Former councillor Margie Ryder puts hand up to represent KAP at state election

Margie Ryder’s desire to represent Townsville hasn’t been curtailed by her defeat at the most recent local government election, with her now gunning for a state seat.

Cr Margie Ryder. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Margie Ryder always said she never wanted to be a member of a political party because she “f--king hated politics”, but that has changed with a decision to run for the seat of Townsville with the Katter’s Australian Party.

Mrs Ryder spent the past eight years as a councillor in Townsville, losing in the March election to Paul Jacob.

But her commitment to the community is not over.

She is squaring up against Labor’s Scott Stewart and LNP’s Adam Baillie in what is expected to be a very difficult election.

In the 2020 election, incumbent Mr Stewart managed to claw back some of his margin with a 2.75 per cent swing, but the anti-Labor sentiment swirling in the city is cause for concern.

Former councillor Margie Ryder will contest the seat of Townsville for the Katter Australia Party at the upcoming state election.

That anti-Labor sentiment is likely one of the causes of Mrs Ryder losing the Division 2 race.

But now, since she’s declared herself a Katter, Mrs Ryder hopes she can use her many years of work in local government and in community groups like Volunteering North Queensland to her advantage.

When she made the decision to run for the Katter party, Mrs Ryder said it was because someone had valued the work she had done in her role.

“I actually have got a lot to give,” she said.

Division 1 Councillor Margie Ryder and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto meet with concerned Jensen residents. Picture: Margie Ryder.

Mrs Ryder said she realised that her values aligned with the Katter party and committed.

She said her connection to former Townsville mayor Jenny Hill wouldn’t hurt her campaign because politics never entered the decision making process when they were part of a team.

“She never brought politics to the table, even when we went behind closed doors, where we had our big fights,” Mrs Ryder said.

“She never asked how we were going to vote.”

After a very toxic local government campaign, with blow-ups at the polling booth dominating election coverage, Mrs Ryder hopes that she’s learnt from her mistakes and will react better next time she is confronted.

Cr Margie Ryder. Picture: Shae Beplate.

She said the mutual respect between candidates would make this election significantly different from the March local government election.

Mrs Ryder plans to bring her life experience to the table, focusing on tourism and events, community and volunteering in her campaign.

She said the cost of living was making volunteering next to impossible because people were picking up extra hours to get by or taking on a second job.

And when it came to community, it was often about making sure local businesses and groups had access to the things they needed, like insurance.

With Magnetic and Palm Islands in her electorate, Mrs Ryder said she wanted to help ensure the small businesses involved in tourism had the support they needed.

“Without them, our whole city’s buggered,” she said, adding that the community needed to be supported at a grassroots level.

When it came to crime, she backed the Katter’s plans for relocation sentencing and Castle Law.

When she was working out west as a Julia Creek councillor, Mrs Ryder said she saw first-hand the difference a work camp could make.

The Julia Creek Workers Camp, which is a Queensland Corrective Services facility, has low-risk offenders work in the remote town on projects, maintenance and the Dirt N Dust Festival.

Mrs Ryder said she was part of the council that voted for the workers camp to be set up, and to start helping out.

She said the workers helped with set up, clean up, and were part of the celebrations.

“We rewarded them by coming to the events and they become part of the community,” Mrs Ryder said.

“I hired two of them when I moved back to town.”

She said it gave them a sense of purpose, and something to work towards.

“There is no reason that couldn’t work for kids,” Mrs Ryder said.

KAP Deputy Leader Nick Dametto said it was Ms Ryder’s passion and drive that made her the perfect representative for the electorate.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Margie for a number of years now and I know she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right, and wont’ let anything get in the way of getting it done,’’ Mr Dametto said.

“The people of Townsville – the city I too call home – deserve a strong voice in Brisbane – not one that is stage-managed by Brisbane party overlords.”

Mrs Ryder has helped run the family business, been the president of Volunteering NQ, Chair of Business Services, Chair of Economic Recovery, Representative of the Audit Committee, and a board member of MITEZ and the Townsville Breakwater Entertainment Centre Management.

Originally published as Former councillor Margie Ryder puts hand up to represent KAP at state election