Former psychic Julie Hall declared Whitsunday’s new mayor

A former One Nation candidate with no council experience has won the Whitsunday mayoral election. In a wide-ranging interview, the new mayor views her lack of experience as an ‘advantage’.

Self-confessed former psychic and failed federal One Nation candidate Julie Hall is the next mayor of Whitsunday Regional Council.

Mrs Hall won the tight contest with 53.86 per cent of the vote, or 6774 votes, after preferences, beating out Councillor Mike Brunker who finished with 46.14 per cent, or 5803 votes.

The political outsider led a team of 40 volunteers and spent more than $10,000 on the campaign.

In a wide-ranging interview, she said her message of rates, financial waste and a perceived disconnect between the community and the planning department had cut through.

“The people have spoken and that is what is really clear about this,” she said.

“The message is loud and clear and I feel I can be that mayor that can bridge between the community and council.”

Mrs Hall said she spent the bulk of the four-week contest on main streets talking to people rather than house-to-house door knocking.

Former One Nation candidate Julie Hall is the next mayor of Whitsunday Regional Council. Picture: Facebook

“Talking to business owners and the community around the streets,” she said.

The $10,000 spend got her a short TV campaign, corflutes and brochures.

She added her Facebook campaign had been limited.

“I had a lot of difficulty getting my Facebook ads approved,” she said.

“You have to jump through hoops to be approved.”

She said her first job as mayor would be to “listen”.

“I have got to get in there, put my boots under the table, talk to the councillors, talk to the directors, have meetings with our industries and industry stakeholders,” she said.

“I listened to the people and now it is time for me to listen to council and then work out a strategy for those issues I addressed earlier on from there.”

Mrs Hall has no prior government experience but she said she considered this an “advantage” rather than a problem.

“I do not think coming in blind is a bad thing,” she said.

Julie Hall looks beat out established political figures to nab the top job at Whitsunday Regional Council. Picture: Facebook

“Because you are not in the system and so you can often identify things from a different perspective when you are not in the system.

“So I do not see that as a challenge.”

Mrs Hall ran for the federal seat of Dawson in May under the One Nation banner and she said her desire to give “people a voice” when “bureaucrats are not listening” would carry over into the council.

“That is something I run with in my federal campaign and it is what I ran with in this campaign and I am not going to change from there,” she said.

Former Mayor Andrew Willcox won the seat of Dawson in May, sparking the by-election.

Former Dawson MP George Christensen — who jumped the LNP ship to become a One Nation Senate candidate — used Facebook to congratulate Mrs Hall on her upset victory on Wednesday night.

Councillor Jan Clifford, a fellow mayoral contender, has congratulated Mrs Hall on her win but expressed some consternation a complete outsider had barnstormed her way into the top job.

One Nation's Dawson candidate Julie Hall and One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts at the Coral Cay Motel in Mackay. Picture: Duncan Evans By Duncan Evans

“I sort of feel that the three candidates that were not councillors had never attended a council meeting and I sort of thought that was a bit strange,” she said.

“If you are really interested in council, you should have made a point of attending council meetings.

“I did for eight years before I became a councillor.”

Mrs Clifford predicted the new mayor would have a “steep learning curve”.

“At the end of the day, it is up to the voters of the Whitsundays to decide who they want,” she said.

“Clearly there was a movement for change and I respect the people of the Whitsundays.”

Mrs Hall defeated Mr Brunker, Mr Grundy, Mrs Clifford, local businessman Peter Hood and Phil Batty to replace Mr Willcox.

On election night on August 13, the count was too close to call, with Mr Brunker, Mr Grundy and Mrs Hall trading places at various points in the counts as the frontrunner.

The Electoral Commission of Queensland distributed preferences to determine the winner.

Mr Brunker was leading on first preference votes and said other candidates had improperly collaborated as a team to sink him.

“There was a clear first preference of people who wanted me and then of course when you get candidates who join forces and work together it is easy to knock someone off with preferences,” he said.

Mr Brunker said all the candidates “except Al Grundy” helped hand out each other’s how-to-vote cards at different parts of the electorate at pre-poll booths and on election day.

“It was quite clear,” he said.

“If you are going to be working as a team, you should be upfront.

“You talk about transparency and honesty and you are sitting there all working together, handing out people’s preferences, without telling the public that is what you are doing, it is not very honest and it is not very integral, is it?”

Mr Brunker said he would not complain to the ECQ because it was a “paper tiger”.

Mr Brunker said he could work productively with Mrs Hall but when asked if she was a safe pair of hands for the council, he stated bluntly: “no.”

“A self-proclaimed spiritualist One Nation failed candidate talking to state Labor governments and federal Labor governments and having an LNP federal and state member, I just wonder how well we are going to be listened to,” he said.

He said he had faith the pre-existing structure and expertise at the council would “carry the day”.

“I am very confident the structure that is there, the councillors and the staff, will be able to carry the day,” he said.

“It is not a Stalinistic state, it is a democracy.”

Mrs Hall said she could work productively with the long-serving councillor.

“I feel we are both adults and I hope we can both put this competition behind us and do what is right for the people of the Whitsundays,” she said.

When asked about her past life as a psychic, Mrs Hall said it was not something she felt she should be judged on.

“I actually made a lot of money being a psychic,” she said.

“So I am not ashamed of what I did in my past and I don’t think that is anything I should be judged on.”

She added her psychic skills would not carry over to the council.

“No, I will not be using my psychic skills in council,” she said.

“I might use my gut instinct, which everyone has.

“If it does not feel right, it does not feel right for a reason.

“I have always trusted that.”

In a Facebook post from August 20 titled ‘Say No to Political Bullies’, Mrs Hall said she did not do psychic readings “anymore”.

“I prefer to empower others to drive their own lives,” she writes.

“Mind you I still have a great gut instinct for sniffing out rats lol.”

Mrs Hall opposed the state government’s vaccine mandate but emphasised as mayor she would always follow the guidelines the government established.

Mrs Hall said she would evaluate any future mandate on its own merits.

“I will look at it at the time,” she said.

“If it was going against what the people want, then I would stand up for the people.

“It depends what the community wants at the time, what the mandate is.

“So I can’t say whether I would stand against it or not, it would be on its own merit.”

In an interview with this publication in June, Mrs Hall said she would look to re-evaluate the power and influence of the CEO on the council if elected.

“It seems to be very CEO and planning led,” she said, adding she would make the council more responsive to community sentiment.

“People don’t seem to have a say anymore.

“We need community consultation and we are not getting community consultation.”