Brisbane planning boss and LNP candidate for Ryan Julian Simmonds’ big campaign promises

CAMPBELL Newman may have called on him to stand down from the Brisbane City Council ahead of his tilt at federal politics, but Julian Simmonds isn’t taking any notice, as details of his ambitious plan emerge.

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BRISBANE’S powerful planning boss has promised to doorknock 1200 houses and fundraise $80,000 for his tilt at federal politics all while carrying out the duties of a local councillor.

Brisbane City Planning Committee chairman Julian Simmonds was preselected as the LNP’s candidate for the federal seat of Ryan on Saturday, beating former boss Jane Prentice.

Cr Julian Simmonds. Picture: AAP/Renae Droop

Cr Simmonds said he would be campaigning for Ryan on his weekends and was confident he could represent Walter Taylor Ward constituents until he resigned from council.

It comes after former lord mayor and premier Campbell Newman called on Cr Simmonds to step down from council now that he’d committed to campaigning for Ryan.

A brochure, given to LNP branch members, that detailed Cr Simmonds’s ambitious plan for his first 100 days as candidate was shared on social media by Cr Nicole Johnston (Tennyson).

In it, he promised to “personally” doorknock 1200 homes and fundraise $80,000 to “kick off the campaign.

Cr Simmonds’ first 100 days.

Cr Simmonds’ commitments.

Another pledge was to talk to branch members about their “learnings” from the recent state campaign, and what the LNP needed to do to “win government in 2019”.

He also committed to put together a campaign team, establish a campaign office in the state seat of Cooper and commence phone canvassing throughout the electorate.

More broadly, he promised “an enthusiastic and highly active grassroots campaign” and “proactive and regular engagement with local LNP members”.

Cr Simmonds said his campaign promises were part of demonstrating the energy and enthusiasm he would use to fight for the vote of Ryan constituents.

“I am confident I can undertake the task of representing the constituents of the Walter Taylor ward both as their councillor and their federal LNP candidate and will be using my weekends to doorknock, phone canvass, and establish my campaign infrastructure,” he said.

“I will be stepping down in the coming weeks as planning chairman just as soon as the council has completed the task of finalising it’s new Budget and then, once the election is called, I will resign as the councillor so that I can campaign full-time.”

Cr Julian Simmonds celebrates his preselection as the LNP candidate for Ryan with wife Madeline and baby son Theodore. Picture: AAP/Renae Droop

But Opposition leader Peter Cumming said Cr Simmonds was being unfair to Walter Taylor ward residents and more worrying was his continuance as planning chair while fundraising.

He repeated his call for Cr Simmonds to stand down from Civic Cabinet, immediately.

“Basically he won’t be doing his job properly as local councillor if he’s going to be doing all this stuff,” he said.

“Having your planning chair out there chasing political donations, while ruling on developments just can’t be allowed to happen.

“His promise to raise 80,000 in political donations is a smoking gun.”

On Tuesday, Cr Cumming and Cr Johnston moved used urgency motions to demand Cr Simmonds stand down from the Civic Cabinet and have his Walter Taylor Ward finances watched.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and the LNP administration quashed the motions.

Cr Quirk congratulated Cr Simmonds and said he was staying on as planning chair at Cr Quirk’s request.

He said that Cr Simmonds would be abiding by the law, as all councillors must do.