Kathy Duff new South Burnett mayor, but election count drags on
Burnett grazier, businesswoman and seasoned councillor Kathy Duff is certain to win the South Burnett mayoral election and has doubled down on the promises she made ahead of the March 16 election.
South Burnett
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With 76.48 per cent of the South Burnett Council election vote counted on Monday afternoon, Kathy Duff had maintained her winning lead on her rivals, with almost 42 per cent of the vote.
Her nearest competitor for the mayor’s job, Kirstie Schumacher, had 24.22 per cent of the vote, Gavin Jones 22.09 per cent and Tom Wilson 11.8 per cent.
The Burnett grazier, businesswoman and former councillor is unlikely to declare before the official vote has been declared but she has already indicated she is keen to start in her new job.
“I’m ready to just get things going,” she said when her early lead was obvious.
“I love the community, I want to work with the community and make things great.”
Ms Duff announced her intention to run for mayor in October 2023, after Brett Otto revealed he would not be contesting the election due to his health.
No stranger to local politics, she has served more than 20 years as a councillor for the South Burnett and Wondai Shire councils, including a stint as deputy mayor.
She campaigned on a five-point-plan and said she wanted to achieve them all in her first year.
“Those five points, I’m going to tick those boxes straight away,” she said.
The five points are:
1. Reduce council waste for affordable rates
2. Fix the roads, potholes and drains
3. Bring the depots back to the towns and restore local pride
4. Cut red tape to give businesses a break
5. Keep the divisions to support community decisions
“I’m offering something different … putting the depots back in the towns.
“I’ve seen what it was like before amalgamation, I’ve seen what it’s like since and what we’ve lost.
“What we’ve lost is that sense of community feeling, the council being close to the people where you get that customer service, we’ve lost that local,” she said.
“I want the councillors to fight for their community and really understand their community and then bring to the table all of the issues.”
Ms Duff said she also made a document during her campaign with issues that were brought to her by the public.
“I plan to go through every single one of those and provide feedback on whether I can or can’t achieve that.
“The big ticket item is also the Kingaroy and Nanango water. I’ve made a commitment to investigate and do a thorough investigation, find solutions and costing on how to fix the quality of water.”
She also has plans to abolish portfolios.
“I believe portfolios cause so much confusion because no one knows whether to go to local council or whether to go to the roads portfolio holder.
Ms Duff also had kind words for her fellow candidates.
“I just want to wish them all the best for the future and hope things work out for them. They have given so much to their community and we valued their contribution and it’s unfortunate that only one person can win the mayoral race.”
She also called Tom Wilson a “champion”.
“The campaign he ran was great and he’s got a big future,” she said.
Ms Duff lives on the family property, Di Di Station, that was selected in 1916 by her grandfather John Patrick Duff,who also served as a councillor.
Her brother was also a councillor on the former Wondai council.
She runs her own cattle grazing and timber business and in 2019 at the Local Government Conference in Cairns she received the Peak Services Butch Lenton Award for her work helping to rebuild the town of Proston.
Ms Duff also wanted to thank her supporters during the campaign.
“I just want to thank the amazing volunteers that I’ve had right across the region, the people who just stepped up and helped have been simply incredible.
“I just want to do them proud and be a servant leader and keep my feet on the ground and deliver on the election promises that I made,” she said.
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