Kris Kahler runs for Gympie’s Division 5 Council seat

Adding to his long league of accomplishments playing for the Broncos, Titans and Raiders, Gympie’s Kris Kahler is playing for a win in Division 5.

Former Titans, Broncos and Raiders player Kris Kahler is running for Gympie Council Division 5. Picture: supplied

Electrician by day and under 15s footy coach by evening, former NRL player Kris Kahler is making a red hot try at council in his bid to make Gympie great again.

“I actually think Gympie is great already, it’s just got to deal with the increase in population,” Mr Kahler said.

He said his thinking was “not at all” like Donald Trump, but thanked him for the free marketing.

Mr Kahler said brings to Gympie first-hand knowledge of sports, but also experience as an electrician specialising in lights at road and traffic intersections.

“The population in Gympie is exploding and it is just not keeping up,” he said.

“The Gympie Devils are still playing on the same fields I played on 25 years ago even though the population has tripled.”

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A photo of 15-year-old Kris Kahler in action on Jack Stokes Oval in 1998. Kahler went on to play in the NRL for the Broncos, Canberra and the Titans and is now trying out to win a seat at the Gympie council election.

This meant more than 400 juniors had to play on the one field, making training times inflexible and the team unable to host tournaments or carnivals, he said.

He said the state of the roads was “ridiculous”, as was the lack of traffic light and intersection upgrades around town.

He noted in particular the Brisbane and Graham Rd intersection and said it was “not acceptable” as Gympie had tripled in size and there was “no plans” at all to put lights in.

He decided to run for councillor after the area where he lives on Noosa Rd was rezoned three times without any notice from the council about it.

“The first change was OK, but then they changed it back to what it was because someone complained about it,” he said.

He was also sick of the constant patch-up jobs along Noosa Rd, particularly after the road smashed up his wife’s car tyres twice in one week.

“Council told us to send in a receipt and they would investigate,” he said.

“Their thorough investigation did not include contacting any references like my mechanic who fixed the tyres.”

He said the only response was another patch-up job on the road. 

“I think Gympie can do better,” he said.