Councillor chucks in $164k-a-year job in the hope of LNP preselection

A long-serving LNP-aligned Brisbane City Councillor will leave her post to make a tilt at state politics, saying her community needs action from a higher office.

A long-serving LNP-aligned Brisbane City Councillor will leave her post to make a tilt at state politics, saying the improvements the community needed required action from a higher office.

Cr Fiona Hammond, who covers the Marchant Ward in Brisbane’s north, confirmed late on Tuesday night she would leave her $164,000-a-year job to seek preselection as an LNP candidate in the upcoming state election.

Cr Fiona Hammond will make a run at state politics. Picture: News Corp/Attila Csaszar

Should Cr Hammond successfully navigate preselection, she would be up against Labor MP Jimmy Sullivan in a seat where the government holds a healthy 11.9 per cent margin.

She is among a growing list of Queensland councillors running for the LNP, or hoping to, in the October 2024 election, with former Livingstone Shire deputy mayor Nigel Hutton and Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart to run in the seat of Keppel and Noosa respectively.

Cr Hammond, first elected in 2008, said working with local residents and community organisations over 15 years has been an “honour and a privilege”.

“It has become increasingly clear to me that the Palaszczuk Labor Government is holding our community back,” she said.

“Issues such as youth crime, housing shortages, record ambulance ramping and rising costs are beyond the jurisdiction of Council and require action from the State Government.”

If Cr Hammond is preselected she will be pitted against Labor MP Jimmy Sullivan. Picture: Liam Kidston

Cr Hammond said she had “complete confidence in the capable and responsible leadership of Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and his team”.

“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have voted for me, backed me, and even those who have disagreed with me over the past 15 years,” she said.

She is the third LNP councillor and the sixth Brisbane City Councillor across all sides of politics to quit less than a year out from the local government election, ensuring a by-election is avoided and their party can choose their replacement.