Cairns Post readers choose independent Paul Taylor as preferred mayor ahead of election
These Cairns Regional Council candidates have topped the Cairns Post’s pre-election polls, which have delivered some surprise results one month out from election day. See the voting trends here.
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For the first time in 12 years, Cairns may end up without a Unity Team mayor after former cop Paul Taylor topped the Cairns Post’s pre-election primary poll with one month of campaigning left.
But with the Unity Team’s candidates well-positioned to take more than half the seats at the council table, Unity deputy leader Brett Moller could end up the next council’s kingmaker.
According to the polls, which gathered 4581 responses in two weeks, Divisions 2, 3 and 9 will likely remain in the hands of independents, while the Unity Team is well-positioned to retain Divisions 1, 4, 6 and 8, and regain Division 5.
The polls are not good news for councillors Rob Pyne, Terry James and Amy Eden, who have all vacated their seats in pursuit of other positions.
Mr James and Ms Eden trail behind Mr Taylor in the mayoral race, while Mr Pyne is struggling to convince voters he is the best person for Division 5.
The polls are also bad news for both Team Eden and Community First; all of their candidates are trailing independents and Unity Team members.
The polls gauge primary voting and not subsequent preferential results, which will play decisive roles in the March 16 outcome.
People were also able to vote in all divisional polls even though Cairns residents can only vote for candidates in their home division as part of the election.
Here’s who is leading each poll.
Mayor – Paul Taylor
Poll count: 936 votes.
Poll result: Paul Taylor (38 per cent, 356 votes); Terry James (33 per cent, 308 votes); Amy Eden (21 per cent, 195 votes); Denis Walls (six per cent, 56 votes); John Kelly (two per cent, 21 votes).
Crime and community safety are the biggest issues for voters heading into this council election, despite the fact local governments play a much smaller role than the state government in solving them.
Mr Taylor’s former Queensland Police career combined with his commitments to community safety appear to have resonated with voters.
He also had the endorsement of former Cairns mayor Kevin Byrne.
Terry James, whose local government career has spanned more than two decades, trails by five per cent and is one of three Unity Team members not leading their respective polls.
Amy Eden remains in contention but has a lot of ground to make up with the electorate; she trails Mr Taylor by 17 per cent.
Community First’s leader Denis Walls and independent John Kelly respectively picked up six per cent and two per cent of the poll vote.
Independent Leah Potter had not nominated prior to the Cairns Post poll.
Division 1 – Brett Moller
Poll count: 431 votes
Poll result: Walkover
The Moller name remains strong in the south.
Incumbent Brett Moller has no competitors, according to the ECQ’s list of candidates, and is therefore presumed to remain Division 1 councillor short of a successful late challenge.
The Cairns Post ran a poll asking readers if Mr Moller was the best councillor for Division 1.
After 431 votes, 55 per cent said yes, and 45 per cent said they would prefer if someone else was nominated.
Division 2 – John Schilling
Poll count: 348 votes
Poll result: John Schilling (30 per cent, 105 votes); Nikki Giumelli (24 per cent, 82 votes); Matthew Tickner (19 per cent, 65 votes); Kesa Strieby (12 per cent, 42 votes); Stephen Lippingwell (9 per cent, 33 votes); Patricia Courtenay (six per cent, 21 votes).
Former Division 2 councillor John Schilling is poised to regain his old seat, leading the most competitive field of candidates in the Cairns Post poll.
Unity candidate Nikki Giumelli trails Mr Schilling by six per cent, and independent Matthew Tickner is sitting in third with 19 per cent of the vote.
Team Eden’s Kesa Strieby got 12 per cent of the poll vote, independent Stephen Lippingwell received 9 per cent and Community First’s Patricia Courtenay received six per cent.
Division 3 – Cathy Zeiger
Poll count: 366 votes
Poll result: Cathy Zeiger (72 per cent, 263 votes); Heidi Healy (20 per cent, 73 votes); Marisa Seden (eight per cent, 30 votes).
Cathy Zeiger has proved a popular independent councillor over the past four years.
Members of the public and some of her colleagues have regarded her as a dependable presence in the chamber during an at-times tumultuous term.
Independents Rob Pyne, Amy Eden and Brett Olds have taken issue with Unity councillors across the floor, and vice versa, on many occasions.
But apart from a skirmish with former mayor Bob Manning when he accused her of “electioneering” during an October council meeting, Ms Zeiger has mostly stayed away from the drama.
She leads Unity’s Heidi Healy by 52 per cent, and Community First’s Marisa Seden by 64 per cent.
Division 4 – Jeremy Neal
Poll count: 336 votes
Poll result: Jeremy Neal (41 per cent, 137 votes); Shane Cuthbert (30 per cent, 100 votes); Trevor Tim (29 per cent, 99 votes).
Jeremy Neal was elevated from nominee to incumbent in January amid contentious circumstances.
Whether it be his standing in the community, affiliation with the Unity Team or the incumbency, he has a solid primary poll lead ahead of his rivals.
Shane Cuthbert trails by 10 per cent; Team Eden’s Trevor Tim trails by 12 per cent.
Independent Catherine Mahoney had not nominated prior to the Cairns Post poll.
Division 5 – Nathan Lee Long
Poll count: 593 votes
Poll result: Nathan Lee Long (53 per cent, 315 votes); Rob Pyne (27 per cent, 162 votes); Emma Gelling (20 per cent, 116 votes).
Unity’s Nathan Lee Long has a significant primary lead over his Division 5 rivals Rob Pyne and Emma Gelling.
If he’s elected, he will need to resist the Division 5 curse – the last two seat holders began as a Unity Team member but, after infighting, ended as independents.
Independent candidate Birgit Machnitzke had not nominated prior to the Cairns Post poll.
Division 6 – Kristy Vallely
Poll count: 363 votes
Poll result: Kristy Vallely (37 per cent, 135 votes); Alan Benn (25 per cent, 91 votes); Shane Trimby (25 per cent, 90 votes); Nicole Sleeman (13 per cent, 47 votes).
Unity’s Kristy Vallely finishes her first term with good news – voters seem to want her back.
She leads her nearest competitors by 12 per cent.
Team Eden’s Shane Trimby and independent Alan Benn are locked in a dead heat for second place with 25 per cent of the poll vote each.
Community First’s Nicole Sleeman has 13 per cent of the vote.
Division 7 – Matthew Calanna
Poll count: 403
Poll result: Matthew Calanna (44 per cent, 176 votes); Anna Middleton (28 per cent, 112 votes); Ian Moller-Nielsen (20 per cent, 82 votes); Renee Lees (eight per cent, 33 votes).
The retirement of Max O’Halloran has allowed fresh blood to rush into the Division 7 seat, although less candidates have nominated than expected.
Unity’s Matthew Calanna leads the field, 16 per cent ahead of independent Anna Middleton, his nearest competitor.
Team Eden’s Ian Moller-Nielsen is third with 20 per cent of the poll vote; Community First’s Renee Lees is last with eight per cent.
Division 8 – Rhonda Coghlan
Poll count: 349 votes
Poll results: Rhonda Coghlan (46 per cent, 160 votes); Hannah Boon (26 per cent, 92 votes); Jo Piggott (16 per cent, 56 votes); Phillip Musumeci (12 per cent, 41 votes).
Like Ms Vallely, Unity’s Rhonda Coghlan’s first councillor term has been well received by voters; she leads her nearest competitor, independent Hannah Boon, by 20 per cent of the primary polling vote.
Team Eden’s Jo Piggott is third with 16 per cent of the vote, while Community First’s Phillip Musumeci is last with 12 per cent of the vote.
Division 9 – Brett Olds
Poll count: 456 votes
Poll results: Brett Olds (73 per cent, 332 votes); Carine Visschers (27 per cent, 124 votes)
It’s a tough challenge to triumph over Division 9 incumbent Brett Olds in his own backyard.
Tougher still as a candidate from a team stocked with people formerly associated with the Australian Greens and Socialist Alliance political parties, both of which have historically been very unconvincing to federal and state electorates in Far North Queensland.
But Community First’s Carine Visschers knows how to push through a tough challenge – she once cycled 33,000km around the world to reach Australia.
Trailing Mr Olds by 46 per cent, she has a lot of door knocking to do over the next month to pull off what would be a huge upset.
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