regional Council in Strelow's absence, there was confusion as to who Strelow's successor would be.
With the well-publicised changes to the local government legislation in state parliament, some local media outlets assumed that as runner-up in the mayoral election held earlier in the year, Chris "Pineapple" Hooper had essentially become the mayor-elect by default, which prompted a slew of national media stories about the unusual situation.[8][10]
However, soon after Strelow's resignation, Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe announced that a new bill would be introduced and swiftly passed through state parliament to amend the legislation, retrospectively reverting it back to ensure a by-election would be held.[11]
Hooper attempted to enter a council meeting at City Hall to be sworn in as mayor after accepting the offer, but was prevented from doing so.[12]
Mayoral by-election[edit]
A by-election was subsequently called for Saturday, 23 January 2021.[13]
It was Rockhampton's first mayoral by-election since 31 October 1953, which was held following the resignation of mayor Rex Pilbeam, who had been elected to office the previous year.[14] Pilbeam resigned after finding himself embroiled in a public scandal after suffering a serious gunshot wound when an attempt was made on his life by his mistress, who attempted to murder him on 8 June 1953.[15] In that instance, Pilbeam stood in the ensuing by-election where he was re-elected.[16] He went on to serve as the mayor of Rockhampton City Council for thirty years until he was defeated in 1982, while also concurrently serving as the state MP for Rockhampton South from 1960 until 1969.[17]
A record total of 17 candidates contested the mayoral by-election, including Hooper and four sitting councillors, Tony Williams (Division 3), Cherie Rutherford (Division 5), Donna Kirkland (Division 7) and Shane Latcham (Division 1).[3]
Other contenders were urban strategist Russell Claus, mine worker Bronwyn Laverty-Young, driving instructor Leyland Barnett, logistics specialist Christian Shepherd, fruit and vegetable retailer Dominic Doblo, Sir Graham McCamley's grandson Remy McCamley, sports administrator Rob Crowe, camera operator Christopher Davies, pastor John Rewald, Bulloo Shire finance manager Brett Williams, teacher Miranda Broadbent and business strategist Nyree Johnson.[18]
Results[edit]
The by-election was won by Tony Williams, who had 58.76% of the vote after preferences were distributed.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Tony Williams | 11,103 | 24.82 | +24.82 | |
| Independent | Russell Claus | 6,975 | 15.59 | +15.59 | |
| Independent | Chris Hooper | 5,491 | 12.28 | −18.87 | |
| Independent | Cherie Rutherford | 4,560 | 10.19 | +10.19 | |
| Independent | Donna Kirkland | 4,094 | 9.15 | +9.15 | |
| Independent | Nyree Johnson | 3,232 | 7.23 | +7.23 | |
| Independent | Dominic Doblo | 2,539 | 5.68 | +5.68 | |
| Independent | Rob Crow | 1,748 | 3.91 | +3.91 | |
| Independent | Shane Latcham | 1,139 | 2.55 | +2.55 | |
| Independent | John Rewald | 930 | 2.08 | +2.08 | |
| Katter's Australian | Christian Shepherd | 758 | 1.69 | +1.69 | |
| Independent | Miranda Broadbent | 633 | 1.42 | +1.42 | |
| Liberal National | Leyland Barnett | 573 | 1.28 | +1.28 | |
| Independent | Bronwyn Laverty-Young | 289 | 0.65 | +0.65 | |
| Independent | Remy McCamley | 235 | 0.53 | +0.53 | |
| Independent | Brett Williams | 226 | 0.51 | +0.51 | |
| Independent | Christopher Davies | 203 | 0.45 | +0.45 | |
| Total formal votes | 44,728 | 97.44 | 0.00 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,174 | 2.56 | 0.00 | ||
| Turnout | 45,902 | 100 | 0.00 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Tony Williams | 15,957 | 58.57 | N/A | |
| Independent | Russell Claus | 11,184 | 41.24 | N/A | |
| Labor gain from Independent | Swing | N/A | |||
Aftermath[edit]
Due to Williams being elected as mayor, another by-election was called to fill his vacancy in Division 3, which was uncontested in 2020.[20]
The by-election was held on 13 March 2021 and won by independent Grant Mathers, a former sales and corporate events manager who had worked as the site manager at Beef Australia in 2015.[21][22] He is also the brother of sitting Division 5 councillor Cherie Rutherford.[23]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Grant Mathers | 2,082 | 45.88 | +45.88 | |
| Independent | Deanna Beatson | 1,397 | 30.78 | +30.78 | |
| Liberal National | Leyland Barnett | 451 | 9.94 | +9.94 | |
| Katter's Australian | Christian Shepherd | 414 | 9.12 | +9.12 | |
| Independent | Dave Bauer | 194 | 4.28 | +4.28 | |
| Total formal votes | 4538 | 95.38 | |||
| Informal votes | 220 | 4.62 | |||
| Turnout | 4758 | 100.00 | |||
| Independent gain from Labor | Swing | N/A | |||
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Councillor misconduct complaint - summary of decision" (PDF). Councillor Conduct Tribunal. Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs (Queensland Government). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "2020 Local Government Elections: Rockhampton Regional Mayor (Official First Preference Count)". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Queensland Government. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ a b Hines, Jasmine; Mayers, Laura; McGhee, Rachel (4 January 2021). "Record Rockhampton mayoral contenders state their plans for the region ahead of by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Smith, Kaitlyn (22 June 2020). "What happens to Rocky if Strelow can't serve". The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Gibbs, Nick (23 June 2020). "'Outrageous': Council vacancy rule change slammed". The Observer. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Cox, Timothy (15 October 2020). "Mayor dons bubbly armour to defend against Hooper takeover". The Morning Bulletin. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ a b c McCutcheon, Peter (11 November 2020). "Analysis: Margaret Strelow's move to quit Rockhampton mayoralty sends an odd signal about integrity". ABC News. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d Jarrett, Vanessa (9 November 2020). "Strelow resigns as mayor amid misconduct claims". The Morning Bulletin. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Pearce, Matthew (13 November 2020). "Praise for Strelow". Central Queensland Today. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Smith, Kaitlyn (9 November 2020). "Rocky's accidental mayor after shock resignation". The Morning Bulletin. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Dennien, Matt (10 November 2020). "Hinchcliffe to close door on runners up landing mayor job". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Lynch, Lydia (26 November 2020). "'Pineapple' blocked from mayor job as Labor rushes through laws". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Rockhampton and Townsville council by-elections on 23 January 2021". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Queensland Government. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Mayor resigns, recontests poll". The Morning Bulletin. 1 September 1953. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Promise to marry girl: Rockhampton's mayor's admissions". The Telegraph. 27 August 1953. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Pilbeam voted back to office as mayor". The Morning Bulletin. 2 November 1953. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Calderwood, Kathleen (7 June 2013). "The day Rockhampton's mayor was shot by his mistress". The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Cox, Timothy (19 January 2021). "Learn about each mayoral candidate". The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Evans, Duncan (4 February 2021). "Rockhampton's new mayor". Central Queensland Today. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Houley, Jann (12 February 2021). "Rockhampton to head back to the polls in March". The Morning Bulletin. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "2021 Rockhampton Div 3 By-election: Official First Preference Count". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Queensland Government. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
Elected candidate: Mathers, Grant Desmond
- ^ Mathers, Grant (6 March 2021). "Grant Mathers: Candidate, Division 3 Councillor - Local, Like You". Councillor Grant Mathers. Facebook. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Jarrett, Vanessa (14 March 2021). "By-election latest counts show likely brother-sister win". The Morning Bulletin. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.