Townsville elects Nick Dametto as new mayor to end period of turmoil
Queensland's largest garrison city looks set for new leadership as Nick Dametto leads the mayoral race to replace a scandal-plagued predecessor. He is a former Katter’s Australian Party deputy leader.
Former Queensland parliamentarian Nick Dametto is set to become the next mayor of Townsville after the city’s former top councillor resigned in light of a probe by the state’s corruption watchdog.
The former Katter’s Australian Party state deputy leader had secured almost 62 per cent of all postal votes counted as of Sunday morning. He had pulled significantly ahead of second-placed acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney (12.67 per cent) and businessman David Kippin (7.2 per cent).
Former mayor Troy Thompson, whose resignation triggered the election, achieved 4.82 per cent of votes in the early count.
Mr Dametto resigned from parliament in October to contest the city’s top job, saying he was “going home”. In a speech on Saturday night, he promised ratepayers hope for a better city.
“Thank you to those people in Townsville that have been looking for hope,” Mr Dametto said.
“People that have been wanting something different when it comes to leadership, someone who’s actually going to be a strong leader, someone who’s going to bring the city together.”
Premier David Crisafulli congratulated Mr Dametto, saying he looked forward to working with him in this new role. “The people of Townsville have strongly backed Nick Dametto for mayor,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“This result will give this proud city the local leadership it needs and deserves. Our government looks forward to working with you to deliver better outcomes for a great city.
The Queensland Electoral Commission is yet to call the result, with the official result not expected for several days because of the large field of 10 candidates. Only 30.5 per cent of enrolled electors’ votes had been counted as of Sunday.
Mr Dametto’s resignation from parliament to run for mayor opened up a vacancy in the seat of Hinchinbrook, with residents set to vote in a by-election on November 29. The outcome of the election will put to bed a turbulent period of governance over the nation’s largest garrison city, with a big defence base.
Mr Thompson stood down as mayor in September, 17 months after unseating longstanding incumbent Jenny Hill in an upset win at the 2024 state-wide local government. However, for the final 12 months he held the position, Mr Thompson was on leave with full pay as the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigated allegations he had misled voters about his military service and career history.
After getting an insight into the report’s findings, Queensland Local Government Minister Ann Leahy issued Mr Thompson a show-cause notice in September to explain why he should keep his job. He resigned a week later.
Mr Thompson recontested his job despite the report’s final findings not being publicly released. In a statement on Saturday, he thanked supporters and said he’d keep fighting for honesty and fairness. “This election has shown one thing clearly: Townsville is full of people who care deeply about honesty, fairness, and the future of our community,” he said.
“That doesn’t end today.”
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