Llew O’Brien, Shane Gill, Glen Hartwig among Gympie’s most influential
As we unveil the full list of the most powerful people of 2021, Barnaby Joyce offers his opinion on the power and influence of the most powerful person in this region, and why his role in Canberra is so important to Australia.
Gympie
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gympie. Followed categories will be added to My News.
They’re the movers, shakers and makers of our region, and are playing a huge part in how it is being shaped for the future.
Yesterday we released the first 10 names on the 2021 list, and today we reveal another five. Tomorrow we will publish the entire list of the region’s most influential people.
This list is a subjective talking point, not a scientific guide. We welcome feedback from the public.
#30. Rae Gate
Rae Gate has been active within the community for many years and was born and raised in Gympie.
Ms Gate told The Gympie Times her family had been dated back to being one of the first settlers in the region from France. The former councillor has her finger in many pies: she has been on the board of the Gympie District Financial Services Ltd (Community Bank Gympie and District Bendigo bank) for 14 years and has been chairperson for four years.
She is also president of the Gympie District Women’s Health Centre and serves as a management Committee member for the Community Action Inc.
Ms Gate says that supporting, participating and giving back to the community is what drives her.
CLICK HERE to read Bundaberg’s Power 40 for 2021
#29 Deanne Mitchell
A first timer to the list and a vital leader in the Gympie community, Deanne Mitchell has worked at the Gympie Hospital for almost 15 years.
She now serves as the Director of the Nursing Facility Manager and she has been in the role for the past three years.
“I live and work within the Gympie community and I was born at Gympie Hospital so it is very humbling to be able to return my appreciation to the community that I live and work,” she said.
Ms Mitchell takes great pride in caring for the community and admires her diverse and committed team and won an Australia Day award in 2018, where she dedicated her success to her staff and co-workers.
#28. Nick and Ashleigh Hamilton
The owners of Hamilton Instruments Electrical land on their first Power 30 list on the back of winning the Gympie Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Business of the Year Award.
This achievement was far from Nick and Ashleigh’s only impact on the region though.
Through their business, which they brought to Gympie in 2015, the couple are at the forefront of the renewable energy sector and are key players in efforts to boost apprenticeships and trades across Queensland.
Their achievements in bringing the next generation into the workforce landed them recognition at this year’s North Region Training Awards, where Hamilton claimed Small Employer of the Year.
#27. Mal Dodt
The founder of social media page Gympie – The Real Treasure is the Town comes in at #27 on the back of the immense popularity of the page and Mr Dodt’s community work.
More than 12,000 people follow Mr Dodt’s Facebook page, which is dedicated to promoting the positive side of the region and draws about 62,000 views per week.
The page is the go-to place for Gympie’s visual history thanks to thousands of pictures past and present shared on the site from sources ranging from the Queensland State Library to private Gympie residents.
In 2020, Mr Dodt was named Gympie’s Citizen of the Year, and was nominated for the Australia Pacific LNG Community Hero Award the same year.
In the past he has served as P & C president for One Mile State School, and still is for Gympie State High School, as well as running school and blue light discos with his wife Nicole.
The rest of the time he runs Dodts Floor Coverings, a Gympie business for more than 30 years.
#26. Warren Polley
Councillor Warren Polley drives into the list on the back of not only his role as an elected representative on the Gympie Regional Council, but his immense business portfolio.
Despite his election in 2020, and time with the Gympie Chamber of Commerce it was the bus business that made Polleys a household name.
Mr Polley said there was barely a person in region who did not remember travelling with his father Duncan, and he hoped people would say the same thing about him in the future.
Whether it was driving them to primary school or university he said his business was “figuratively taking them to their future”.
Mr Polley serves on the board of Roadcraft Driver Education, the main trainer of all Queensland ambulance drivers.
#25. Jackson Dodd
Jackson Dodd is the principal of James Nash State High School and plays an integral role in his student’s lives.
With a career spanning almost 30 years, Mr Dodd has no shortage of knowledge of understanding how a school can run successfully. He took up the principal’s position in 2018 and has scored numerous achievements since.
Running a school of more than 1300 student and 120+ staff members, Mr Dodd rarely has a moment to himself.
Since coming into leadership at James Nash, a record amount of students have enrolled in university and Tafe programs and are achieving record high grades.
“This is testament to the fact that high school students can and will achieve highly in tertiary studies when given the opportunity,” Mr Dodd said.
#24. Cindy Vogels
Making a comeback to the list in the 24th spot, Gympie’s biggest fashion innovator and designer, Cindy Vogels, is making headlines all around the globe.
Dressing and styling celebrities for red carpet events, such as London Fashion Week, the ARIAS, Eurovision Australia and a campaign with Christian Louboutin, it’s safe to say Ms Vogels is full of talent.
She won her first award and launched her first label at just 16 years-of-age, and even created an iconic feather crown worn by superstar singer actress, Lady Gaga.
Ms Vogels also paid tribute to several important and respected women in the region: Aunty Lillian (who is also on our list), Tammy Brennan, Lauren Granger Brown, Jody Allen and Lesa Bell.
Born and raised on a farm in Nambour, 40 minutes from Gympie, Ms Vogels knew from the age of eight that she wanted to be a designer and was obsessed with her mother’s sewing machine and learned to understand the concepts of designers working with musical artists.
She moved to Gympie in 2011 and hasn’t looked back since.
#23. Tony Stewart
Longtime Rainbow Beach businessman, fisherman, drought runner and road safety advocate Tony Stewart has come in at #23 in the 2021 list.
The Cooloola Coast stalwart has been fighting for safety upgrades to the Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach roads for years, delivering a petition bearing more than 13,000 signatures to the State Government over the issue.
It was the latest jewel in a community crown which includes Gympie Citizen of the Year in 2019 and a nomination in 2018 for a News Corp Pride of Australia Award.
This latter recognition was for his tireless work with the Rainbow Beach Drought Runners helping the farming families of western Queensland and northern New South Wales hit hard by the big dry.
#22. Tony Goodman
Dropping down the list by 15 places on the list is local trader and owner of Bella Casa store on Mary St and president of the Gympie Chamber of Commerce. It’s safe to say Tony Goodman has had a huge impact on Gympie.
Mr Goodman is the organiser of the popular Mary Street festivals: “Easter on Mary” and “Mary Christmas”, and currently has his hands full organising “Mary Christmas” which is set to be hosted on Wednesday, December 15 and December 22.
The festivals are so popular that they’ve raked in almost 5000 people since the event first began.
“Never short of a dull moment but it gets pretty full on,” Mr Goodman said.
Mr Goodman also has a powerful influence over Gympie Regional Council, having previously pushed the council to become more “user-friendly” perspective after intense criticism from some residents.
He also has a strong background in business having previously owned two successful rental companies before settling down in 2004 where he founded his popular Bella Casa store.
#21. Anthony Lanskey
Up by seven spots, Anthony Lanskey has played an essential role to the students of Gympie State High school, which is also the oldest school in Gympie, providing his students with the best high school experience possible.
Having grown up on the Queensland coastline, Mr Lanskey is a born and bred Queenslander; beginning his career in Far North Queensland, then moving down to Bundaberg and eventually settling down in Gympie.
Mr Lanskey is also a local celebrity, getting his five-minutes-of-fame from a victory of racing horse Vow and Declare, which he part-owns, which won the 2019 Melbourne Cup.
Not only is he the president of Australia Secondary Schools Rugby League for the past seven years, he is also the chairman of the Wide Bay School Board with aspirations to grow the sport all over the Wide Bay region and ultimately provide more opportunities for schoolchildren to get into rugby league over the past two decades.
#20 Scott Beckett
Scott Beckett comes in at #20 on the list as the man in charge of more than 300 staff and 30 full-time contractors at Laminex.
Laminex Australia‘s manufacturing operations manager for Queensland, Mr Beckett played a key role as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Gympie Economic Recovery Subgroup.
He has been part of a fight to protect the timber and manufacturing industry from strict regulation changes around formaldehyde exposure which many leading industry experts said were well intentioned but would cost jobs.
The changes were put on hold for review shortly after the story broke in the media.
Laminex recently spent $2 million upgrading it Gympie plant infrastructure through improvements to roads and buildings, and new equipment.
#19. Aunty Lillian Burke
A familiar face on the list, Aunty Lillian Burke is a widely respected member of the Gympie community, known for her passion for her Indigenous culture and spreading cultural awareness to the Gympie community.
In recent years, Ms Burke successfully campaigned for a monument in Memorial Park dedicated to honouring all the known and unknown Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women.
In 2019, she was nominated for Queensland’s Senior Australian of the Year and was in the top four finalists.
Ms Burke credits her perseverance to her adopted grandmother, who she says taught her about her culture and identity from when she was a young girl.
Aunty Lillian Burke has participated in more than 100 different boards and committees and currently works as president of the Cooloola Aboriginal Services and runs the NAIDOC celebrations, Sorry Day and other significant events.
#18. Caitlyn Shadbolt
Gympie’s biggest music star, Caitlyn Shadbolt, hasn’t let the effects of the pandemic impact her musical grind. The singer has promised new music is on the way through her social media page and will be performing a New Year‘s Eve concert at the Dag Pub & Motel.
Ms Shadbolt rose to fame in 2014 during the sixth season of X-Factor Australia, placing fifth in the competition. She released her debut song a short time after the series ended in 2015, Songs on My Sleeve- which ranked first on the ARIA Country music chart. My Break Up Anthem, the first song on the album held the #1 spot on the National Country Airplay Chart for more than eight weeks.
The star has received several Golden Guitar nominations and won the CMC New Artist Oz award in Tennessee, USA, where she performed with multiple international artists such as the Dixie Chicks, Little Big Town and Kip Moore.
#17. Tom Grady
Long-time Gympie businessman and community stalwart Tom Grady hammers into the list at number 17.
Mr Grady has played a major part in the region’s broader agricultural and farming industries, and his passion for the region has made his iconic business – a fixture in the business community for more than 40 years – a key contributor to many of its most popular ventures through sponsorship.
These include the Gympie District Show and the popular fireworks events, Mens Shed Pomona and the Kilkivan Great Horse Ride.
#16. Adam Madill
Adam Madill parks himself at #16 on the 2021 list of most influential as a key member of the Gympie Chamber of Commerce and ongoing role with the Madill Motor Group.
Mr Madill is part of three generations of the family to work at the business which has become almost synonymous with Gympie.
The business has become one of Gympie’s biggest empires, drawing the eye of the Motorama Group which bought it for an undisclosed sum in early 2020.
Mr Madill is a board member of Gympie’s Chamber of Commerce which has experienced a resurgence in the past few years, and serves as an integral part of the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal fundraiser.
#15. Chris Sun
The Gympie region is landing on the map in a multitude of ways; Chris Sun is making its name the Hollywood way.
The locally born and raised filmmaker lands at #15 on this year’s list on the back of his ever growing film portfolio, which includes 2017’s Boar (shot across the Gympie region), Charlie’s Farm (also shot in the Mary Valley), Daddy’s Little Girl, and Come and Get Me.
His most recent achievement, The Possessed, premiered across cinemas including the Gympie Cinema in November, and has already claimed an award at the A Night of Horror International Film Festival.
Mr Sun is also an executive producer on The Darkside Downunder.
#14. Gregg Davey
Bumped up 10 places from the 2020 Power 30 list is Gympie Police Officer-in-Charge Gregg Davey. Aspiring to make the Gympie region a safer place to live, Senior Sergeant Davey has thrived in his position since taking it up in 2014.
1986 was the year Sr Sgt Davey first joined the police academy, taking a year to be sworn in as a constable.
The OIC takes routine checks each morning, reviewing offence stats, traffic outputs and domestic/family violence reports to ensure his team is providing the highest standard of police work to the Gympie community. After seven years in the role, he takes great pride in his team.
He told The Gympie Times the, “Gympie Station staff are very dedicated, competent and professional”.
#13. Greg Cavanagh
Greg Cavanagh takes out the 13th spot in the 2021 list as the man at the helm of the region’s biggest tourism draw.
Mr Cavanagh has served as the chairman of the Gympie Muster since 2018.
Aside from directing the event through two hugely successful years, Mr Cavanagh has been tasked with keeping the event alive despite being unable to hold it for the past two years thanks to the Covid pandemic.
His influence within the region’s tourism and music circles is only part of the story, though.
Mr Cavanagh worked as a respected veterinarian with Apiam Animal Health Limited (formerly Gympie District Vet Services) since 1995, a service he has provided the Gympie region for more than two decades.
#12. Scott Kovacevic
The Gympie Times‘ senior reporter and political specialist dedication to government accountability has resulted in some of the council’s most tightly held documents being pried from its grasp.
Over the past five years Mr Kovacevic has played an integral role in pushing for more transparency around the Mary Valley Rattler, controversial changes to the council’s water branch, and staff survey results.
This past year his work has resulted in the council conceding incorrect advice was given ahead of the controversial repeal of environment protections in the planning scheme.
He has drawn attention to an ongoing clash between council staff and senior management amid allegations of questionable internal investigations (a claim denied by the council).
In November 2021, Mr Kovacevic secured the long-awaited release of the report on the blowout riddled return of the Mary Valley Rattler which finally laid the flawed management bare more than three years after it was seemingly buried by the council.
#11. Janelle Reid
A first timer to the list, Janelle Reid has been a local legend for years. Currently working as the Assistant Regional Director for the North Coast Region Department of Education, Mrs Reid has 35 years of educating experience under her belt.
Before starting work with the Department of Education in 2014, she One Mile State School principal, to which she had so much success the school hall was named in her honour.
Under Mrs Reid‘s leadership her schools won Department of Education Showcase Awards for Excellence for their work in English and Maths.
#10. Shane Gill
Gympie Turf Club president Shane Gill comes in at #10. Having won the 2020 Sports Administration award and turning Gympie race day into a massive social event, Mr Gill has multiple skills up his sleeve. Nursing the club through the pandemic, he‘s successfully kept it going strong with next year’s event set to be better than ever.
Mr Gill has been involved with the club for more than a decade now, spending several years as a board member then moving up to vice-president for two years. He has now held the presidency for seven years and has no plans to change a thing.
When he‘s not at the club, he is tending to his own race horses or working hard at his own business.
#9. Billy Mitchell
As the director of one of the Gympie region’s biggest real estate agencies, Billy Mitchell oversees one of the most influential businesses in the region.
Mr Mitchell is the owner and director of Century 21 Platinum Agents Gympie and Cooloola Coast, which has handled tens of millions of dollars of property sales across the region.
His business interests extend beyond wheeling and dealing property though.
In June 2020, Mr Mitchell bought the building which is now home to Grace and Whiskers, and is rapidly becoming a popular go-to eatery.
Mr Mitchell has lived in the Gympie region for more than two decades, and was even ranked the 22nd best deal maker in Australia by Real Estate Business.
At the 2021 Gympie business awards, Century 21 Platinum Agents won the Marketing Campaign of the Year award.
#8. Nolan Brothers
One of the most famous family names in the Gympie region, the Nolans have been stalwarts of the local business community for more than 60 years.
Terry, Tony and Michael Nolan spearhead what has grown into one of the region’s largest private employers, boasting more than 500 employees before Covid wreaked havoc on the economy.
Nolan Meats is far-reaching as a producer, distributor and exporter of meat products all over the world, all from its East Deep Creek facility.
The company is emerging as a leader in promoting the growth of women in the male-dominated industry; in 2019 Nolan Meats took a team of women to a “Meat Business Women” conference to help promote the field as a career choice for women.
Their ongoing efforts to support and promote the region means the Nolan family will remain one of the Gympie business sector‘s most important factors for a long time to come.
#7. Jody Allen
Starting something from nothing, author, blogger and mother Jody Allen began her well-known parenting blog from the spare room of her house.
She started writing about money saving tips and parental hacks and slowly built up a dedicated following of other mothers, receiving almost 1,000,000 hits to her blog each month.
Mrs Allen has published four books, done multiple television appearances and successfully manages the running of her family home.
#6. Chris Callaghan
Gympie Magistrate Chris Callaghan first arrived on the Gympie scene in 2019, but has been a magistrate for nearly 15 years.
Before he was appointed in 2007, Mr Callaghan worked as a solicitor on the Sunshine Coast in 1980, being admitted to the Bar in Brisbane in 1991 and working there until 1995.
From there, he worked primarily in the criminal courts until he became a magistrate in 2007.
But, Mr Callaghan’s role does not just extend to the Gympie courtroom; he also oversees the court as far north as Hervey Bay and Maryborough and as far west as Kingaroy, administering a system that handles 3500 matters a year, or about 70 cases a week.
Mr Callaghan has said in the past his job consists of only sending people to jail when it is absolutely necessary, because his biggest priority is keeping the community safe.
#5. Shelley Strachan
Editor Shelley Strachan in 2021 became News Corp’s Wide Bay Editor, overseeing news teams and setting the news agenda in Gympie, Maryborough, Hervey Bay and Bundaberg.
As editor of The Gympie Times for five years, she oversaw its successful migration to digital and its continued growth in terms of audience and page views.
The Wide Bay mastheads of Bundaberg NewsMail, Fraser Coast Chronicle and The Gympie Times are read by well over 100,000 people each week, and have a combined Facebook following of more than 104,000, and a weekly reach of more than 700,000.
She is focused now on increasing and improving the quality of local news coverage across the Wide Bay.
A mother of four and passionate advocate for her home patch, Ms Strachan has earned multiple PANPA Community News Brand of the Year awards, and the coveted News Corp Achievements in Regional Journalism award.
#4. Shane Gray
Shane Gray may have only been Gympie Regional Council CEO for less than 18 months, but in that time he has made waves in the Gympie Regional Council.
Mr Gray’s position in the council means he is responsible for leading and managing council to achieve its visions and to provide high quality services for the Gympie community.
He also deals with an annual budget of almost $100 million.
He was first moved into the top council position, but prior to that Mr Gray worked as aouncil CEO for the South Burnett region in 2008.
Mr Gray also has other job positions such as CEO of Nanango Shire Council and Deputy CEO of Murgon Shire Council under his belt.
#3 Glen Hartwig
Gympie’s mayor sits at number three on the region’s most influential list in 2021 as the region’s choice to represent its interests within the third tier of government.
Since his election in 2020, Mr Hartwig has overseen a dedicated push to rebalance the council’s books and put an end to a string of operational losses which resulted in the Queensland Audit Office downgrading the organisation’s financial sustainability in 2020.
At the opposite end of the scale, Mr Hartwig’s council controversially overturned environmental protections in the planning scheme, prompting a backlash and outrage from the region’s green groups while land owners took advantage of the situation to clear land they were previously not allowed to.
Before he was the region’s mayor, Glen Hartwig served as a councillor following a career with the Queensland Police.
#2. Tony Perrett
Gympie MP Tony Perrett has been many things in politics, from a former councillor to a former deputy mayor, but his connection and dedication to the Gympie region never changes.
Mr Perrett was elected as the Gympie Member of Parliament in 2015, a seat he has held for six years.
He was named Opposition spokesman for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Forestry in 2017, a job he has held since.
Mr Perrett doesn’t shy away from what he believes is right and has been extremely vocal about his fight for better vegetation and fisheries management policies and proposed improved Great Barrier Reef regulations.
He also fought for more upgrades and improvements to the Bruce Highway, north of Gympie.
#1. Llew O’Brien
When it comes to the choice of Wide Bay MP Llew O’Brien as the region’s most influential, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce had a simple explanation.
“It’s not a beauty pageant; it‘s effectiveness. That’s why he is the most influential.”
Mr Joyce has served with Mr O’Brien in the National Party for years, a relationship which has allowed him unique understanding of the role and achievements of the Wide Bay MP who became the Australia’s Deputy Speaker.
“Llew O’Brien is the counterbalance to inner urban areas that keeps the parliament in check, otherwise all policy would be driven out of Canberra,” Mr Joyce said.
“He is one of the crucial votes that stops Labor and the Greens running the country.
“His office is the one you can go to when all else fails because you know he is the guy who will take up the fight.”
Mr O’Brien’s passion on behalf of the community has resulted in major wins for the region, including (and certainly not limited to) the fast-tracked construction of the $1b Gympie Bypass and an agreement to build a four-lane bypass at Tiaro instead of the divided two-lane initially flagged.
His work has not been without controversy, though.
In November he drew criticism for being one of two politicians to back a motion by lightning rod MP Craig Kelly to debate State Government vaccine mandates in parliament.
Mr O’Brien said his choice was driven by a belief in freedom of speech.
More Coverage
Disgraced Qld school teacher admits to indecent treatment of 9yo student
A disgraced Queensland school teacher now working in a different job has confessed to the indecent treatment of a nine-year-old female student in his care. *DISTRESSING CONTENT
‘Could have bought a unit’: $311,000 highway party price tag slammed
The Transport Minister has confirmed that a five-hour community open day to celebrate the near completion of the $1B Bruce Highway bypass of Gympie cost more than $311,000, or the equivalent of about $60,000 an hour.