Toowoomba councillors have selected a new mayor on Friday afternoon, following a seething speech from one of the nominees around gender equality.
Geoff McDonald is the new mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council, which has been marred by a fiery speech from unsuccessful nominee Carol Taylor.
Ms Taylor launched a seething spray around the current council in regards to gender equality, during a two-minute pitch that was supposed to sell them on why she should become the new mayor.
She slammed the culture in council as “not great” and alleged gender inequality was an ongoing issue.
"Until we value everyone at this table we’re falling short of what the community deserves," she said.
"I don’t believe words mean much unless they’re backed up by action.
"I believe our gender diversity is not valued to date and I’m very disappointed about that."
Ms Taylor said while she had “never felt valued” on council as a woman, she would honour and support anyone who was elected Mayor.
All councillors except Ms Taylor elected Mr McDonald following the speech.
During his two-minute pitch, Mr McDonald said council needed an “inclusive, robust and clear” strategy for the future.
“Our number one priority needs to be our people - our people internally and our people across the region,” he said.
“We need to ensure all council staff are valued and empowered and feel safe to be the change makers to move forward.”
Mr McDonald thanked his parents, in-laws and wife Lisa for their support.
"My promise to all of you is to do the very best I can," he said.
"Councillors we have a task - it’s a good task and we can absolutely nail it."
The councillors will now have to vote for a new deputy mayor at a later date.
The decision comes after Paul Antonio who served as Toowoomba Mayor for three terms, but spent more than 40 years in local government, announced his retirement from politics two weeks ago.
Rumours had swirled for months that Mr Antonio would retire before the end of the term, which he finally confirmed at an emotional press conference two weeks ago.
Mr Antonio said his decision was based on health and family reasons.
The 41-year local government stalwart was farewelled at his final ordinary meeting on Tuesday, with special words shared by colleagues as well as former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk.
The council will also start the process in a couple of weeks to find a replacement councillor for the rest of the term, which will be determined via a recruitment campaign.
Following a fiery speech from Carol Taylor, the council has quickly followed by unanimously voting in Geoff McDonald as mayor.
“My promise to all of you is to do the very best I can," he said.
He thanked his parents, who are watching from the Toowoomba Hospital, his wife Lisa and Lisa's parents.
Some controversial statements from Carol Taylor regarding gender diversity.
“I believe our gender diversity is not valued to date and I’m very disappointed about that".
"Until we value everyone at this table we’re falling short of what the community deserves".
Excerpts from Geoff's speech to his colleagues.
"Our number one priority needs to be our people – our people internally and our people across the region".
“We need to ensure all council staff are valued and empowered and feel safe to be the change makers to move forward.".
“It would be my absolute honour to lead this group of people".
Councillors have passed a motion to allow James O'Shea to cast his vote for the mayor. Geoff McDonald is making a two-minute pitch to his colleagues for the position.
The council is continuing to debate the conflict of interest regarding Mr O'Shea and Mr McDonald's friendship. He says he “firmly knows and believes in his heart” he can make the decision without bias but respects the decision made by colleagues.
Councillor Bill Cahill: “We need to be careful and look after each other because the perception out there can lead to all sorts of things”.
Councillor James O'Shea has declared a conflict of interest to to his friendship with the McDonald family. He said he still wishes to vote.
It appears the mayoral vote will just be between Mr McDonald and Ms Taylor.
Councillor Carol Taylor has nominated herself for the position.
Councillor Nancy Sommerfield has nominated Geoff McDonald to become mayor. Mr McDonald has accepted the nomination.
Acting Mayor Geoff McDonald is chairing the meeting, as the proceedings begin. He has started by acknowledging the legacy of former Mayor Paul Antonio.
Morning everyone,
We're less than 30 minutes from the official moment when Mayor Paul Antonio will retire, and the councillors will vote on who should serve out the remainder of the time. Stay tuned here as we keep you updated on the key events from noon.
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