Ry Collins officially declared mayor of the Whitsunday Regional Council

After a counting process that started nearly two weeks ago on council election day, the Whitsundays officially has a new mayor.

Bowen Gumlu Growers Association general manager Ry Collins has been appointed as a director on the Greater Whitsunday Alliance Board. Picture: Fiona Kroll

Ry Collins will be the new Whitsunday region mayor after the Electoral Commission of Queensland formally declared his victory today.

The result follows a lengthy two-week count process that saw the ECQ break down all preferences cast by voters, although Collins’ victory had been a given from election day with candidate Philip Batty conceding he had mathematically lost on the night of the election.

Mr Collins secured 62.8 per cent of preferences or 9478 votes out of the 18,746 formal votes cast after first preferences were added.

His runner-up Philip Batty secured 37.4 per cent of the preferences or the remaining 5663 votes after candidates Richard Evans and Peter Hood were cast out of the election.

Joining him at the council table will be almost entirely known faces, with the Division 2 and Division 6 seats being the only ones contested in the Whitsunday region’s six divisions.

Candidate for mayor Ry Collins and candidate for Division 2 Clay Bauman were both present as scrutineers on election day on March 16. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

In Division 6, former council CEO John Finlay was declared the successful councillor candidate on Thursday, having won 72.57 per cent of the votes with 2328 votes compared to David Paddon with 880.

Mr Finlay takes over from Mike Brunker who announced his retirement from local politics earlier this year.

In Division 2, current councillor Clay Bauman will be in office for another 4 years, after he won 58.43 per cent of the votes with 1837 votes compared to Tony Price with 1307 votes.

Four incumbent councillors have resecured their divisions after running uncontested including Jan Clifford for Division 1, John Collins in Division 2, Michelle Wright for Division 4, and Gary Simpson for Division 5.

The ECQ, in distributing the preferences for the mayoral vote, had counted more than 2822 ballots nominating Peter Hood as first choice for mayor and 2401 ballots nominating Richard Evans as first choice for mayor.

Of those ballots, 991 put Mr Batty as second preference compared to 625 for Mr Collins.

Earlier

Even if the majority of the 4500-odd ballot papers still to be counted do not put Ry Collins as first choice, he will be taking over from Julie Hall as the Whitsundays next mayor.

That is because as of Friday morning, Mr Collins had secured 47.2 per cent of the vote, with 8780 votes compared to second place contender, Philip Batty, with 24.92 per cent or 4636 votes.

John Finlay has announced his candidacy for division 5 councillor at the upcoming local elections in the Whitsundays.

This makes it a near statistical impossibility for the remaining 4475 votes, or preferences from the third and fourth place candidates, to knock Mr Collins off the winner’s perch.

While Mr Collins said he would not accept victory until preferences were allotted, all councillor seats have been officially announced.

Clay Bauman won the contest against Tony price for the Division 2 councillor seat at the 2024 elections. Picture: Estelle Sanchez

Mr Collins said his supporters were excited to be nearing a conclusion after a “short, sharp” campaign and an “exhausting couple of weeks” at the pre-polls under hot, inclement weather.

Mr Collins, who had been serving as Bowen Gumlu Growers Association CEO, revealed he already had an action plan to hit the ground running in council chambers with housing as top priority.

Ry Collins with his daughters Sophie and Lola. Picture: Kirra Grimes

“It’s a significant pain point at the moment, not just for the vulnerable in our community but also the business sector,” he said, adding housing was also having flow-on effects on recruiting much-needed teachers and medical staff.

Mr Collins said growth was second on the action plan as many in the Whitsundays felt their towns were “falling behind”, with an assessment of council accountability, culture and community engagement coming in third.

“I think there’s an opportunity at a strategic leadership level to really drive that direction and set some standards,” he said,

“I’m not saying it’s broken there but we definitely need to make sure we’re listening to the community with our decision making … (and) look for opportunities to help make some savings and be diligent with ratepayers’ money.”