Councillor Jade Wellings will not contest Division 5 in 2024
Popular Fraser Coast Councillor Jade Wellings has revealed why she’s calling time on her role and how she chose the woman to whom she hopes to pass the torch.
Fraser Coast
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Rushing through the timber door of her Dundowran Beach home, fresh from a meeting, Jade Wellings kicks off her heels and explains she’s got 10 minutes for an interview before she has to race upstairs with her laptop for a video call.
There’s barely time to grab “Tickles” the ragdoll cat who is trying to sneak through the still-open gap in the door or sit down to dinner for show and tell about daycare paintings, basketball scores and the freshly fallen out tooth proudly displayed on the kitchen counter.
It’s what the popular Division 5 councillor and mum of three signed up for and, 95 per cent of the time, has loved, but she knows it’s time for a change.
The decision was not an easy one and might not have been made just yet had she not had the chance to get to better know one of her constituents, Michelle Govers.
Up until the recent resignation of Division 7 councillor Darren Everard and election of Jan Hegge in his place, Mrs Wellings was the lone woman out of 11 councillors.
While she’s never been one for set quotas, she believes a mix of different perspectives is essential to good governance, was pleased to see Ms Hegge step into Mr Everard’s shoes and hoped hers would also be filled by a strong woman with whom she shared similar values and a passion for the region.
She’d met Ms Govers, a former business owner and government staffer, at a networking event for professionals but it was only when she flagged interest in running for Mr Everard’s seat that the two started to get to know each other better.
Ms Govers would later tell the Chronicle she only considered running for a division outside of where she lived because “Division 5 already had such a strong councillor in Jade” but when she realised that might soon be changing, many a coffee and catch up was had before both agreed to a” passing of the baton of sorts”.
Asked why she’s choosing to publicly back a candidate, Mrs Wellings says “Michelle has a deep love for our community and the knowledge and skills required to do well serving us on the council.
“Knowing Michelle is putting her hand up gives me the confidence I need that our region will be in good hands,” she adds.
While she hopes her “endorsement” of Ms Govers will encourage voters to consider her first, the councillor understands it’s ultimately up to the electorate to decide who they want to represent them and acknowledges some may be surprised by the move.
From the beginning however, she made clear she’d be serving as a councillor on her terms.
Passionate about getting outcomes and answers quickly, her strong opinions, practical approach and private corporate background sometimes clashed with the slow pace of certain processes and red tape that can come with government bureaucracies.
She sends out her own newsletter and regularly posts newsreader style video reels wrapping up decisions and highlights at each monthly meeting.
Clear wins for her have included “changes to local laws to support the use of caravans as temporary accommodation, changing places facilities to assist with our most vulnerable who live with a disability and the pump tracks for youths, as well as countless footpaths and park embellishments”.
Other major changes she’s had a hand in have been more controversial including her speech about the history-making approval of the region’s first 16-storey building and her firm support for the new community library and council administration building in Hervey Bay.
She’s also a stickler for councillor meeting attendance (not just the monthly official meetings but the committee workshops, planning meetings and agenda forums in between) and has openly expressed frustration when some of her colleagues have regularly been no-shows.
‘I just feel like people in our community who vote us in expect us to show up,” she explains
“Obviously there will be times when people are on leave or have an emergency but in general, council executives make time to be at these briefings so they can provide us with all the information we need and we can ask questions of them to ensure we are making the best decision for the Fraser Coast, there are only 11 seats around that table, it is a privilege to hold one, so I think it’s really important that whoever is elected to serve the community shows up wherever possible.”
For Mrs Wellings, the decision to run as a councillor was never about the money.
Former roles as a real estate agency owner/principal and with the family’s network of workforce accommodation sites, caravan parks and other ventures, earned more significant salaries but she “loves her community and after having children wanted to contribute to making it a better place for them and for other young people”.
As that family business continues to grow at a rapid pace, she’s keen to make a more “substantial” contribution to its running and future.
With the help of her husband Michael, to whom she is “grateful for all the support he has given during my time on council so that I could work hard for our community”, she feels she‘s managed the juggle with work and raising children the best she can but also knows it’s an additional pressure.
Still, her advice for any parents of young children thinking about running in the next election is “do it – it’s a very family-friendly and manageable role”.
“I might be taking my son to basketball on a Friday at 4pm, but then could be up on a Sunday night reading the agenda,” she says
“You can still achieve a lot while having plenty of flexibility over your own schedule.”
Mrs Wellings spoke to this publication ahead of her official announcement on Tuesday.
She will continue to serve on the council until the March 2024 Local Government election at which point her friend and colleague David Lee will step away from his position on the council so he can focus on contesting the state election as Hervey Bay’s LNP candidate.
Division 5 predecessor Rolf Light has confirmed his candidacy for Division 10 which is currently held by councillor Zane O’Keefe and also being contested by young professional Luke Strochnetter.
Division 6 councillor David Lewis is also expected to retire from the council, but no other departures have yet been confirmed.
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