Brisbane bayside residents concern over Labor Party ‘out of area’ councillor

Supporters of a local candidate are concerned that ALP head office will parachute a candidate from outside the area to replace retiring councillor Peter Cumming.

The are some concerns among Wynnum residents about Councillor Peter Cumming's replacement for the Wynnum Manly Ward.

Concern is growing among some residents of Brisbane’s bayside over plans to parachute a candidate from outside the area into a ward to be left vacant by retiring councillor Peter Cumming.

Cr Cumming, who has held the seat since 1994, recently confirmed he would retire from the position and also said the party would look to place a new female councillor into the ward as part of preselection before an election next year.

But multiple Labor Party sources believe a faction within the party is seeking to place Danielle Shankey, who lives outside the bayside area and is a senior policy advisor to State Government Minister Meaghan Scanlon, into the position without a ballot of local branch members.

Those concerned members believe the ballot, if it happened, would instead be won by local resident Brenda Ryan.

Ms Ryan has lived in Wynnum Manly for six years, is a qualified accountant who does the books for a local RSL branch and also helped organise the Halloween Street Festival in Wynnum last year.

Retiring Councillor Peter Cumming. Picture: John Gass

The plans have already sparked backlash among the bayside community with Labor Party life member and local resident, David Westlake, saying the process was a “farce”.

“We have a perfect local candidate already here, we don’t need someone from outside of the area,” he said.

“I know people around the area who have said if this is true, they can get stuffed, we won’t vote for them.

“We can’t afford to lose this ward.”

Qld Labor State Secretary Kate Flanders. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The ward has been held by Labor for 71 years and Cr Cumming had a margin of 11.5 per cent at the last election in 2020.

The Labor Party could not confirm whether the rumours were true but state secretary, Kate Flanders, said the party undertook preselection processes in accordance with their rules.

“Councillor Peter Cumming has indicated that he will not recontest the Wynnum Manly Ward at the next Council election however Mr Cumming has not yet resigned from Council,” she said.

“There are a lot of factors considered when selecting candidates including their lived experience and what they bring to the Labor team.

“We are confident that we’ll be able to field a great set of candidates all across Brisbane, including for Lord Mayor.”

The administrative committee of the Labor Party met on April 11 but the Wynnum Manly preselection was not discussed.