Four candidates nominate for Whitsunday council division 2 by-election

From an auxiliary firefighter to a musculoskeletal therapist, the candidates for division 2 offer voters a wide range of experience. One of them even comes from a famous Whitsundays political family. Find out which candidate suits you best.

The Whitsundays council division 2 by-election is set for December 3 and four candidates have nominated for the job.

Division 2 covers the Cannonvale area and ropes in the massive Conway National Park.

To help you make the best decision, we spoke with each of the candidates about their background and vision for council.

The order on the ballot paper is as follows:

1. Daniel Popovich
2. Christopher Harvey
3. Andrew Camm
4. Clay Bauman

Daniel Popovich – ‘We don’t want to be a Gold Coast version 2.0’

Mr Popovich lives in Woodwark and works as a musculoskeletal therapist.

His wife is an osteopath and they have run a small business together.

He said he wanted to become a councillor to give a voice to the small businesspeople and families in the area.

“I just feel that a lot of the infrastructure development seems to be pointing more towards servicing tourists rather than actually helping servicing the residents,” he said.

“My understanding, the local government council, it is the ratepayers who pay the rates into that local council.

“I want to make sure our ratepayers are getting what they want and expect from our council.”

He also said the relationship between the council and the community could be more dynamic and referenced his experience living in Tasmania to press home the point.

He said the community there was more actively involved in the planning scheme and met on a quarterly basis with the council to impart its ideas.

Whitsunday council division 2 candidate Daniel Popovich

“It is an option,” he said.

He also raised the possibility of using a democracy app to facilitate a more dynamic interaction between the community and the council.

“An app which people can use to be much more dynamic again in terms of their opinions and ideas on prevailing issues,” he said.

“That is a suggestion.

“If that resonates with the community, and obviously within the council, that is another way we can start to reach out and bring things more in line between the residents of our division and through into the council.”

He said he personally opposed high rise development in Airlie Beach.

“On a personal level, my wife and I and the family, we feel it would be totally inconsistent with the whole area,” he said.

“And that is something that again seems to be consistent with other members of the community.

“We do not want to be a Gold Coast version 2.0.”

Christopher Harvey – ‘ I can bring a good voice to the council’

Christopher Harvey, an electrician, lives in Proserpine and serves his community in a range of volunteer roles.

He is a volunteer SES member, a board member of Proserpine nursing home, a member of the Proserpine Rotary Club and Whitsunday running club and an auxiliary firefighter with QFES.

He said he wanted to be a councillor to serve as a link between the community and the council.

“I think I can bring a good voice to the council from the community with all the different organisations that I’m a part of,” he said.

“I am part of the community a lot.”

Mr Harvey said he would push for more footpaths, cycle paths and parkland if elected.

“They are the big ones I know council can look after locally,” he said.

“The way of pushbikes, e-scooters, out walking, is going to become more of our culture.”

Whitsunday council division 2 candidate Christopher Harvey. Picture: Contributed

In regards to high rise development in Airlie Beach, Mr Harvey said it was “inevitable” and needed to be managed rather than blocked.

“I believe it is inevitable, whether it is with this current council or a future council. I believe it is inevitably going to happen,” he said.

“It is probably better to be managed rather than outright opposed to it.

“If we stop growth, we will start being left behind.”

Mr Harvey said he could serve as an effective link between council bureaucracy and the general public.

“They have got very smart, educated directors there (at the council) and staff, but I would like to bring that feel from the community,” he said.

“I would like to bring that voice that maybe a director or a staffer at council might not have heard or might have missed.

“Vice versa, bring that information from council back to the community, so when people approach me I can give them points of reason as to why a decision was made.”

Andy Camm – ‘I don’t have any hierarchy or bulls–t with me’

Andy Camm comes from a famous Whitsundays political family.

His cousin is Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm and his grandfather’s brother was the long-serving Ron Camm, who represented the Whitsunday electorate through the 1960s and 1970s.

He said he had always held an interest in politics and wanted to be a councillor to promote appropriate development across Airlie Beach and Cannonvale.

He recalls being exasperated by Chamber of Commerce meetings in the 2000s.

“It annoyed the s–t out of me when I would hear people (at the meetings) who had no clue how to maintain the natural beauty of this town,” he said.

“Why doesn’t council get on a frickin’ plane and fly to Queenstown in New Zealand or fly to Whistler in Canada and have a look at how they built those towns and protected the natural beauty.”

He says future development needs to blend into the surrounding environment and Airlie Beach had suffered from excess development in recent years.

Whitsunday council division 2 candidate Andy Camm. Picture: Contributed

“There have been some monstrosities built over the years,” he said.

“I do not understand town planning, I will admit that.

“I do not profess to be a town planning person at all, but I am hoping to learn.

“Future development in the Whitsundays has to be very careful because we do have a pretty amazing natural, beautiful place here.”

Mr Camm said he wanted to cut back on traffic lights into Airlie Beach and build a retirement village on the coast.

Mr Camm acknowledged he was “green” to council.

“To be fair for me, dealing with the red tape of the whole system is going to be tough,” he said.

“It is an interesting game that’s for sure.

He also said he could connect with everyone, regardless of perceived social status.

“I am approachable, I can talk to anyone,” he said.

“I can talk to the working class council guy sitting on a mower to the multi-millionaire buying a house on Hamilton Island.

“It does not bother me what level a person is at.

“They are still humans and they should be all treated the same.

“I do not have any hierarchy or bulls--t with me.”

Clay Bauman – ‘I have a real understanding of the limited powers of a councillor’

Mr Bauman has a background in film and television and lives in Cannonvale.

He said he became keenly interested in council matters six years ago.

“Local government does have the biggest effect on how we live our day to day lives,” he said.

He said the council was not transparent and he wanted to reduce the power of the bureaucracy and elevate the power of councillors.

“I have a real understanding of the limited powers of a councillor,” he said.

“I think a lot of other people and a lot of candidates do not even realise how limited a councillor’s powers are.

Whitsunday council division 2 candidate Clay Bauman. Picture: Contributed

“A lot of those powers are limited by policies that are written by our bureaucrats, public servants and voted in by the councillors themselves.”

To return power back to councillors, Mr Bauman said he would work to roll back the responsibilities delegated to the administration if elected.

He also said he would promote longer council meetings.

“Council has only one meeting every two weeks, which often finishes before lunch,” he said.

“I think we could take a bit more interest and control of where our $130m spend of ratepayers’ money is going.”

He said he opposed high rise development within certain pockets of Airlie Beach.

“I still feel the Airlie Beach bowl should be protected,” he said.

“You can set back (buildings) but we should really maintain that coastal town, village atmosphere.

“I am for appropriate development back against hills but I am against oversized, intrusive development along the foreshore and town centre.”

Originally published as Four candidates nominate for Whitsunday council division 2 by-election