No golden handshake for Cairns mayor’s top confidante, John Andrejic, prior to departure

New details can be revealed around Cairns mayor Amy Eden’s former campaign adviser and his abrupt exit from a top council job last month.

Cairns Regional Council Mayor Amy Eden and former interim CEO John Andrejic during the ordinary Council meeting on June 5th. Mr Andrejic has since departed the council.

New details can be revealed around Cairns mayor Amy Eden’s former campaign adviser and his abrupt exit from a top council job last month.

After guiding a spirited election run that even included a police complaint - where no action was taken - John Andrejic was named as the council’s interim chief executive by a panel chaired by Ms Eden in late May.

Cairns Regional council deputy mayor Brett Olds chaired a special meeting for councillors to vote for Ken Gouldthorp in as the council's next chief executive in October. Picture: Brendan Radke

But after councillors voted to recuse Ms Eden from a panel to appoint the permanent top boss, citing conflict of interest concerns, Mr Andrejic lost out to new CEO Ken Gouldthorp.

At a press conference last month, deputy mayor Brett Olds said the chartered accountant would receive an undisclosed pay out.

Cairns Mayor Amy Eden speaks to the media at the Cairns Hospital earlier this week. Picture: Brendan Radke

But Ms Eden has since confirmed that there was no golden handshake for her key confidante prior to departing.

“I can actually correct the record,” she said on Tuesday.

“What the deputy mayor should have said was that John Andrejic would be … what is the word I’m looking for.

“That he would be released from any further duties. So, he did not receive a payout. I can clarify that.”

Ken Gouldthorp is Cairns Regional Council’s new CEO. Picture: Adam Yip / Manly Daily

The mayor has now worked with two CEOs and two acting or interim CEOs since March, with multiple high level employees having also left during that period.

Ms Eden insisted that she and Mr Gouldthorp could have a productive working relationship.

“I can work with a lot of people,” she said.

“We’ve got jobs to do, so we’re getting on with it.”

It’s not the first time in recent weeks where the council has struggled to deliver correct information.

The Melbourne Demons played the Hawthorn Hawks in a round nine AFLW clash at Cazalys Stadium on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Picture: Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images

At a pre-game function prior to the Hawthorn Hawks’ AFLW clash last month at Cazalys, Ms Eden turned off some of the league’s top brass by welcoming the wrong club to town.

Ms Eden told around 80 distinguished guests she was pleased to see the Hawks taking on the Essendon Bombers in a Far North Queensland fixture.

Unfortunately, as a patron in the crowd pointed out, the Hawks’ fixture was against the Melbourne Demons.

Cairns Regional Council apologised for issuing an emergency alert on October 31 after a dam warning was sent in error.

The council was also forced to apologise after thousands of residents accidentally received emergency text messages alerting them to flooding and earthquakes in the region on October 31.

The messages — which were particularly distressing to victims of last year’s Far North floods — were false alarms.

Originally published as No golden handshake for Cairns mayor’s top confidante, John Andrejic, prior to departure