Livingstone Shire councillor votes are being recounted, Belot declared Mayor

The Electoral Commission made a rare order after a shock result in the councillor race while declaring the new Livingstone Mayor.

Livingstone outgoing mayor Andrew Ireland and new Mayor Adam Belot.

The Electoral Commission made a rare order this week after a shock result in the councillor race while declaring the new Mayor for Livingstone.

Former deputy mayor Adam Belot has secured the job after a close mayoral race between himself, now former mayor Andrew Ireland, NRG Industrial company owner Grantley Jack and business owner and prolific Adani supporter Kelvin Appleton

Mr Belot secured 31.04 per cent of the votes while Mr Ireland received 29.07 per cent, Mr Jack received 25.75 per cent and Mr Appleton received 14.13 per cent.

As soon as counting began after the polls closed on March 16, the race between Mr Ireland and Mr Belot had been tight.

Of the four mayoral candidates for Livingstone, two were from the recent council table and two were newcomers being Mr Jack and Mr Appleton.

In the first counting on Saturday night, Mr Ireland was in the lead but it switched to Mr Belot by Sunday morning.

By 1pm on Sunday, there were 388 votes between the pair.

Mr Belot had 7,141 votes while Mr Ireland had 6,753 votes, followed by Mr Jack on 5,866 votes and Mr Appleton on 3,338 votes.

Nearly a week after election day, Friday, the order remained the same with Mr Belot on 7404 votes, Mr Ireland on 6,965 votes, Mr Jack on 6,166 and Mr Appleton was on 3375.

Talking with the Morning Bulletin this morning, Mr Belot said about 25 per cent of voters opted to vote the preferential way in the mayoral race which was very high.

“That’s an incredible outcome,” he said.

Mr Belot said that meant voters probably did not want himself or Mr Ireland as mayor.

He said overall, the mayoral race results showed the community wanted to “initiate change at the highest level but not to the extent of voting in Grant Jack”.

Mr Belot said voting in the now former deputy mayor (himself) with 10 years experience on the council and “passionate about the community’”, “perhaps reflected a level of change but also stability”.

“For me, it’s been an anxious, challenging and exhausting campaign,” he said.

Mr Belot said he commended and acknowledged those running in both the councillor and mayoral races for their courteous behaviours, particularly when social media could bring out the worst in people some times.

He said he planned to work hard for all the community, whether they voted for him personally or not, “without fear or favour”.

“That’s my commitment to all of the electorate of Livingstone,” Mr Belot said.

Meanwhile the Electoral Commission ordered a recount of all councillor votes for the councillor after the front runners for the sixth position were separated by only six votes, Mr Belot revealed.

He said the recount started yesterday with a resulted likely expected by midweek.

Mr Belot said the electoral website may show a seven-vote difference but it had already been revealed that one vote for Wade Rothery was inaccurately attributed to his count.

Mr Rothery and journalist Trish Bowman are the two contenders for the sixth spot on the council.

Long-time councillor Glenda Mather is currently leading the way with 9.06 per cent of the votes (12,624 votes).

Pat Eastwood follows close behind with 8.59 per cent of the votes (11,972), then incoming councillor Lance Warcon with 8.14 per cent of the votes (11,344), Andrea Friend with 7.75 per cent and Rhodes Watson with 7.84 per cent.

Past Livingstone mayor Bill Ludwig, who took a break from politics at the previous election, received 10,213 votes.

Mr Belot said Cr Mather was being rewarded for her “very significant” work, along with Ms Friend who he felt was one of the most determined councillors working for Livingstone.
“All eyes are now on that sixth position,” he said.

Mr Belot said the closeness of the votes for that position had brought back memories from 10 years ago when he was first elected onto council of the “painful, difficult, awkward time”.

He said it was a relief to get to the end and know his position.

MAYOR

Adam Belot

Adam Belot was elected as councillor in 2013 and stepped up to the deputy mayoral role in recent years.

He has been vocal on beach access and heavily involved in the Farnborough Beach access.

The owner and operator of Future Tiling Services has worked in the building industry as a ceramic tiler and bricklaying contractor.

He grew up on the Capricorn Coast, going to Yeppoon Kindy, Yeppoon Primary school and then Yeppoon High School.

Adam Belot out on the hustings at Yeppoon State High School on election day as he vies for Livingstone Shire Council mayor.

He has been involved in community groups from SeaQ Boardriders Club, Keppel Coast Toastmasters Club, Capricorn Coast Local Marine Advisory Committee, Yeppoon Choral Society, Cap Coast Soccer Club, Yeppoon Gymnastics Club and Yeppoon Little Athletes to name just a few.

COUNCILLORS

While the mayoral race is still underway, so are the six spots at the council table.

As at 11am on Friday, March 22 incumbent councillors Glenda Mather and Pat Eastwood each held a strong lead for two of the spots.

Lance Warcon, Rhodes Watson, Andrea Friend are all coming in third, fourth and fifth spot.

But only a handful of votes separate candidates Trish Bowman, Wade Rothery and Bill Ludwig for the final spot.

However, it could still be a few days before the Livingstone Shire Council is officially declared.

A spokesman for Electoral Commission Queensland said counting of votes would continue until all available votes had been counted.

“In relation to the Yeppoon and Taranganba booths, the unofficial preliminary counts and the official counts are complete for the mayoral election and published to the ECQ’s results website,” the spokesman said.

“It is important to note that the ‘percentage counted’ figure refers to the percentage of enrolled electors, and not a percentage of ballots on hand.

“Counting will continue until all available votes have been counted, noting that postal votes can be accepted up to 10 days after election day which is March 26 2024.

“In relation to postal votes, there were 2,423 postal votes issued for the Livingstone Shire Council, with around 75 per cent of these now returned.

“Preference counts can only commence once all available ballot papers are on hand, including all postal ballots.

“A declaration of the result will be made as soon as the outcome is certain and is not always dependent on the full preference count. In addition, under electoral legislation, the ECQ does not have to wait for all postal ballots to be returned to declare the result if there is no possibility of those votes affecting the result.”

THE POTENTIAL NEW-LOOK LIVINGSTONE SHIRE COUNCIL

Glenda Mather

Glenda Mather.

With more than 30 years working on local council at both Livingstone Shire and Rockhampton Regional Council, Glenda Mather remains the frontrunner with the most votes this election.

Ms Mather first became a councillor for Livingstone Shire Council in 1988 where she served until 2000.

After a term out of office she returned as a councillor from 2004–2008 before being elected to Rockhampton Regional Council in 2008 and 2012.

She is described as a “believer in strong financial control, a fair rating system, strategic land management, nurturing business acumen, addressing youth employment and establishing environmental awareness in our community”.

Her vision for council is for it to be “clean, green and growing, with a flourishing tourist trade”.

Ms Mather has previously said being on council was an “honoured position to be in” representing “wonderful people”.

She said being on council was a great honour and carried “much responsibility, much discipline, much hard work, and you must be at all times a voice of the people”.

Ms Mather has nursing qualifications and has practised as a nurse and midwife.

Pat Eastwood

Pat Eastwood.

Pat Eastwood has been a councillor for the past six years.

Mr Eastwood was elected in 2018 at a by-election to fill the vacancy left by Graham Scott.

The owner of Capricorn Coast Learn 2 Surf, Mr Eastwood has three adult children with his wife of 40 years, Julie.

Hailing from Hobart, the family moved to the Capricorn Coast 24 years ago as Mr Eastwood took up a position as the chaplain and youth worker at Yeppoon State High School which he did for 19 years.

He has also worked in tourism and hospitality before joining the Tasmania Police and was a senior constable at a one-person station on Bruny Island for many years.

Ms Eastwood conceded Livingstone has some “big issues”.

“The cost of water and how we now tier it needs to be addressed,” he said,

“Our rates are still too high and people feel like they’re getting nothing for them.

“When we do the budget we need to really tease this out so we give our ratepayers the best deal possible.”

He further noted the rural road network is huge but it needs a better maintenance schedule and there should be more community meetings.

“Our beach accesses need to be better maintained and we need more grounds people looking after our parks and maintenance,” he said.

“We have to keep pushing for Great Keppel Island and get the infrastructure deserved and promised.”

Lance Warcon

Lance Warcon, councillor candidate for Livingstone Shire Council.

The pastor of 360 Church in Rockhampton and Yeppoon, Lance Warcon, 46, has lived in Yeppoon for the past 13 years, after growing up in Mackay, Katherine and Brisbane.

With Darumbal and South Sea Island descent, Mr Warcon hopes to bring cultural diversity to the council table.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 5.4 per cent of Livingstone’s population,” he said.

“Our First Nations people need to be represented and the council table needs to be balanced to keep up with changing times.

“There must be a healthy bridge between the local council and traditional owners for a variety of decision making and healthy collaboration.”

Mr Warcon also has a seat on the Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA), which is involved in the management of the southern Great Barrier Reef.

In terms of the biggest issues the shire faces, Mr Warcon started with the “rising cost of water”.

“There are some people in our shire who simply can’t pay their water bill,” he said.

He also noted unkempt grass on council maintained areas, roads that are not maintained and are now becoming a safety issue for residents and beach access for vehicles versus noise complaints and environmental impacts.

Rhodes Watson

Rhodes Watson.

Rhodes Watson, 53, was sworn in as councillor March 2021 after Tanya Lynch resigned following 12 months in the job.

The Kinka Beach man was the runner-up in the 2020 election with 8.07 per cent of the votes and Ms Lynch received 8.19 per cent.

His current passion projects are the centenary of the Emu Park Jetty and the rail trail to Cawarral.

He also attends the Yeppoon community markets every second weekend.

Lack of housing, youth crime, cost of living and low employment rates are the biggest issues in the area, Mr Watson said.

“We have to improve employment opportunities and turn as much casual employment into part-time/full-time employment to give people a future,” he said.

“There are too many in the shire who are underemployed.

“We need sustainable industry.”

Andrea Friend

Andrea Friend.

Andrea Friend was elected in the 2020 election and said she had always wanted to know how councillors in local government are held accountable,” she said.

She described the last four years as councillor and in the portfolio of water, waste and environment as “rewarding and exciting”.

“It has been a privilege to be involved with the expansion of Livingstone’s recycled water network being granted an A rating, potable water winning the best tasting water in Queensland award in 2020 by the Water Industry Operators Association in Australia, the construction of the four-megalitre reservoir in Emu Park, the Solar array constructed at Yeppoon Sewerage Treatment Plant, saving ratepayers approximately $90K per year in electricity costs, and the construction of the Recovery Centre for the Yeppoon Landfill, diverting approximately 25 per cent of materials from landfill annually.

“In this council tenure I have been involved with undertaking a complete review of local laws and I’m thrilled, personally, to have had the deregulation of native bees included.”

Among her passions is working with community groups.

“In 2020 I saw a need for a concrete ramp for Sailability, located at the Causeway Lake,” Ms Friend said.

Tree vandalism has also been a “hot topic” for Ms Friend, as at her instigation, signage now appears along the coastline, with hope to create behavioural change and awareness.

UP FOR GRABS – SIXTH SEAT

The sixth and final spot on Livingstone Shire Council is still too close to call with just a handful of votes separating Trish Bowman, Wade Rothery and Bill Ludwig.

Trish Bowman (too early to call)

Trish Bowman, councillor candidate for Livingstone Shire Council.

Journalist Trish Bowman swapped her notebook and camera to run for a seat at the council table.

After contemplating the idea for more than a decade, she thought now was the perfect time to give it a go with her three children now adults.

“With over 16 years’ experience in local community journalism, a long history of community engagement along with training in business management, I have the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of local government and effect meaningful change,” Ms Bowman said.

“Passionate about our diverse region and the communities which extend from the beach to the bush, I love and value everything that makes our shire unique and the abundant opportunities we can unlock with a positive proactive council.

“The new council has an opportunity to build on what we have to make our community stronger and more resilient, and I would like to be part of the team to further that progress and vision.

“Our new council needs to work hard to achieve sustainable economic development, support and promote tourism and local business, look after our primary production industry, continue to improve our infrastructure, support our thriving arts community and ensure we create more opportunity for our youth while not forgetting our seniors and other residents’ needs and desires.”

Ms Bowman said there were many areas where the region needs to grow and improve and it is imperative we have a council who will communicate with the community, truly listen and make the right decisions for the integrity of our shire for both now and into the future.

Wade Rothery (too early to call)

Wade Rothery.

Former One Nation federal and state candidate Wade Rothery is hoping his bid for councillor brings a different outcome.

Mr Rothery is married with four children, has worked in the coal industry as an underground miner for more than 10 years and has been part of the Mines Rescue Team for six years.

After graduating from North Rockhampton High School, Mr Rothery went on the play professional football with the Brisbane Broncos before moving to the Balmain Tigers.

He continued his footy career at the CQ Comets for 12 years.

In 2017, he was announced as One Nation’s candidate for the seat of Rockhampton (losing by 3164 votes) and finished third in Capricornia in the 2019 federal election and 2020 state election, when he ran for Keppel after relocating to Yeppoon.

Mr Rothery believes Livingstone Shire needs to change “forever increasing water, our very high rates, the standard of our roads, beach access and the embarrassing conditions of our parks and pathways”.

He also believes there is a strong demand for a youth centre on the Capricorn Coast and stated on social media that “regardless if elected or not, l will be a vocal advocate to ensure one of these centres are developed”.

Bill Ludwig (too early to call)

Bill Ludwig

Bill Ludwig spent four terms as mayor before he lost to incumbent mayor Andy Ireland in 2020.

Over the decades, he has held leadership roles with the Capricorn Coast Tourist Organisation president, Regional Economic Development and Fitzroy Basin Association director, Regional Strategic Planning and Local Disaster Management Group chairman, Local Marine Advisory and Reef Guardian Committees.

“Business skills, life experience and my passion for community involvement equipped me for the important leadership roles I have been privileged to successfully undertake on behalf of our community,” Mr Ludwig said.

Mr Ludwig played a key role in the de-amalgamation from Rockhampton, allowing Livingstone to “take control of its own destiny”.

Following this, Mr Ludwig led the council in securing $150 million in state and federal funding.

“Securing the funding to invest in critical shire-wide road networks, water security, wastewater and recycling management laid a solid infrastructure foundation,” he said.

“While community projects, multi-sports and recreation facilities added to liveability; Emu Park Centenary of Anzac, Foreshore Precinct and Village Centre Revitalisation, along with Yeppoon Foreshore and CBD Rejuvenation, walking and cycleway networks, shire-wide playgrounds and parkland projects are prime examples.

Mr Ludwig has nominated for councillor as he believes the current council is not applying for funding grants which require co-contributions, labelling this as “shortsighted”.