Naomi Wilson to contest Glen Hartwig for Gympie Mayor

Former paramedic, military transport driver, businesswoman and carpenter Naomi Wilson has announced her intention to run for Gympie region mayor at the March 16 election. This is what she had to say:

Former paramedic, military transport driver, businesswoman and carpenter Naomi Wilson has announced her intention to run for Gympie region mayor at the March 16 election.

“Mum used to always say: ‘Never say no if an opportunity arises,” Ms Wilson said.

“And dad used to say bite off more than you can chew.”

Taking on multiple roles, careers and jobs means Ms Wilson has experience from all walks of life and industries.

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“Having at times lived well below the poverty line, and watching money just gets spent on stuff that you just think that’s not a million dollar project, and yet, people are paying for that,” she said.

“We’ve got people living in what looks like really flashy houses with no furniture in it, because by the time they pay for childcare, rates and mortgage, they don’t actually have anything left.”

Ms Wilson is the person behind Operation Christmas Hamper, where she collects donations and delivers hampers to those in need over Christmas - last Christmas she delivered 239 hampers across Gympie.

Naomi Wilson is running for Gympie Mayor against Glen Hartwig. Picture: Christine Schindler

While she basically grew up in the Noosa area, she said she had lived in Gympie several times over the course of her life and now lived at The Palms.

She said she saw more families with both parents working full-time who were struggling to make ends meet than ever before.

“Which means that the poverty line has actually taken a massive step and we are now starting to include people that shouldn’t actually be included,” she said.

“I’m not ever going to promise that I can drop rates, because I don’t think that’s a possibility, but I think we can certainly do a lot better job than we’re doing.”

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Ms Wilson said she wanted to see more flood awareness in the region, without people being too scared every time it rained,and a better warning system for when it did flood, something she said she did not see in the last floods.

She said exerting pressure on the state government to better maintain state roads around Gympie would also be important.

“My job is to hear what you are saying and then filter that to the right departments,” she said.

“I think we have an opportunity right now to pivot and change traditional thinking, if we don’t, we are just going to end up like everywhere else.

“We need a community that’s super tight knit, if we lose that country town feel then we’re doomed.”