Top marks for some, room for improvement for others: Cairns Regional Council’s councillor report cards
Find out which Cairns councillors have performed the best almost a year on from the local government elections and rate your elected representatives. VOTE NOW.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Water security, fluoride, youth crime, a hefty rate rise and ongoing governance problems are just a few of the issues that have challenged Cairns Regional Council’s leaders over the past 12 months.
Here’s how the Cairns Post rated our councillors and mayor Amy Eden’s performance since the local government election.
Brett Moller, Division 1 (Unity)
After flirting with a run at state politics, the long-term Unity councillor has settled in nicely, providing a strong voice for his division while weighing in on governance issues.
Mr Moller’s raised concerns about the mayor’s potential conflict of interest when she chaired a panel that appointed her campaign adviser and donor, John Andrejic as acting CEO.
But the respected lawyer didn’t flinch.
He will have a fight on his hands with developers over the best way to deliver trunk infrastructure to the Mount Peter southern growth corridor in the coming months.
The Local Authority Waste Management Action Committee president will also be forced to lobby hard for the council not to pay a potentially huge waste levy fee to the state government this year.
The southside councillor has also been known to occasionally wear the odd garishly bright shirt but there are no style points in this report card.
Grade: B+
Matthew Tickner, Division 2 (Independent)
As one of three first time councillors, Mr Tickner has shown he isn’t afraid to challenge his contemporaries, even if it means going it alone.
The former campaign manager for the retiring Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, stood his ground over a more than 30 per cent increase to CBD parking fines in August and looked sharp in doing so.
Of the councillors opposed to fluoridating Cairns’ water supply, Mr Tickner gave the most considered argument against the public health measure at a key meeting held in December.
He has also spoken about the disturbing Manunda home invasion that occurred last month and sought constructive solutions to make Cairns safer.
Many inside the council consider the former Cairns Chamber of Commerce vice president a future leader who may pursue further opportunities in state and federal politics.
It will be interesting to see whether his peers push for him as a mayoral candidate in the near future.
Grade: B+
Cathy Zeiger, Division 3 (Independent)
It’s been an up-and-down year for the experienced southside councillor who missed out on becoming deputy mayor to Division 9’s Brett Olds.
Ms Zeiger praised the appointment of the mayor’s former campaign adviser, John Andrejic as the council’s acting CEO last year, a move that has since been mired in controversy.
During the state election, the former youth worker also made the decision to openly campaign for LNP candidate, Yolonde Entsch, abandoning any sense of neutrality from the councillor.
Ms Zeiger, who is friends with Ms Entsch, was regularly spotted handing out how-to-vote cards.
There have been some strong wins for her division, including a $4m cheque from the Commonwealth to assist in the construction of the new Cairns Community and Multicultural Centre in White Rock.
Internally, she has voiced her displeasure with the many leaks that have come out of the council this year.
Grade: B-
Trevor Tim, Division 4 (Team Eden)
As a radio host and motivational speaker, “Trendy Trev” has a renowned gift of the gab, uplifting people on an almost daily basis.
And yet, he hasn’t said enough as a councillor.
On issues related to the advancement of First Nations peoples, something that is close to his heart, Mr Tim has yet to find his voice.
When the council scrapped its First Peoples Advisory Committee in July, the broadcaster failed to deliver a compelling argument for its retention, despite the critical role it can play in informing policy, procedures and future projects.
It’s still unclear where the council is at with its revised Reconciliation Action Plan either.
Perhaps this will create an opportunity for Mr Tim to finally be heard on an important topic.
Grade: C+
Rob Pyne, Division 5 (Independent)
The looming threat of bankruptcy and the possibility of losing his job has hung over Mr Pyne’s head for this entire term – but you’d hardly know it from talking to him.
After a surprise win in Division 5 last March, Mr Pyne has stayed true to his mantra of fighting for the underdog.
A campaign last June to repair the abysmal state of Brophy St yielded positive results for residents.
This year, he’s turned his attention to lobbying for better footpaths in areas where disabled and other vulnerable residents live.
Calling out the state government’s Adult Time, Adult Crime policies didn’t win him any friends within the chamber at the last ordinary meeting.
But the son of former mayor Tom Pyne isn’t here to be anyone’s mate.
Intentionally distancing himself from his fellow councillors has made for the occasional awkward moment within the council.
For the man who beat mayor Amy Eden’s adviser Gavin King to become the Member for Cairns in 2015 though, it’s clear that he is comfortable being uncomfortable.
Grade: B
Kristy Vallely, Division 6 (Unity)
The Cairns chamber is always a better place when Ms Vallely voices her opinion.
The problem is it happens all too infrequently.
In June, she sternly rebuked the mayor for laying the blame for a 6.7 per cent rate rise on the previous council, with Division 1 councillor Brett Moller firmly backing her.
The Imperfect Mum blogger also had a big win recently with $5m in funding from the Commonwealth for the Redlynch Sporting Precinct.
Ms Vallely faced a big test this week, voting against a controversial development in her division on Wednesday.
Grade: B-
Anna Middleton, Division 7 (Independent)
After an uneasy start, Ms Middleton has quickly found her feet, advocating for her division – which takes in Edge Hill and Whitfield along with parts of Manoora, Manunda and Brinsmead – while also weighing in on big picture issues for the council.
In public and behind closed doors, Ms Middleton has held the mayor to account on governance issues which eventually led to the independent recruitment of the highly regarded new CEO Ken Gouldthorp.
Her brightest moment came in December during the fluoride debate where she delivered a blistering speech calling for the mineral to be added to the town’s water supply.
“As a councillor, I feel like I have been more intently briefed on Ironman than I have on fluoridation of our water,” Ms Middleton said.
The longtime physiotherapist appears to be applying pressure in all the right places.
Grade: A-
Rhonda Coghlan, Division 8 (Unity)
Cairns Regional Council’s rock, Ms Coghlan’s strength is her ability to see all sides of an argument and identify a path forward.
The experienced Unity team member rightfully voiced the concerns of thousands of residents affected by Tropical Cyclone Jasper after the council issued a damning report on key stakeholders’ responses to the natural disaster and subsequent flooding last year.
One of Ms Coghlan’s biggest challenges will be ensuring her division, which takes in Caravonica, Holloways Beach, Machans Beach, Smithfield, Yorkeys Knob and Trinity Park,
gets its fair share of additional disaster funding, post-Jasper.
But the former finance manager’s business savvy and willingness to work with all sides of politics to deliver good outcomes for her communities make her an asset to the council.
Ms Coghlan doesn’t always speak up, but when she does other councillors listen.
Grade: A-
Brett Olds, Division 9 and deputy mayor (Independent)
The popular northern beaches councillor has had an intriguing year, attempting to serve as a buffer between councillors and the mayor last year.
That came to an end when Ms Eden made several unsubstantiated criticisms of the current CEO in a letter sent to councillors in December.
Since then, “Oldsy”, as he is commonly known, has done a public U-turn, declaring that the mayor’s proposal to buy a stake in the North Queensland Airports Group was “rubbish”.
Mr Olds then leapt to the defence of Cairns Show Association when Ms Eden suggested that building a hotel or apartments on the city’s showground might be a good idea.
It will be fascinating to see what his next move is.
Grade: B
Amy Eden, Mayor (Team Eden)
When Cairns’ mayor claimed victory last year she boldly declared the city would be transformed into a vibrant “garden of Eden”.
The community would be safer and led by a council committed to “transparency, accountability and engagement”.
To her credit, Ms Eden has guided the final stages of securing $87.5m for the Cairns Water Security Project from the state government.
But her tenure has also seen a ratepayer-funded “workshop” at a luxury resort and a 6.7 per cent rate rise to boot.
Ms Eden chairing a panel that appointed her campaign adviser and donor, John Andrejic, as acting CEO last year, resulted in a referral to the state’s top corruption watchdog.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr Andrejic and no findings have been made.
Separately, there needs to be more accountability when dealing with the media and the public.
In the past 12 months, the mayor has walked out of a press conference when she didn’t want to answer questions, cancelled interviews at the last minute and carefully managed media appearances and statements.
The council also hired an external content creator around November to craft slick social media videos.
When asked how much residents were paying for the polished productions, the council’s media team refused to release the figure.
Throughout much of that time, her fellow elected representatives have defended her, even at a cost to their own personal reputations.
But that came to an end when Ms Eden criticised new CEO Ken Gouldthorp, distributing a letter about him on Christmas Eve.
It proved to be the final straw for many who had previously backed her.
An announcement soon after that she would seek to use ratepayer money to buy a stake in the North Queensland Airports Group only infuriated councillors even more.
Ms Eden has also been criticised for declaring that the council would explore building apartments on the Cairns Showground without adequately consulting with the Cairns Show Association last month.
Back room conversations on Spence St have been terse in recent weeks.
Ms Eden has also failed to deliver on some of her pre-election promises, including free dumping of green waste, e-waste and white goods year round.
As an ambassador for Cairns, mayors are held to a high standard, and are judged accordingly.
Grade: D
More Coverage
Originally published as Top marks for some, room for improvement for others: Cairns Regional Council’s councillor report cards
Sorry Qld Health, you are being embarrassed by our gender mess
Jarrod Bleijie and Tim Nicholls have some explaining to do over puberty blockers – and so do Health chiefs, writes Des Houghton.
Man killed in fire identified as respected car wash attendant
The man killed in a Cairns unit fire has been remembered as a hard worker and respected automotive detailer.