By-election to replace George Christensen to cost Mackay council roughly $700,000

Voter-fatigued Mackay residents will be asked to fill out their fourth ballot in just over 12 months after a former MP created the need for his second by-election, at a staggering cost to ratepayers.

Councillor George Christensen at the ordinary meeting of Mackay Regional Council, April 24, 2024. Picture: Heidi Petith

Mackay ratepayers will be stung $700,000 to replace George Christensen in a by-election, after his sudden resignation in May.

At a special meeting of council on Wednesday, June 4, councillors voted to write to the minister for local government, requesting the by-election process begin with a preference for a postal ballot.

Assuming all runs smoothly, a new councillor will be sworn in within the next eight to 10 weeks.

Deputy mayor Karen May said it was “unfortunate” a by-election was needed, but “it’s something we have to do”.

“We’ve been very fortunate in this council to only ever have two by-elections, this being the second one,” Ms May said.

“Let’s get the process started.”

Mr Christensen previously served as a Mackay councillor from 2004 to 2008 and then from 2008 to 2010, before he left to go into federal politics, creating the need for a by-election back then.

Mackay Regional Council mayor Greg Williamson with deputy mayor Karen May. Picture: Heidi Petith

Mayor Greg Williamson acknowledged voters may be tired of elections after three in just over 12 months.

“We’ve elected to go for what we believe is the cheapest and most simple way of replacing that councillor.

“Though $700,000 is not real cheap — it’s probably a way of getting most people involved without that effort of turning out for just a single councillor to be elected.”

Between an annual salary of roughly $120,000, and the cost of the by-election, Mackay ratepayers would have spent almost $850,000 to have Mr Christensen as a councillor since April 2024.

Mr Christensen called in to multiple council meetings from Europe shortly after being elected, while campaigning against vaccines and the Olympics for his role with CitizenGo, a Spanish hard-right Christian advocacy group.

An editorial in this masthead noted his history of travelling overseas while working as an MP, and the importance of councillors dedicating their time to Mackay.

In October, members of the community contacted the Daily Mercury with concerns Mr Christensen had plans on leaving council.

George Christensen called in remotely to multiple early council meetings from Europe, where he was working his second job, protesting the WHO and Olympics for Christian lobbying group CitizenGo.

This masthead asked Mr Christensen whether he would commit to staying on for his full term in Mackay council, and whether he would rule out going for any other political positions.

Mr Christensen said he would not run for federal or state politics, but did not commit to staying the length of his term at the time.

One week before his resignation, Mr Christensen was seeking $99 subscriptions to his Substack publishing platform, telling his audience he would use the money to cover federal politics in Canberra, from Parliament House.

When asked questions by the Daily Mercury on how he would balance that with councillor duties and manage the conflict of interest, Mr Christensen said he could walk and chew gum at the same time.

In his decision to resign, he cited the possibility of becoming sole carer to his daughter who is not based in Mackay.

He has been supported by his fellow councillors and the mayor since announcing his resignation, with Nathenea MacRae and Alison Jones posting messages thanking him.

Ms MacRae wrote she admired Mr Christensen “wasn’t prepared to take the monies of our community and just meet the minimum requirements of a councillor”.

“He could no longer be present for our briefings and contribute to in person community engagement, so therefore lead to his resignation,” she said in a Facebook post.

“I wish George the very best in his next chapter.”

Cartoonist Harry Bruce takes a look at George Christensen’s resignation.

Alison Jones also made reference to an unnamed councillor — Martin Bella believing it was him — when thanking Mr Christensen for stepping down, encouraging anyone not committed to resign.

“The ratepayers deserve representatives who show up — not just physically, but mentally and morally,” Ms Jones wrote.

“If you’ve already checked out, then check out properly.”

Mr Bella then revealed recent bouts of ill health, both physically and mentally, preventing him from turning up to council briefings.

During the resignation period, Mr Christensen also revealed his struggles with mental health on the job — while making it clear he was still meeting his obligations.

Mr Williamson said he believed Mr Christensen’s reasons for resigning were “valid” as they were in 2010.

“We have to just live with that — that’s life in local government,” he said.