Gympie, Fraser Coast, Bundaberg councillor potential conflicts of interest revealed
31 councillors across Gympie, Fraser Coast and Bundaberg are active members of their communities, but strict conflict of interest laws mean every investment, donation and connection must be declared. Here is the full list of each councillors declared interests and businesses.
Gympie
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Local councillors are active members of the communities they represent but strict new laws around conflicts of interest for Queensland councils has left plenty of potential landmines to be tripped.
Show society memberships, private business interests and an “inappropriate” phone call from a developer are among the hundreds of registered interests detailed by the 31 councillors representing the three biggest regions in the Wide Bay on the Councillor Register of Interest; some can create hazards when it comes time to vote.
In the interests of transparency, the following is a full list of the registered interests of each councillor on the Bundaberg Regional Council, the Fraser Coat Regional Council and the Gympie Regional Council, taken from the Councillor Register of Interest
Gympie
Mayor Glen Hartwig
Mr Hartwig is the owner of a 62ha property at Downsfield.
His register lists a sandblasting business as another source of income but Mr Hartwig sold the company in November.
Deputy Mayor Hilary Smerdon
Mr Smerdon’s register lists him as a member of four organisations: team manager of a second division Mary Valley football team; president of the Lower Wonga Hall Committee; a life member of the Mary Valley Stags; and a patron of the Kilkivan Men’s Shed.
He receives other income from Miva Troughs and LGIA Super, and has been a recipient of Gympie Muster tickets.
Jess Milne
Cooloola Coast representative Jess Milne owns properties at Tin Can Bay and Bauple.
She is a member of five community groups, serving as president and secretary of the Cooloola Coast Youth Activity Project, president and centre manager of Cooloola Coast Little Athletics, president and secretary of the Tin Can Bay Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, president of the Tin Can Bay Lions Club and secretary of the Cooloola Coast Heritage and Historical Society.
Other interests on Ms Milne’s register include cleaning the Cooloola Coast Community Complex, membership of the QCWA Tin Can Bay branch, Cooloola Coast Residents and Friends, Cooloola Coastcare and SSAA Tin Can Bay branch.
Dolly Jensen
Mrs Jensen is a member of the Theebine Hall Committee and is a Gympie Show Society donor.
She owns a home at Theebine.
Shane Waldock
Mr Waldock’s business interests include Go West Gympie and S & J Waldock Investments.
He owns four properties in Gympie including a home, two residential properties and a rental.
Bruce Devereaux
Mr Devereaux’s main potential for conflict comes from his private work as a social media influencer, with Big W and Woolworths listed among his clients.
He owns a house in Gympie.
Dan Stewart
Mr Stewart owns a 2ha residential property at East Deep Creek and a rental townhouse at Annerley.
He is a member of the Australian Labor Party and is president of Avenues Lifestyle Support and secretary of the Cedar Pocket – Greens Creek Rural Fire Brigade.
Little Kids Day Out and Parkrun Victory Forest were among the other interests on Mr Stewart’s register.
He is a shareholder in 15 different companies including ALS, ANZ Banking, APA Group, Aurizon, ASX Ltd, BHP, National Australia Bank, RPM Global, South 32, Tassal Group, Westpac Group, Woodside Petroleum, Woolworths, Virgin Money and Endeavour Group.
Warren Polley
Mr Polley has an extensive list of businesses on his register.
The list includes: Polleys Coaches; Polleys Transport Investments; Tank Up; Highway Fuels; Kepolley; Wolseley Investment; Cheleq; Teshuqah; Polleys Investments; Kelley Holdings; Ethnesis; Eight Carp Education; Pinetech Manufacturing; and Innovative Surf Designs.,
He is the director of all 15 companies.
The division 7 councillor’s register lists two houses at Gympie and Jones Hill, and two commercial properties at Gympie and Tin Can Bay.
Mr Polley has memberships with the Queensland Bus Industry Council, Australian Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Gympie Chamber of Commerce, Roadcraft Driver Education and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Bob Fredman
Division 8’s Bob Fredman is a member of the National Trust Queensland and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia.
His properties include a 114 acre (46ha) property at Gilldora, and rentals at Toowong and Buderim.
Fraser Coast
Mayor George Seymour
The Fraser Coast mayor has membership with the Australian Labor Party and the Services Union.
He is the executive officer of Queensland Heritage Council, Save Maryborough Waterside Workers Hall, the Wide Bay Burnett Regional Organisation of Councils, and Regional Capitals Australia.
Mr Seymour owns a home at Hervey Bay
Deputy Mayor Darren Everard
Mr Everard is the president of the Hervey Bay Surf Life Saving Club and the deputy chair of Sail Hervey Bay.
The Fraser Coast council deputy mayor is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has shares in 16 companies.
These include Impedimed, Envirosuite Limited, Lynas Rare Earths, Osprey Medical, Aussie Broadband, AnteoTech, Magnetite Mines, Greenland Minerals, Analytica, Aldoro Resources, Cadence Capital, Latrobe Magnesium, Seven West Media, Tempus Resources, Magnis Energy Technologies, and Mount Gibson Iron.
He owns a home at Urangan.
James Hansen
Mr Hansen owns five properties, including three rentals at Maryborough, another at Agnes Water and a farm at Boompa.
He has shares in the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Bank of Queensland.
Phil Truscott
The division 2 councillor is a member of the Maryborough Sports Club and RACQ.
He is the director and secretary of Franklin Castle and Foley Truscott Property Service and owns shares in Osprey, ImpediMed, Seven West Media, Greenland Minerals and Southern Cross Media.
Mr Truscott has investments in Saxo Stock Brokers, City Index and Bell Potter, and has donated to OBD Melbourne, Vision Christian Media, and Scripture Union.
Paul Truscott
Mr Truscott is a member of the Shooters Union Queensland and a patron of the Maryborough Excelsior City Band.
He has donated to Tinana Christian Church and International Needs Australia.
The division 3 councillor owns shares in 10 companies: ANZ Banking Group; Commonwealth Bank; Cochlear Limited; Macquarie Group; Sonic Healthcare; Suncorp Group; Westpac Banking Corp; ImpediMed; RedFlow Limited; and Analytica.
He owns two properties at Maryborough.
Daniel Sanderson
Mr Sanderson is a board member and has donated to Reach Church Fraser Coast,
His wife Sotik Sanderson is the owner of several businesses, including Shalae Agency, Sotik Sahna, Olive Green Marketing and is a part-time worker at Cotton On, ties which Mr Sanderson has listed as potential conflicts of interest.
He owns property at Oakhurst and is a shareholder in Analytica.
Jade Wellings
Mrs Wellings is the director of Reddy Workforce and Forever Sunday.
Fifteen properties are listed on her register, including residential properties at Tinana, Dundowran Beach and Takura, along with three vacant blocks at Maryborough, two at Port Hedland and two at Mt Isa.
Two units are owned at Bundaberg, as well as accommodation at Port Hedland and a caravan park at Berry Springs.
Several of the properties are company owned.
Mrs Wellings holds shares in Forever Sunday, Reddy Workforce, Lakes Resort Village, QSD Hire, CMS No. 2, QSD, Telstra, and the Australian Foundation Investment Company.
David Lewis
Mr Lewis is the director of Fraser Coast Community Enterprise and a committee member of Sail Hervey Bay.
He has shares in AMP and owns two properties at Point Vernon and one at Pialba.
He is a member of the Queensland Law Society.
Denis Chapman
Mr Chapman is the director of, and owns shares in, Q Developers, as well as properties at Sunshine Acres and Kawungan.
He is a member of the LNP and Fraser Coast Hospice
David Lee
The division 9 councillor is the director of the DJ and JC Lee corporate trust, and the Queensland Baptist Education Company.
He is a committee member of the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal and owns a house at Torquay.
Mr Lee has shares in more than two dozen companies.
Zane O’Keefe
Mr O’Keefe is a member of the Queensland Labor Party.
His register lists no properties, shares or memberships with companies.
Bundaberg
Mayor Jack Dempsey
Mr Dempsey is an executive representative of the Local Government Association of Queensland, and director of Australian Local Government Association.
He owns a home at Kepnock, has donated to the LGAQ and listed 43 instances of having received support from the peak body through flights and accommodation.
Deputy Mayor Bill Trevor
Mr Trevor is the chairman of several organisations of Hinkler Divisional Council Federal LNP, Childers Hospital Community Reference Group, and Regional Development Wide Bay Australia.
He is a member of Liberal National Party Queensland, Isis Club Childers, Little Athletics Childers, and Apex Childers.
A Woodgate house, a joint venture farm contracting advice service called WR and GM Trevor, and shares in Agrifuels and Central Harvesting were other possible conflicts listed on his register.
Jason Bartels
Properties at Sharon and Woodgate and several saving accounts are listed on Mr Bartels’s register.
Wayne Honor
Mr Honor is the director of Coachtrail Investments and owns shares in Gin Gin Community Bendigo Bank.
He owns two properties at McIlwraith, one 248ha in size and another 28.8ha.
He has memberships in more than a half dozen organisations including the Meat and Livestock Association, Lake Monduran Advisory Management Committee, LDMG Gin Gin branch, Fleet Management Advisory Committee, Bundaberg Landfill Community Consultation Group, Community Conservation Advisory Committee, Wide Bay Burnett Regional Water Supply, Strategy Management Committee, and Reef Guardian Council.
Tracey McPhee
The division 4 councillor’s register of interests includes nine properties across the Bundaberg region, including two homes, two rentals, two cafes, a restaurant and two commercial rentals.
She is a committee member of the St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Board, is the director of (and has shares in) GE Bov Spirit and Tsedaqah No. 2, and the co-director of Jack Splat Paintball Bundaberg.
Other shares listed include Intrepid Pipeline and Praxis Developments.
Her brother-in-law’s company services the council’s cars and she is a member of Bundaberg Tourism, the Bundaberg Chamber of Commerce, and the Isis Chamber of Commerce.
Greg Barnes
Mr Barnes owns a home at Bargara and is the executive officer of Bargara Little Athletics, Bargara Remembers, and Bargara Progress Association.
He has shares in Abington Natural Feeds, Abington Marine and Abington Aquaculture.
Travel and accommodation sponsorships have been received from Bundaberg North Burnett Tourism, Lady Elliott Island Resort, Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard, Qantas Link, and Rhys and Roselle Cropper.
Mr Barnes has received gifts valued at $500 or more in discounted furniture from Harvey Norman Bundaberg and Cliff Crampton.
In 2018, Mr Barnes said he received a call from Sheng Wei, the proponent behind the Jewel Esplanade development proposed at Bargara, and was advised Mr Wei was bringing an associate from Nanning to Australia who would like to meet with Mr Barnes, as a shareholder in Abintong Aquaculture.
Mr Barnes told Mr Wei the call was “inappropriate” and ended it.
Tanya McLoughlin
Properties at Eudlo and Burnett Heads, a donation to St John the Divine Anglican Church and a position as an executive board member of Zonta Club of Bundaberg and savings accounts are the extent of Ms McLoughlin’s register.
Vince Habermann
Mr Habermann owns property at Bundaberg West, is the vice president of Brothers Cricket Club Bundaberg, a senior registrar of Bundaberg Cricket Association and a committee member of Bundaberg Relay For Life.
He has donated to the Catholic Parish of Bundaberg.
Steve Cooper
Mr Cooper has shares in ICU Solutions, Crestkit Holding, and Steve and Diane Cooper Superannuation.
He has a one-third share in vacant land at Bundaberg Central for “future development”
May Mitchell
Mrs Mitchell is a member of the Services Union, the Australian Local Government Women’s Association, and GetUp.
She owns a property at Kalkie.
John Learmonth
Mr Learmonth is the director and secretary of Pathrose, Pathrose No. 2 and JoDo Super.
He has shares in those companies, as well as Joy Learmonth Developments, Pact Group Holdings, National Australia Bank, G8 Education, Flight Centre Travel Group, Challenger Limited, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking Group, and Atlas Arteria.
The register lists properties at Kalkie and Bargara, and he has donated to the Bundaberg Arts Prize, The McGrath Foundation, Vietnam Veterans Association, Walkervale State School P & C, and Bundaberg Show Society.
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