Lachlan Cosgrove puts hand up for Fraser Coast Regional Council

The winner of a reality television show and former radio presenter has put his hand up for Division 6 in the Fraser Coast election.

Lachlan Cosgrove

A former radio announcer and reality TV star has put his hand up to run for a spot on the Fraser Coast council.

Hervey Bay’s Lachlan Cosgrove said he was committed to helping to make the community a better place to live and was standing for Division 6 at next month’s council elections.

Mr Cosgrove, who has a partner of six years with whom he shares a young son, said he had always had an interest in government and how it affected people’s lives.

He said while politics was not everyone’s cup of tea, his interest in it stemmed from the fact that governance was “so important to our lives”.

“It can ultimately affect citizens day to day,” he said.

“My interest stems from the fact of knowing that despite it being something that a lot of people are disenfranchised with or disengaged with, it still does hold importance in shaping the lives of people and I think local government is that level that is closest to people and an area where we can really make impacts on the community we want to live in, the area that we want to live in and really the quality of life for people on the Fraser Coast.”

Mr Cosgrove is one of 26 people who will stand for the upcoming Fraser Coast Regional Council election.

Lachlan Cosgrove

Mr Cosgrove, who owns his own business providing disability support full-time, said a number of issues had been raised with him since he announced his candidacy, including traffic congestion and road safety.

“Particularly I think through the Eli Waters area of Division 6,” he said.

“I feel like we’re kind of experiencing the after-effects of a suburb for thoroughfare traffic and is now sort of struggling to now bear the brunt of that.”

Mr Cosgrove said he’d like to consult with the community to explore how to make it safer without creating unnecessary impediments for residents along the way.

He said he was also aware of community safety and crime in the region, as many people were.

“I would want to bring a focus on that, understanding that that will require working with local police and the state government to see how we as a council can best improve in that area.

“One of the most tangible things that we could do is looking to how we could potentially provide the use of CCTV to help our local police, but there’s other things too, just essentially building relationships, supporting the mayor in developing the necessary relationships between council and local police and community groups so that we can essentially make people feel safer and as if their property and person is protected.”

Candidate Lachlan Cosgrove.

Another issue Mr Cosgrove was interested in was better guidelines around new housing developments, including implementing established trees and larger, better green spaces into developments.

“I think we’re missing opportunities currently when we do have new housing developments popping up around the place as they seem to be at a pretty rapid rate these days, when parks and gardens and green space are going in, maybe they’re a little bit scant on facilities, but also size-wise they’re not big enough to support large parts of our community for recreation,” he said.

“I think the missed opportunity is if we have inner suburban green spaces for the recreation of our community, we can take some pressure off the Esplanade foreshore, which is always going to be the gem in Hervey Bay’s crown, but take some pressure off the Esplanade foreshore for outdoor recreation in our community as we grow.”

The completion of the Maryborough to Hervey Bay rail trail was also another focus for Mr Cosgrove, which he described as a “giant tourism opportunity”.

With fellow Division 6 candidate Chris Pearse an outspoken opponent to a 21-storey development proposed for Torquay, Mr Cosgrove also weighed in on the subject.

While he would not comment on particular projects, speaking generally Mr Cosgrove said he felt there was a range of views across the community regarding building heights on the Esplanade.

Beauty and the Geek star Lachlan Cosgrove in Maryborough. Photo: Karleila Thomsen / Fraser Coast Chronicle

“A lot of people I speak to I think fall in a sort of medium rise zone of maybe eight to 14 stories as something they feel would be an ideal,” he said.

If there were to be applications above that height, Mr Cosgrove said he would consider the development on its merits and with regard for community feedback.

Mr Cosgrove has previously run for Division 10 during a by-election when current Mayor George Seymour was elected to his current role.

He worked as a radio presenter and Hit 101.9 Fraser Coast from 2014 to 2019.

Mr Cosgrove also made headlines as the winner of Australian television Beauty and the Geek in 2011.

At the time, Mr Cosgrove said while he wasn’t going to run for parliament any time soon, his experience on the show could come in handy in the future.

“There’s a distinct lack of washed-up reality TV stars in parliament today,” he said.

“I could start my own party.”

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