Whitsunday mayoral candidate Mike Brunker slams other hopefuls

A mayoral candidate has hit out at ‘playful accountants’ who have suggested the council they want to lead is ‘corrupt’, ‘broke’ and ‘not transparent’.

A mayoral candidate has hit out at ‘playful accountants’ suggesting Whitsunday Regional Council is ‘corrupt’ and ‘broke’.

Councillor Mike Brunker — who is one of six people waiting for a result to be handed down in the Whitsunday mayoral by-election — said it was an “absolute embarrassment” to hear fellow candidates rubbishing the hard work of council staff ensuring the council was fiscally responsible.

Mr Brunker said he understood elections were part of democracy but candidates should not be allowed to make up stories.

“The absolute embarrassment … when you’ve got to go over to the Larrikin Hotel (in Bowen) with the Chamber of Commerce and hear potential mayoral candidates slam the absolute finances of this council saying that we are not transparent, we’re corrupt, we’re broke, anything they can put their tongue to,” he said at Wednesday’s Whitsunday council meeting.

Councillor Mike Brunker.

Mr Brunker was Acting Mayor after former Mayor Andrew Willcox won the federal seat of Dawson in George Christensen’s wake.

When Mr Brunker made a bid for mayor, Councillor John Collins was appointed Acting Mayor.

The by-election was held on August 13 but no result has officially been handed down because three candidates have been so close.

Whitsunday Regional Council Acting Mayor and Division 3 councillor John Collins

Mr Brunker was the front runner with 29 per cent of the vote, fellow councillor Al Grundy is close behind on 21.65 per cent and Julie Hall, the unsuccessful One Nation candidate for the seat of Dawson in May, is on 20.62 per cent with 70.13 per cent of the vote counted.

The Electoral Commission of Queensland has been awaiting final postal votes before it continued counting and began sorting preferences.

It emerged on Wednesday evening that on preferences, Julie Hall was likely to win the top job.

Whitsunday Regional Council 2022 mayoral by-election candidates. Julie Hall (top left), Phil Batty (bottom left), Al Grundy (top right), Jan Clifford (bottom right) and Mike Brunker (right). Not shown: Peter J Hood. Picture: Contributed

Before councillors endorsed the unconfirmed minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee meetings related to the council’s finances, Mr Brunker asked Corporate Services Director Jason Bradshaw to provide an overview of audit process.

Mr Bradshaw said initially he and financial services manager Leah Bradley would do internal checks and controls to oversee the financial team’s work in what he described as “quite a thorough process”.

“We then go through the external auditors – contract auditors out of Brisbane. They come to site and go through the information with them. They then do their own audited analysis,” he said.

“The information then goes from that company up to the Queensland Audit Office.

“The QAO go through the work papers produced by council that have been audited and ticked off. They agree or disagree with that information.

“That then comes back to council, through the audit committee … then if there are any changes required they will make recommendations back to the officers preparing it.

“The audit committee will then agree to what’s been produced by the audit office or not but in this case agree.

“Then the information comes to the council signed and sealed effectively as correct and accurate.”

Mr Brunker, noting there were “three levels of independent audit beside yourselves”, asked whether any of the mayoral candidates had requested an overview of the council’s finances.

He was told they did not.

“So not one of the candidates come and asked for a go at the finances,” Mr Brunker said.

“Whether it be in Airlie Beach or Bowen, you have got to put up with that absolute crap from people who know absolutely nothing.

“Our local auditors, we have a proper local accountant with 25 years as a CEO who runs his own business, (and they have) to put up with playful accountants who know absolutely nothing.

“It is a very thorough process that we go through.

“We can’t pay off William Buck because they are a Brisbane accountant and we can’t pay off the government.

“I would certainly like to congratulate the team here.

“It’s unfortunate. That’s democracy and we have to go through this but one accountant had four or five figures where he said we had blown millions of dollars in waste.

“They were not itemised, they were not looked at and he would actually put that up on his Facebook page.

“Then you have got other people jumping up saying they are going to slash waste and cut back, it was childish.

“But the fact we have three different levels, if there was any waste or cutting to be done, or any non-transparent financial actions, I am sure one of these regulatory bodies would pick that up.

“I know we probably can’t stamp it out but anyone that wants to run for council positions should at least have the decency to come and ask the financial people what the books are, instead of making up things at a pub venue, making up stories.”

Division 1 Councillor and mayoral hopeful Jan Clifford. Picture: Kirra Grimes

Councillor Jan Clifford, also a mayoral candidate, asked about a sustainable local government report generated each year.

“In last year’s report there were three groups — councils on the brink, not financially sustainable, a middle group and we were in the top group where we were given a big green tick. Are we still in the green tick or have we slipped back a bit?” she asked.

Whitsunday Councillor and mayoral hopeful Al Grundy.

Mr Bradshaw said that information would not be available until every council had completed the audit process and he expected the report Ms Clifford mentioned to drop in 2023.

“But out financial performance continues to be stable,” he said.

“I see no reason we would move from being in the group assessed as sound operating councils.”

Councillor Grundy said the audit conclusions in the report before council charted areas of risk to the council and he noted “in every case” auditors were satisfied with the outcomes.

“The independent audit is showing that every part of the business, that the work your team is doing … is well above board,” he said.

Acting Mayor Collins — who is on the Audit and Risk Committee with Mr Brunker — said the committee had four current or former CEOs “with probably more than 100 years of experience between them”.

The audit committee minutes were confirmed 6-0.