Noosa Shire Council mayoral candidates on why you should vote for them

Noosa Shire Council mayoral candidates have made their final pitch on why residents should vote for them. Watch all of the mayoral candidates video pitches here.

Noosa Shire Council mayoral candidates have made their final pitch on why residents should vote for them. See what they had to say.

John Morrall

Hi, i’m John Morrall and I’m running for the Mayor of Noosa Shire in the 2024 election. Why should you vote for me? I’ve lived in Noosa Heads for 26 years and I’ve run two very high-profile businesses as in Harvey Norman and as in Jetts, very high traffic flow.

So for 26 years, I’ve been listening to all the issues and the problems that are happening in Noosa Heads and the fact that there’s going to be a change in guard, I thought it was absolutely time to step up.

What do I bring to the table? I bring 45 years of strong business knowledge in hospitality, retail, and the fitness industry, and most of those businesses are very strong within this area, and I want to work very closely with small business to make this the most amazing place.

At the end of the day, this is is the place where I’ll die.

I love this place, and I don’t want to be anywhere else, and I don’t want to change what we’ve got, I want our environment to stay, I want everything to stay here but I want to be able to have the power to take this town forward.

Noosa Council mayoral candidate John Morrall. Picture: Supplied

Frank Wilkie

Hello, I’m Frank Wilkie, Deputy Mayor and I’m running as a mayoral candidate in the March 16, 2024 local government elections.

I’m hoping you’ll choose me to serve as your mayor, because I genuinely believe I have the experience and the knowledge to work collaboratively and effectively with our local government framework, with your choice of councillor candidates, the community, and staff to deliver quality services and facilities for Noosa Shire residents and ratepayers.

I have a strong track record of always putting the needs of residents and the environment first and if elected to serve as your mayor on March 16, I will continue to do that with diligence and I’m hoping you’ll choose me as your mayoral candidate.

Noosa Council mayoral candidate Cr Frank Wilkie. Picture: Iwan Jones

Ingrid Jackson

I’m Ingrid Jackson and I’m running for mayor of Noosa Shire. People often ask me why I’m running, it is because residents are asking for change and I’m ready to lead the change.

I’ve got the experience as a previous councillor, I’ve got the qualifications, and lots of work experience as a manager to make things happen.

I’m particularly keen to see the Noosa vision achieved.

The Noosa plan has a fabulous vision, but unfortunately it’s not getting done because councillors get too stuck on ticking boxes instead of actually thinking the big picture.

I want to see transparency, I’ve already made a difference as a councillor getting live stream meetings, but there’s more to do.

I want a respectful council where people act with respect towards each other and I really want to get things done.

There are many plans and strategies that are just sitting on the shelf that haven’t been implemented and it’s just got to get moving.

I’ve got experience with action and I look forward to doing that.

Noosa Council mayoral candidate Ingrid Jackson. Picture: Iwan Jones

Nick Hluszko

Hi i’m Nick Hluszko and I’m running for mayor for Noosa.

I’m doing so because I believe Noosa Council is a house of cards.

We have fundamental problems with staffing, we have way too many vacancies, at last count there was over 100.

We have way too many staff who are turned over in less than two years, some 46 per cent.

We have too many people in acting roles and the culture feels all wrong.

There is no way we can deliver the right services to the community and ratepayer when the house is about to blow up.

I see rates increased 26 per cent over the last three years, we are holding $106.8 million in cash, $52m of which is held in restricted funds.

It’s impossible these days to allow that to happen when the cost of living pressures are hurting our community. It’s time to make a change.

Noosa Council mayoral candidate Nick Hluszko. Picture: Iwan Jones