Outspoken former Noosa councillor Ingrid Jackson announces mayoral bid

An outspoken former Noosa councillor who had complaints made against her by former colleagues and achieved council meeting live streams and document changes has thrown her hat in the ring to become mayor.

Former Noosa councillor Ingrid Jackson is running for mayor.

An outspoken former Noosa councillor who had complaints made against her by former colleagues has thrown her hat in the ring to become mayor.

Ingrid Jackson has announced that she will be a candidate for mayor at the local government election in March.

“I’ve got a lot of experience as a former councillor and I’m ready for a role where I can actually lead and make a difference,” Ms Jackson said.

Ingrid Jackson served on Noosa Council for one term.

Ms Jackson previously served as a councillor from 2016 to 2020 and was known for being a champion of transparency, prompting several decisions that served the public interest.

“I became renowned as the councillor fighting for transparency, in spite of opposition by other councillors because the community was so supportive of it,” she said.

“I succeeded in getting all of our meetings live streamed on video as well as recording how councillors voted in the minutes for each meeting.

“If elected, I want our council to achieve even greater transparency.”

Ingrid Jackson and then Noosa Council mayor Tony Wellington agreed to disagree on broadcasting council meetings.

Her advocacy for greater openness and transparency on Noosa Council was recognised by her inclusion in the Sunshine Coast Daily’s Power 100 list in 2020.

However, a willingness to make a stand and not bow to pressure, earned her the ire of fellow councillors, who lodged several complaints against her, that were knocked back.

As a councillor Ingrid Jackson wanted greater public recording of the council's general committee meetings.

The complaints related to alleged breaches of the councillor code of conduct, based on procedural matters at council meetings and online posts and comments she had allegedly made on her then councillor Facebook page.

“I found that because I was initiating change, I was actually getting a lot of pushback from councillors,” she said.

“I had about seven complaints about my councillor behaviour, which were all knocked back as being unsubstantiated, so I was getting a lot of resistance to change that I was having to deal with.”

It has resulted in her calling for a higher standard of behaviour in those that are elected to the new council.

“I’m taking a stand on respectful behaviour, because some of that poor behaviour has continued in the current council,” she said.

“If I’m elected as mayor, I’d be looking for respect on council.”

Ms Jackson also said she vowed to make progress on issues including traffic, health, housing, and transport.

“I will be an active mayor who gets things done and who talks about the hard stuff as well as the good stuff,” she said.

In announcing her candidacy she joins the likes of Deputy Mayor Frank Wilkie, Nick Hluszko, and former Bigger Loser contestant turned Noosa gym owner John Morrall.