Rockhampton & Livingstone residents head to polls for council elections
In Rockhampton, 30 per cent of voters have taken to the polls early while 35 per cent have in Livingstone. Some have also shared their frustrations, from roads and crime to being forced to vote, and having to use pencils instead of pens.
Rockhampton
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With just two mayoral candidates and more divisions uncontested than there are contested, Rockhampton Regional Council’s 2024 local government election has been an uncontroversial competition.
But Livingstone Shire Council is a different story.
The shire which spans the coast to rural areas will need to select from four mayoral candidates and six councillors from the 16 candidates.
The voting processes are also completely different, as Livingstone has no divisions for each area like Rockhampton.
Four of Rockhampton’s seven divisions are uncontested.
Shane Latcham in Division 1, Grant Mathers in Division 3, Cherie Rutherford in Division 5 and Drew Wickerson in Division 6 are uncontested.
The division with the most candidates is Division 7, which has been left vacant by Donna Kirkland as she runs for the LNP in the October state election for the seat of Rockhampton.
Will Field, Marika Taylor, Jamie Scott and David Bond hope to take her place at the council table.
The successful councillor will represent the areas of Park Avenue, Kawana and Parkhurst.
Division 2 has two candidates, with incumbent councillor of 12 years Neil Fisher, and the current deputy mayor, pitted against untested Elliot Hilse.
This division covers the areas of Frenchville, Mount Archer, Koongal and the southern part of Norman Gardens.
Division 4 also has two candidates, with local Edward Oram duking it out against council veteran Ellen Smith, who has 20 years in local government under her belt.
It covers the rural areas of Gracemere and Bouldercombe.
Many people noted their confusion because both men share the same last name.
The Morning Bulletin can confirm the two are not related.
Keen voters lined up waiting for the doors to open at the pre-poll booth at the Rockhampton Showgrounds on the eve of election day on Friday, March 15.
Most people weren’t interested in sharing their thoughts on the election when The Morning Bulletin was on the ground.
A lot of people responded they were only voting because they had to and didn’t want to get a fine.
“People that are not interested in politics shouldn’t be forced to vote,” one person said.
Others responded they didn’t know who any of the candidates were and said they have nothing to talk about.
Most people only had to vote for mayor.
One voter commented that pens should be provided instead of pencils.
Melissa Elliot said the voting was very easy and was surprised to see that many people were out voting on Friday.
When asked about her thoughts on the candidates, she explained her division was Division 6 (held by Drew Wickerson) and it was uncontested so she only had to vote for the mayor.
“I don’t know who Brett Williams is so I just voted for the current mayor,” she said.
Speaking about the issues in the area, Ms Elliot noted the Rockhampton Ring Road.
“And the roads are wrecked … I don’t know if it’s their job to do the Bruce Highway between here and Bajool but it’s crap, it’s just rubbish,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter how many times they fix it, it’s wrecked again within months.”
Voter Michael Smith noted more people seemed to be “interested and aware” of voting this time.
He said the candidates were “probably the best we could do” and in terms of big issues, he spoke about security, price of living with the cost of groceries and law and order.
According to Electoral Commission Queensland data, 30 per cent of voters (18,016 persons) in the Rockhampton region had pre-polled voted as of end of day on Thursday, March 14.
There are 58,858 voters in the Rockhampton region local government area this election.
Pre-polling started on March 4 and the highest pre-poll day was on Monday, March 11 with 2,388 voters.
In Livingstone, 35 per cent of voters have voted with 10, 437 participating out of 29,231 voters.
The highest day was also Monday March 11, with 1,354 voters.
The four candidates for mayor in Livingstone are standing mayor Andrew Ireland, who has served one term, deputy mayor Adam Belot, who has served for 10 years, and newcomer businessmen Grantley Jack and Kelvin Appleton.
Speaking from pre-polling at Yeppoon Town Hall on Friday afternoon, Mr Ireland said he thinks the results will be close.
“It’s impossible to tell, I just don’t have a feel for it this time,” he said.
“I would hazard a guess.
“Irrespective of the outcome, I think all the candidates are exhausted.”
No current councillors have resigned with Adam Belot the only current councillor running for mayor, and the remaining five councillors, Glenda Mather, Rhodes Watson, Clint Swadling, Andrea Friend and Pat Eastwood running again.
The candidates who are not already on the table include Kristan Casuscelli, Wade Rothery, Paul Mitchell, Jillian Neyland, Helen Schweikert, Lane Warcon, Brett Svendsen, Mike Decman and Cameron Kinsey, along with former mayor Bill Ludwig.
For more details around each candidate, read their profiles here.
The top six Livingstone candidates with the most percentage of the votes will be the successful councillors.
Election day is held across the state on Saturday March 16.
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