125 turn out at the Tin Can Bay forum

Job, tourism and keeping youth occupied were the main concerns of Cooloola Coast residents who attended the Gympie region’s first election forum at Tin Can Bay.

THE CONTENDERS: (From left) Jessica Milne, Derek Hume, Bevan Reibel, Mark McDonald, George Groth and Mick Curran at Tin Can Bay on Wednesday night.

JOBS, tourism and keeping youth occupied were the main concerns of Cooloola Coast residents who attended the Gympie region's first election forum at Tin Can Bay on Wednesday night.

Extra seats were needed to cater for a packed Tin Can Bay Country Club, where about 125 people turned up to hear the platforms of Division 1 candidates Mark McDonald, Jessica Milne and Bevan Reibel.

Run by the Tin Can Bay Chamber of Commerce, the evening, which was also the first of four forum appearances for mayoral contenders Derek Hume, George Groth and incumbent Mayor Mick Curran, proved to be smooth sailing.

Mr Groth, a self-confessed boatie from way back, spoke about his passion for attracting people to the area to pave the way for the future generation. Mr Hume, who said the values of the region were worth fighting for, aimed to increase camping at Inskip Point. This was awkwardly met with a reminder from the audience about the Parks and Wildlife cancellation of 400 campsites following the huge near-shore landslide last September.

Incumbent Mayor Cr Curran, who spoke with ease of the council's achievements in the area, promised if re-elected to do away with the waste management levy and to make low-lying Coondoo Bridge, which floods easily and cuts the Cooloola Coast off from Gympie, a priority.

Division 1 candidate Bevan Reibel enthusiastically talked about improving transport and got a loud cheer when he voiced his intention to open up Queen Elizabeth Dr and "get the traffic out of our community".

Councillor Mark McDonald steadfastly talked about the council's recent improvements to the Tin Can Bay foreshore and the progress of the proposed jetty plan at Norman Point.

Mr Reibel, though, asked if $7 million would be better spent on more than one project to boost the region, such as the proposed splash park.

Candidate Jessica Milne bounced on to the stage with passion and keen to fill the role of councillor as she saw it - a caretaker of the community. She said more facilities were needed at Cooloola Cove and believed the key to drawing visitors to the region was to make the most of the natural wonders such as the Great Sandy Strait.

Residents expressed concern that Rainbow Beach received three times as much from the council compared to Cooloola Cove and Tin Can Bay.

Mayor Mick Curran said Tin Can Bay should not be competing with Rainbow Beach, but rather utilising their visitors.

One long-term resident, who may have reflected the feelings of many, called it how it was.

"There was a lot of passion, but not much in the way of specifics," he said at the end of the night.

Concrete ideas about youth employment, tourism and the stability of the economy were lacking, but perhaps the benefit of the doubt should be given to the candidates who only had three minutes to tell people why they should vote for them.